Istanbul, Turkey. 26-31 May 2014.
Exchange Rate: almost exactly 2:1, Turkish Lira (LR) -> US Dollars.
If you are dreaming of a trip to Turkey, go sooner than later and get in on Turkish Airlines’ promotion prices for flights to or through Turkey, onwards to Asia! I bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok, and TA let me conveniently gap the legs of my trip for free.
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Photo: Istanbul’s Decorative Barges - The things from story books are still there, not just the old,… but the SUPER old, blending right in with the modern, Turkey.
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| Photo: Bridge between the continents of Europe and Asia (there are two of these bridges, a few km apart). |
Reasons to visit Istanbul: The people of course! For me, its always first and foremost. But very (very) closely followed by; the cuisine! And then, finally, the awesome sites to be seen in a city founded around 600 BC.
For me personally, while traveling abroad I don’t actually care to do more than seek out conversations with local people over and around their own traditional food. I have gone on many trips where I did nothing but eat, chat, walk, eat, walk, and chat, and concluded trips feeling completely satisfied; my time spent connecting with locals usually leaves me without feeling like I need to “site-see” at all.
*To expand on that thought, I have definitely been on trips where I only went to ‘see sights,’ and had no time available for cultural interaction (other than just looking at whatever culture happened to be outside the car/bus window). Whether with family or friends, when journeying into another culture, even more so another country, there should always be that option to get lost, to be an hour late because you got caught up in a conversation with someone at the bus stop, or whatever it may be that gets you involved with a normal person of that culture. (Not that I believe there are any such ‘normal’ people in the world, but lets just assume here that there are people along the way, which one could hopefully meet, in whom we could find a fine example of someone from such and such country/culture…) (side note, I do not wish to read comments correcting any grammar from the previous sentence. Thank you.)
Back to Turkey…
Luckily for me, Istanbul had SO many cool things to see just walking around the streets, tons of historic stuff all around, that I was able to ‘site-see’ just walking from food spot to food spot!
Istanbul really is so large that I am sure I could have spent weeks doing nothing but eat and wander and not touch even half the city. Oh yeah, its also split into two parts; one’s in Europe, the other in Asia. Super cool.
I would recommend that if you’re wanting to visit more than just Istanbul, then plan to go to Turkey for more than 7 days, or buy a domestic flight to your second destination. Turkey is a big country. 700,000 km2 (37th in the world)…
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I arrived at Ataturk Airport at 5pm, and made my way through to immigration. Istanbul has 2 airports by the way, Sabiha Gökçen is located about 20km north of Ataturk. After a 30 minute wait in line, I simply showed the official the screen of my iPhone, he looked at my eVisa for Turkey and stamped my passport without a word.
You do not need to get a visa beforehand, but it costs 25 Euros (as of May 2014) if you get one AT the Airport. It cost me however, $20USD online, I got it a few days before leaving, and it was immediately delivered over email (although the site said that it may take up to a day). Turkey requires most nationalities to get a visa, (check the list at {SITE}), and these are, listed by group, allowed either 30 or 90 day passes. USA passport-holders DO need a visa, and its good for 90 days.
Recommendation; get a visa for Turkey at {https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/}.
I found the cheapest hostel available, it ended up being a top bunk bed in a 6-bed shared room. Most of the hostels offered some kind of breakfast each morning, and at the one I found, the Mystic Simurgh Hostel (Taksim Monument Area), the breakfast was actually quite good! (a Turkish friend described to me a quick breakfast from their home; pieces of baguette-style bread topped with cheese, yogurt, sliced tomatoes, olives, several cups of black tea, and some type of fresh fruit. The Simurgh hostel offered all this for free and a bit more.)
This hostel (shared bathroom) was 30 LR per night ($15), and they also offer private rooms with private bath for 65 LR ($32.50). Free to all guests is a locker with lock and key, both in the room and downstairs, for which the staff DO take responsibility! :) (there was a sign :) I had to read it twice as, ) Very safe hostel, very cool area for walking around, and there was also free wifi as well, and even a somewhat new computer there, free for guests to use.
Now, onto the first meal!
Turkish food famously includes eggplant and green/red bell peppers for vegetables (usually grilled), garlic and yogurt based sauces with oven-baked bread, and usually the choice of beef or chicken for a meat entree. It is a completely Muslim country, but pork is still, somewhat strangely, readily available. Many Turkish also prefer lamb to beef, and the wonderfully tasty (and wonderfully common) Donër sandwich uses thin-sliced lamb.
