Istanbul - First Impressions

Istanbul - October 2014

Istanbul is quite a change from Paris.  Over the years of visiting Paris, we had fallen in love with its many nooks and crannies; we knew where and how to go to find our favorite neighborhoods, museums, foods, buildings and all the great vistas from that glorious Seine.

But the taxi ride bringing us from the airport to our lovely rented home in Istanbul was enough to convince Danice she was about to feel lost, confused and overwhelmed in this complex city.  The taxi drove on freeways with thousands of pedestrians crossing overhead to reach hundreds of trans and buses, then through winding streets with many abandoned homes to shiny shopping streets and nicely renovated old buildings.  We drove across bridges, up and down and around hills until after an hour the driver finally stopped in front of the address we had given him, which we cannot pronounce. The child in Danice was anxious, but the adult said, "Oh you two always figure it out - you'll be totally comfortable here in a couple of days.  Just pay attention as each moment it gets easier."

Our host, Engin (a fellow home exchanger who offered to stay with his girlfriend and rent us his apartment for 12 days) welcomed us with glasses of cool beer and warm conversation.

The apartment has a fantastic view south across the Golden Horn to the old town with views from left to right of Topkapi Palace, the amazing Hagia Sophia mosque, and the Blue Mosque, and east across the Bosphorous to the Asian side of Istanbul.  Its light-filled and roomy, but we can't locate the sun-lit photos we took to document that.

The view south to Old Town 

Night time view from apartment

Engin showed us a map, marked our location right near Taksim Square, and told us we could head straight down a very steep hill to the Bosphorus waterfront and the Tram line, or we could head slightly uphill to Taksim Square with a Metro or a funicular down the hill to the Tram.   Engin's two greatest gifts were the map and walking us to the nearest Turkcel store where Paul could purchase a Turkish SIM card with added data.  Now we had Google-boy, Paul's android connected to Google maps, always with us to show where we are and how to get somewhere else.

From Taksim Square we can stroll down the pedestrian only Istiklal Street for 2 km or more to shop or find a restaurant on its side streets

We joined the 3 million other people who walk down Istilklal street every day. This three million statistic counts those, like us, that make multiple trips. The street while wide is filled with people most of the day.

Ikstilal on a quite Sunday morning

We walked up and down Istiklal  and the many little side streets filled with restaurants, cafes, bars, night clubs and shops of all types selling just about everything.

One of many alleys filled with restaurants

Nut Shop

Watches, etc.  

The ubiquitous pomegranate 

The clothing shops along the street are mass market, not a major designer or little boutique to be found. There are lots of places to stop for food, drink, ice cream, Turkish Delights and cell phone service. Beyond the shops and volume of people the old buildings are quite nice.

Part of the color and entertainment of the street are the buskers, some are quite good.

Within 24 hours. as hoped, we thought we knew the Taksim area well, we had our Tram pass ready to go to Old Town and had enjoyed several authentic meals surrounded by locals.