ANZAC: Istanbul

So after a rather hectic week involving some more treatment and a fun night out with the work crew in Brick Lane it’s time to tell you of the last ‘adventure’...

It began after a very pleasant evening with Zara and Jarrett on the banks of the Thames.
On the way home I discovered that the workers on the Victoria tube line were going on strike from 9pm that night. Naturally, I needed to use this line at around 11.30pm to get to Victoria train station, and so it began.
After an extra hour of travelling on connecting tube lines I met Shar at Victoria station and we made our way to Gatwick Airport. With a 6am flight in the morning, and needing to be there at around 4am, we decided to head down there the night before so that we could avoid needing to use night busses and having to be getting up at around 2am. Instead we could sleep at the airport until around 4am. Or so we thought.
Lise met us in the airport lounge with about an hour before our flight for Istanbul, and we were set to go. A good score to have all three of us in the third row of our Easyjet flight and we settled in for the journey.

Our arrival at Sabiha Gökçen was rather comical as we all boarded the bus awaiting us on the tarmac only to drive about twenty metres to the terminal entrance. With visas purchased, customs navigated and baggage in hand we were collected by our tour group and boarded their bus. [Whilst I prefer not to go with tour groups, you are unable to go to ANZAC Cove and attend the services unless you are with an organised tour...]
Now I use the word ‘organised’ rather loosely here as the next four hours of our time in Istanbul could hardly be called that. Admittedly, the simple issue of Istanbul’s traffic meant that we had a two hour ride just to get from the airport to the area in which we were all staying. At least there was some entertainment from the ‘street’ sellers (right) on the clogged freeway.
The fun started as over the next two hours we discovered that we were in fact about seven tour groups on the one bus as we were haphazardly dropped off at our accommodation by our ‘guide’ and a driver that seemed clueless on how to get us there. At least it was a rather entertaining bus load of antipodeans as we could joke about the bus crew considering their complete lack of English.
We did get to see some of Istanbul along the way, and my first impression of the city when we left the airport was quite simply that it was unfinished. There were so many high and low rise apartment blocks being built. They were everywhere. I noticed almost no parks or open areas for kids to play in. The closer we got to central Istanbul the more the buildings seemed to close in on the road. I guess when you have over 16 million people in one city, there’s little spare space for things other than housing and shops... It did seem a little oppressive amongst all the concrete blocks (with quite a few domed mosques thrown in for good measure).

Our hotel turned out to be fairly good too. I wasn’t expecting it to be a four star hotel. Once sorted for our rooms, we took the hotel staff advice and headed down the road to the nearby Taşhan Bazaar. Amongst all the shops in a small courtyard we had a rather eventful dinner in a “cafe”. Very friendly staff despite their lack of English, who even invited to dress appropriately for dinner (see Lise n Shar in the pic). Even Paul (who arrived later) and I had to wear a traditional turban - I’d have preferred a fez...
Despite the bit of touristy fun, the food here was fantastic!! A little later, and at the invite of the owner, we were shown his other restaurant and nightclub (Arkat) that was also in this bazaar.
Not long after and we were back in our hotel lobby for the meeting of our guide, Volkan. This too became rather entertaining as we all attempted to get drinks from the hotel bar before the formalities. For those of you who know Fawlty Towers and the hapless Manuel, well, we experienced the Turkish version. He had no coke nor ice for one person’s bourbon until Volkan actually spoke to him in Turkish and suddenly he had both. To have this guy declaring “Aahh, Coke” after Emma had said coke and coca-cola in several different ways during her many attempts to order her drink just topped it off.

After getting our meeting times and run-down of our itinerary from Volkan, the night was ours. A quick freshen up and Shar, Lise, Paul and myself headed back to the Taşhan Bazaar. We started off at a smoking cafe where you could enjoy one of the Turkish waterpipes. It was nothing like smoking tobacco, with it being no trouble for non-smokers to do. Shar chose a cherry one, as we really had no idea, and despite it not tasting much like cherries we relaxed with it while enjoying Turkish coffee’s or apple teas and other drinks - oh, and big screen 80's music videos in the background (go figure!).
It was then time to return to the Arkat, which was now in dinner-dance/nighclub mode. We entered the 800 year old Byzantine Cistern, where this is housed, for the owner to greet us like long lost friends and promptly found us a table. It was close to the dance floor that was currently occupied by a bellydancer and several patrons that she was ‘teaching’. Shortly after, came their cabaret singer, who not only had an excellent voice, but seamlessly moved through many nationalities songs from Waltzing Matilda to Russian and Ukrainian songs to have different tables all involved in the night. Next up was something that I’m not really sure I actually saw, even though here’s a photo for proof. A male bellydancer! A good giggle with all the girls going a little nuts over it, because he wasn’t exactly a Chippendale. Paul and I both concluded that he had to have been a eunuch to have not done himself any damage during his act - but he was quite good.
After his departure, the place kicked on as a nightclub, and we dutifully enjoyed the night until it was time to head back to the hotel.