I found it be pronounced Don-nesh, I will guess its due to the double dots over the ‘e,’ but always best to just take language tips from a non-speaker as advice; have fun and figure it out for yourself! :)
All in all, there are many more dishes to be found than that which is available in the Turkish food-carts or small sandwich shops in other parts of the world. The Turkish food that I already knew had me excited enough for this trip, but as always, there is a nearly-never ending amount of new dishes to be found once you are actually there (or for that matter, in any country you think you know but haven’t yet visited!)
I think this must be my favorite dish this week, the Adana Porsiyon! To the best I could figure, Adana means Spicy Kebab-style meat, and Porsiyon is the skewer-style. This was the spiciest thing I had in Istanbul, and that red sauce was a surprise addition to an already awesome combo! Turkish food does occasionally have some heat, but as I currently live in Thailand… A great thing to note though, is that in the local restaurants there was always a small dish of crushed red fried chili peppers ready to spoon over any dish.
At this restaurant, I told the chef that I wanted the food as spicy as possible, and he brought that amazing red sauce out instead of trying to change up the dish’s ingredients. After already having drawn me in by the smells from his grilled meat, he went a step further and well surpassed my already high expectation - and I wish I had asked for the recipe! Also, the bulgur rice was such an awesome side for this dish! Not as soft as the rice I’m used to, but a much more hearty flavor and feel in the mouth. There was not much besides the meat itself, but with the very simple addition of cilantro and parsley, a small squeeze of lemon juice… Stunning. I want this again immediately. (And I just made myself hungry by reading this again the next day. Dang!)
Total price for this meal: 9 LR ($4.50)
If you need to charge your laptop while in Turkey, be aware that the plug-head shape is quite unique. I have never seen this fitting before, and needed to find an adaptor. I stopped in to an extremely small shop to buy one, and accepted the owner’s offer to share a cup of tea. Remember, in Muslim countries it is (traditionally) impolite to have only one cup, and so one should be prepared to sit for awhile after accepting such an offer.
This shop owner was slightly younger than myself, spoke an extremely small amount of English, but was a great example of Turkish people’s friendliness! (Might I assume he was a ‘normal’ Turkish teenager? Haha :) )
After about 45 minutes of smiling, trying to ask some simple questions using a map of Istanbul and a map of the world as conversation points, and then another 45 minutes of him telling me about Team Fenerbahce (in Turkish, Not English), I thanked him for the cups of tea and went on my way.
On the way out actually, I rubbed my stomach, made hand motions hoping to look like that of a swimming fish, luckily he understood me the first time through, and he recommended me to a restaurant down the street. After a second’s thought, he was afraid I would get lost, so he had his younger brother walk me to the restaurant. Awesome. Not just this guy either; most people I met were more than happy to give directions! And if city-dwellers are this friendly, then you can be sure that the country-side will be even more of the same… really such lovely people.
Arriving at the restaurant, the Horse Mackerel was the fish of the day, and I got lucky with the choice of an awesomely sour soup as well! (Not knowing any dishes, I got lucky in trusting the person who took the menu photos- I just picked what looked good!) After adding a large spoon of red chili pepper, a squeeze of the lemon which accompanies every plate you will have in Istanbul, the soup was of simple perfection! A small side salad, as well as a few pieces of baguette type bread (there’s a basket on every table of every restaurant I visited), and it was definitely a full and hearty meal.
Total price: 17 LR ($8.50)
I love how the fish is prepared in Turkey, I noticed that most places along the river did the same thing as well. The fish is scaled, (or in a scale-less mackerel’s case it is skinned), then very lightly pan-fried in oil, cleaned of all bones except the large center one, then covered in lemon juice and served. It is prepared differently than most Thai-style fish (which are usually fried or baked), but similar in that fish is served with complex sauces bringing a complete array of sweet, spicy, and salty flavors,… Wonderful. For me, the simple flavor of a good-quality, freshly-caught fish is just so gentle and beautiful that I am happy to have it either way!
Photo: Chicken Donër
One more thing that I appreciated in Turkey, were the large cuts of boneless/de-boned meat. I can never, ever, ever complain about Thai food (tied with Indian as my #1 cuisine), but one thing that IS rare in Thailand (unless you spend considerable time cooking Thai food for yourself at home) is a large cut of boneless meat. Most Thai dishes use minced meat, (ground pork being the most common), and the ones that don’t use ground meat will let you pick the meat off the bone for yourself. Thai people eat a very respectable array of animals, making good use of the bountiful species native to their country; frogs (even tadpoles), field mice, small deer, crabs, lizards… To make a long story short, aside from the easy-to-remove central bone of a large fish, I think I did not see a single bone in any dish I had in Istanbul. In this way, I noticed that I was also slightly more relaxed while eating. I guess I think of the need to remove bones as a way of fighting with food?
