We arrived in Istanbul on April 15, three days before the start of our Turkey tour. A long ride from the airport was made much longer because Turkey’s President was in town for a special event. The lovely Acra Hotel, where we stayed, is right in the center of old Istanbul, Sultanahmet, where the streets were all packed as police rerouted traffic. Once we finally settled in at the hotel, we stepped out to discover that we were such a short walk from the famous Blue Mosque (still not fully open due to reconstruction) and the Hagia Sophia. We walked the large, open park which features both mosques.
Acra Hotel [Click Here] offered great service and a spectacular location, just a short walk from the Blue Mosque and from Hagia Sophia.
As evening approached, the lawns filled with people, families and groups of friends, all awaiting sunset, marking the time to enjoy the end of their daily Ramadan fast. Where we traveled in Muslim countries (Jordan & Turkey) during Ramadan, the daily fast is widely practiced, and everyone enjoys their shared feasts as the sun sets. It was like a huge communal party as groups shared their food and their (non-alcoholic) drinks.
A Food Tour in Istanbul: One day prior to our Rick Steves Tour, we joined two other couples – also on the Rick Steves Tour – on a recommended walking tour focusing on the Foods of Istanbul. It was a cold, overcast day with occasional drizzle, but our guide was pleasant and took us to places we never would have found on our own. We took a train under the Bosphorus to cross over to Uskudar, that part of Istanbul to the east, a brief journey from Europe into Asia where most of Turkey lies. As we walked through markets and past various shops, our host often stopped to let us taste different local foods: simit (a sweet bread roll covered in sesame seeds), stuffed muscles, halva, kebabs, and kofte (called a “Turkish meatball,” but more like a skinless lamb sausage), sunflower seeds, and Turkish Tea, so warm and welcoming on this cold day. A highlight, of course, was a family style meal at the Ciya Restaurant in the Kadiköy area featuring a wide variety of Asia Minor and Mesopotamian cuisines. Stuffed and fully satisfied, we made our way back to the shore and crossed the Bosphorus on a ferry back to Europe and the western portion of Istanbul.
Our Rick Steves Tour: The Best of Turkey in 13 Days:
We’ve been fans of Rick Steves Travel for years, watching his videos, reading his books and using his maps. But this was our very first Rick Steves Tour (RS Tours). Apparently, people who take RS Tours like them — A LOT. We, along with one other couple on the bus, were taking our first RS Tour. Many were on their seventh or eighth RS Tour, some their eleventh or twelfth. Some had scheduled two RS Tours back-to-back. And for good reason: lovely buses that are less crowded (RS limits it to 25), the very best guides, and a well-planned itinerary that gives you plenty of time to appreciate your sights, and free time with great options and advice.
Our tour was especially great with only 18 travelers but two great guides: Mine (pronounced “MEE-nay) is an experienced RS Tour Guide, and Togay, (pronounced TOE-guy”) another experienced guide, but training as a new guide with the Rick Steves organization. Since his name was so similar, Togay encouraged us to just call him “TourGuide.” We really loved both of our guides. We also liked the RS “Buddy System”: we each had a chosen or assigned “Buddy,” — NOT someone we’re traveling with — so back on the bus, no one had to count. They would just ask if we could all see our “buddies” on the bus. With that, we quickly knew if all were accounted for, and if not, we knew who was missing. Our buddies were Jo and David, a couple from Charleston, SC.
What we saw in Istanbul:
Mosques: If you’ve never visited a mosque, you really must. From small country mosques to the huge mega-mosques in Istanbul, they are often stunningly beautiful. Muslims allow no images in their mosques, no icons, no pictures of God, no images of Muhammed. For Muslims such images are sacrilegious. Instead, they decorate with fascinating geometric and floral patterns, rich colors, and excerpts from the Quran in beautiful Arabic script.
Hagia Sophia: (‘Ayasofya’ in Turkish) was built in the 6th Century under Justinian to replace the destroyed Hagia Sophia built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century. For 1,000 years it was the grandest domed structure on Earth.
When the Ottomans under Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453, Hagia Sophia became a stunning mosque and no longer an Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It remained a mosque until 1931, when the new Republic of Turkey, under President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, turned Hagia Sophia into a museum, in keeping with the new nation’s constitutional commitment to a secular state. That changed only recently (2020) as the current President, Recip Tayyip Erdogan, led in the controversial decision to make it a working mosque once again. While still open to all with some Byzantine icons preserved, many in the world community have criticized the decision, and UNESCO may reconsider its designation as a “World Heritage Site.” Still, the Hagia Sophia today blends both Byzantine and Islamic architectural styles and preserves some stunning mosaics.