An early 8am start after a full buffet breakfast and we were on our way for a day of sightseeing in Istanbul. Volkan’s original itinerary altered a few times during the day, but held pretty closely to what we all wanted to see.
First up was the Hippodrome, which is where the old sultan’s used to watch the horse racing in a similar setup to the Circus Maximus in Rome. Inside the ‘track’ are now several obelisks that were gifts to the sultans. Volkan’s broken English did create some interesting moments throughout as was evident (above) when he told us that we couldn’t see the heads of the spiralled serpents after telling us about this statue’s history.
Over the road we went to enter the “blue” mosque, which is the building you can see at the very beginning above. This mosque is impressive in its size and the interior is coated in some 20,000 tiles. It is their colour that gives rise to the nickname of the Blue Mosque. Rather impressive as you mosey on through in your socks. They did give us plastic bags to carry our shoe in, as well as scarves for the ladies to cover their heads.
Through the nearby park, and we found ourselves at the Aya Sofya museum. Another massive building that was originally a Christian church (530AD) before being taken over and converted into a mosque by the Ottomans in the 1400’s. In the 1930’s it was turned into a museum and the old Christian images were revealed. The way to the upper level is actually a paved ramp, which allowed the sultans to be brought up on their chariots to attend prayers! To give you an idea of the size of this place, that large green circular hanging you can see in the pic is seven metres in diameter!
Once our time in here was finished, we were back on the bus and off to a Turkish carpet house - complete with magic carpets! None flew, but the ‘magic’ part comes from the weave and how it is a different colour depending on which direction you are looking at the carpet. We were given a short lesson on the history of the carpets and how they are made, while enjoying a teas and other Turkish drinks from our host. It was rather amazing that some of the carpets could take up to and over two years to make! (All are handmade - unlike the Persian rugs you see in the shops that are all closing down).
After the inevitable sales pitch, and my disappointment in no one asking about “fakari rugs”, it was off to a nearby restaurant where we had lunch.

The afternoon began with a trip to Topkap I Palace. This is not so much of a palace as a small citadel and housed the sultans up until the 19th century. Upon going through the main entrance through the surrounding walls you find yourself in a large set of gardens with buildings around the edges. This included The Harem, a rather impressive set of living quarters. Beyond this was another gateway which took you into a large courtyard with more buildings again. The Imperial Council Chambers occupies the centre with several museums and libraries around the edges.
These museums and libraries house some interesting things - one is laden with all the gifts given to sultans over the years and includes a 62 karat diamond. Whilst I doubt it was the original on show behind the glass, it was still impressive.
Something that did raise some serious doubts was contents of the Pavilion of Sacred Relics. This one housed many religious artefacts such as Mohammed’s sword and cloak. Fair enough, you say. The surprise was what I would have expected to have been claimed by the Vatican should they have been real. The Sword of David, the Arm of John (I’m not sure if this is The Baptist or the gospel writer), and the Staff of Moses!! Naturally no photos were allowed, but somehow I doubt that if these items were the real thing, that they would have been on show in such a fashion behind their glass panels in a small couple of rooms in this series of tourist filled courtyards. Exactly how a wooden staff would have survived the few thousand years it has is another question. And could it be proven?
Anyway, beyond this courtyard was another that overlooked the Bosphorous straight and thankfully had a small restaurant and cafe that allowed for a Turkish coffee to take in the view with.

This is now where our tour went somewhat off the rails. Originally, we were to be going to the Grand Bazaar from here, although as the day progressed, Volkan kept mentioning the Spice Bazaar as well. I wasn’t fussed as I (and others) believed we would be visiting both by day’s end. Somehow, we ended up at a leather house that was complete with fashion show before the sales fellas came out.
To get there, we did take a rather scenic route along the edge of the Bosphorous straight where we saw all the cargo ships anchored and awaiting nightfall before they could pass. A couple of us decined to go in for the fashion show, instead electing to enjoy the warm overhead sun.
Soon, we were back on the road again and after passing under a massive ancient roman aqueduct we arrived at the Spice Bazaar. Nestled alongside the impressive Yeni mosque (see below), this place smelt incredible. Even if the stall that Volkan showed us was a friend of his, at least he was liberal with the samples of the many types of Turkish delights on offer. Okay, I succumbed to a box of them, but damn, they were good! We then took off to explore the rest of alleys and stalls of this bazaar. By the time we were back on the bus, I have to admit that I’d sampled quite a bit.

With the sun setting it was back to the hotel, and after side-swiping a car and getting to sit and watch the ensuing argument between our driver and the car owner was somewhat tedious despite all the arm waving and police intervention.

The evening had us back at the Taşhan cafe for dinner with Shar, Nicole, Paul and myself eating here before joining the rest of our group back at Arkat (they had wanted to witness the male bellydancer of the night before). We called it a reasonably early night as we had a VERY early start to be on the bus by 6am to leave for Gallipoli and Anzac Cove...