I like to wake up very early, catch the sunrise each day, and also get the benefit of being able to take landscape/city photos with no other people in them. Good ‘people photos’ are of course, the best photos, also hardest to get, but I also like seeing the strange sight of a large, uninhabited, 4-5 lane city street. (I love the scene from the movie I Am Legend, Will Smith racing down the deserted NYC streets!)
This early in the morning though, there aren’t many breakfast options to be found in Turkey. Additionally, something to note about Istanbul, is that people tend to stay up late and sleep in late. Most shops don’t open until 7-8am. My sleep schedule is set to Southeast-Asian time, where things are the other way around (3am - 4am is the busiest time in my town’s market, while very few shops are open after dark). Likely due to the differences in climate between the two places, all this is to say that I much appreciated a certain type of cart that DID make it out to the pre-dawn city streets!
The small treats I had here were either garlic and a mild cheese, or just plain feta cheese, and one cart sold just simple baked chunks of bread sprinkled with sesame seeds. Im sure there were more flavors to come across, I only had snacks from 3 different carts, but what I loved was that they were warm, fresh, and so cheap! The normal price seemed to be 2 pieces for 1 LR, but one lovely old man started giving me 3 for 1 LR ($0.50). In my life, the only other places I have found such delicious snacks for cheap treats was in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. A great early morning snack!
While walking around the European side of Istanbul, you can’t miss the football flags! It seemed to be small scale, neighborhood by neighborhood as to who supported which team; but it was common to see a flag stretched completely from one side of a smaller street to the other, reaching all the way to the highest floor, the flag itself maybe 15 meters long! Premier League football is obviously HUGE in Turkey, and I’ve read several articles on the inner-Istanbul tensions between these 2 teams: Most people in Istanbul support either Galatasaray or Fenerbahce (and the remainder support the nearby Besiktas).
Different people say different things, but it’s assured that this is one of the World’s Top 10 fiercest rivalries. Galatasaray, team colors of red and orange/golden, seemed to have slightly more supporters overall, but their league title this year meant that I heard much more about Fenerbahce (pronounced Fen-ner-bah-cha)! Therefore, I definitely saw many more blue and yellow flags flying around town! Maybe next year will see some redecorating…
Photo: Fenerbahce Stadium (a few weeks later, I took a trip to Singapore and my iPhone was grabbed, I lost many pictures from Istanbul...)
I walked from the Kadiköy ferry down to Fenerbahce’s Stadium, on the Asian side of Istanbul, and enjoyed watching the steady stream of people taking self-ies :) I can imagine that English fans are as outspoken in support of their town’s club, but I myself haven’t yet seen such obvious and unified support for the home team as I did in Istanbul!
Transportation:
It is very easy to catch both bus or the train back to the airport. I was staying in the Taksim Monument area, I got there very easily and quickly for 10 Lira (LR) (equal to $5USD). This bus company is ‘Havanas,’ its written in blue on the side of the bus, it goes to many places around the city, but for me was a great airport shuttle.
I usually walk most places while traveling, but Istanbul did have quite a few Metro train line options (took it once due to rain, very nice, very clean), as well as tons of city buses. You can also take either a private taxi or a group taxi for late night activities.
On a personal note, I recommend taking public buses every time you can! They always give you the chance for a cultural experience, and they are almost* always the cheapest travel option. Aside from the specific case of needing to know exactly where you’re going (you’re not yet familiar with the country in the slightest) and just how much time you’re going to need to get there, I would say always take local buses as transport!
*(I say almost, because in some places, this “bus line” may turn out to be a private company pretending to be government-run. Their buses are painted to look like the regular buses they’re trying to copy, and some situation may arise where someone decides that they don’t like you… Prepare to be over-charged, and please don’t lose your cool about it either. I’ve only personally experienced this in Kenya and Mexico, may happen a few other places, but I wouldn’t worry about it in Turkey. :)
The best case scenario for any trip is when you have spent as much time as possible researching details before ever leaving home. However, when the situation comes where you’re unsure of what to do, and time is running out (or its getting dark and you what could be a long walk in unfamiliar territory), make the safe choice. Remember the situation for next time, be better prepared next time, and don’t make it a habit of spending more than you need to on each necessary trip cost (of which transportation is always going to be one)… In Turkey the shared taxis were not too expensive. I never needed to take one, but I think they were on or around a 1 LR per KM rate.
Life Tip: Don’t ever regret a decision where you chose personal safety over saving a few (your preferred currency unit here). Hindsight is always 20/20…
Its quite fun to take the local transport option (again, usually I take this because its both interesting AND cheap), but its always more fun to stay in one piece, healthy and ready for the next trip! Also, when travel is a big part of your life, you are going to have to make these decisions much more often than the sedentary life-liver! This is coming from someone who has had more than his fair share of perilous, overnight, dirt cheap bus-rides in both Asia and Africa; definitely should have learned my lesson years ago!
One final thing to mention about Turkey - most prices are negotiable. Additionally, sometimes prices are going up without it being obvious! Hopefully it is something to be laughed at later, and used as a learning experience. Variable prices can be something that works for or against you, I guess depending on one’s readiness for the situation- so enjoy it, try to get a satisfactory price for yourself, but try not to disrespect the one with whom you bargain. It is not polite to start bargaining for an item, and then just walk away suddenly (In Asia, specifically East Asia, loss of face really is a huge insult. Be attentive to this or things might not go as well for you as you hoped, a very small situation could end up causing a surprisingly large problem). Try to only ask the price for only the things you’re prepared to bargain for. True, this does not seem like a logical way to go about things, I mean how are we supposed to know prices if they are not listed? (they usually are NOT listed in Thailand).
I was not ready for this, and I’ll just it made one of my days in Turkey not as fun as it could of been otherwise. This is completely my fault, but I just want to mention it, just for laughs, in hindsight - not because one culture is right or wrong, but a traveler must always remember that things work differently in different places.
Photo: Turkish Haircut
I actually was planning to get my hair cut sometime this week, as I had heard from a friend that a Turkish shave/haircut combo is quite an enjoyable experience. After the awesome meal of the Horse Mackarel, I allowed myself to be persuaded into a barbershop by a pair of grinning teenage guys with haircuts in the style of current Brazilian football superstar Mr. Neymar Jr. Their shop was about 4 doors down from the restaurant. I was not really thinking, and as one of the boys pointed to the number 6 written on the wall (6 LR? 3$USD? Sure!) and then back at me, I guess I just thought I was lucky to have found a shop with such good prices! (Be wary of any decision you might make within an hour of a great meal…:) )
I said, “haircut and shave, too! Right?”
“Yes, yes, sit down, sit down. And how do you like your tea?”
The ‘treatment’ included an average male 1/2 inch haircut with a buzzer, a nice, confident facial shave (confident on the barber’s part, not mine!), a facial massage, something greenish-colored that I might describe as an aromatherapy lotion-mask, a very complex hair combing/gel combo (the longest part of the session), and finally things finished with a cup of black tea.
We all smiled, I thanked the barber, we shook hands, and then he boldly asked me for 28 Lira.
Hmm…
Turns out the haircut really was 6 LR just like the young Mr. Neymar indicated. Everything else however, all done without telling me of any additional price, came to 3 Lira more, 5 more, 4 more,… 26 Lira total… And then, yes, 2 final Lira more for the tea.
I had digested enough food by now to start using my brain, I inquired about the price, and he immediately named all the extra items and their extra prices. None of these other things were painted on the wall, of course everyone else in the shop knew the price beforehand… they were happy to have someone like me pop in for the full treatment!
Things could have been much worse than paying an $11 surcharge, but being ready for it before-hand would have avoided the little bit of hard-feelings right from the start.
There were also a few more times at restaurants where tea and/or water showed up on the bill as well. I was only in Istanbul for 5 days, but the best conclusion I could draw from my limited experience was that newcomers are charged for water or tea (maybe all extras), and people that the owner recognizes are not. If you are someone bothered by unforeseen $1-2 surcharges, just go ahead and ask about price when offered anything extra, anything at all, no matter the way in which the extra thing is offered :) And if you feel like a stickler for asking the price of every little thing, well… be prepared for your bill to regularly exceed expectation :)
One final thing to mention is that no single thing stood out to me more while walking around than the smells of the city! Not bad smells either, not at all! I have never enjoyed a city’s smells so much - it was like every breath had some kind of flavor to it! It sounds odd, but I really have never experienced such an aromatically attractive city. Walking around in Istanbul was a pleasure, and I encourage you to taste and smell this city for yourself!
I had a great time, and I highly recommend a trip to Turkey to any and all types of traveler. Istanbul is a city that has something for everyone, and the feeling of taking part in the sheer history and size of the place is bound to be exciting! I am immediately ready to return for another, longer trip.
(Every Turkish person I met recommended me to visit the Eastern parts of Turkey as well, to really know the country itself, and so the checklist of ‘Places I Need to Visit’ will again gain two new items for each single item I complete…)
Some Turkish language -
Numbers 1-10
1- beer, 2 - iki, 3 - Uch, 4 - Dirt, 5 - Besh, 6 - al thi, 7 - yeh de, 8 - se kiss, 9 - do cous, 10- onh, 100 - uss
Spicy - Aji