The Blue Mosque: officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque: Entrance was limited and much of the Mosque unavailable due to reconstruction, but we did visit briefly one evening. Commissioned by Ahmed I and completed in in 1616, the Blue Mosque was built on the site of the Byzantine Imperial Palace, so it faces the basilica of Hagia Sophia.
Süleymaniye Camii: The Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, commissioned by Suleiman and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan, is an Ottoman imperial mosque, one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. Sitting on Istanbul’s Third Hill, it provides a grand view over the city and the Golden Horn. The large, beautiful grounds also contain two separate, octagonal mausoleums, one for Suleiman himself and one for his fascinating wife, Roxelana. This was the largest mosque in a city of mosques until surpassed recently, in 2019, by the new Camlica Mosque in Taksim Square at the top of Istiklal Street.
Modern Istanbul: We crossed the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn to visit a newer section of town, walking up Istiklal Street to Taksim Square. On this busy street where pedestrians share the road with cars, trucks and the distinctive Red Trolley, there are Art Nouveau facades, churches, mosques, a tower, trendy boutiques, and restaurants. Taksim Square is huge, featuring the Camlica Mosque, and a great monument to the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
A Fun Encounter: At the top of Istiklal Street, Sara took a photo just as four young men jumped off the moving trolley. One, a bit less successful than the others, fell to the road, unhurt but embarrassed. As his buddies laughed and teased him, Sara approached, offering to share her photo of the young man landing on the road. We visited a bit, learning that these were locals who had come here specifically to enjoy an Islak Burger. Sara and I had never heard of this, but the boys said it was a great local specialty, a kind of “wet” burger. And so, we had to try the Islak burger, sold right on the street just off the Square. It was a small, seasoned burger, “wet” because served in a steamed bun, with a ketchup-like sauce. Perhaps this is Istanbul’s answer to White Castle, inexpensive and unique. OK if you like very inexpensive fast food on the street.
Shopping in Istanbul: In Istanbul the great markets are called Bazaars, and they house hundreds of vendors. Direct competitors often face each other across the passageway. It’s definitely NOT your typical, American shopping mall. We visited three of the main bazaars in the old section of Istanbul.
- The Arasta Bazaar in Sultanahmet, quite close to our hotel. This smaller bazaar features jewelry, pottery, spice, and Turkish rugs. We would walk through it on the way to or from the Blue Mosque.
- The Egyptian Spice Market: So many spice merchants all in one covered marketplace. So fragrant, and with countless varieties to please every palate.
- The Grand Bazaar: Going back to Byzantine times, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is huge, a series of covered streets and corridors housing up to 4,000 shops. Buy what you will: from fine silky shawls and scarves to antiques, leather goods, and ceramics; from famous Turkish carpets, to spices, beautiful handicrafts to gold and jewelry.
Topkapı Palace: Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror began construction on his palace in 1459, just six years after the conquest of Constantinople. For 400 years until 1856, Topkapi was the center of government for the Ottoman Empire and the primary residence for the Ottoman sultans. It was given the name Topkapı, meaning Cannon Gate, in the 19th century. Today it’s a large compound with four courtyards and numerous buildings that include mosques, the sultan’s quarters, the Harem, a courtyard of the Eunuchs, as well as an audience chamber, and the apartments of the Queen Mother, who apparently had much to say about who lived in the Harem and even who would profit from the Sultan’s attentions. Today, Topkapi is open to the public, a museum with stunning Ottoman architecture and a priceless collection of artifacts reflecting one of the great empires of all time. Topkapi is a “must see” for anyone visiting Istanbul.
Istanbul vs. Constantinople: During the Byzantine era, Constantinople was the name of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. When Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinople, it became the center of the Ottoman Empire. As the city grew beyond the bounds of old Constantinople, the name Istanbul was used interchangeably with the older name. Today’s Istanbul is much larger than the older Constantinople. In 1930, Istanbul became the official name of the city.
Cruising the Bosphorus: Istanbul sits on both sides of the Bosphorus Strait, an incredibly important waterway on the boundary between Asia and Europe. It’s the only sea route from the Black Sea south to the Sea of Marmara and thence to the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean. For international navigation, it’s also a particularly narrow and difficult strait to navigate. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in the current war between Russia and the Ukraine. Turkey controls access.
On our two-hour Bosphorus cruise, we headed north along the western shore where we could see grand palaces, a fortress, and busy neighborhoods, all part of the greater Istanbul area. Crossing to the east, we headed down the Asian side of the Bosphorus, admiring some beautiful vacation homes built for the wealthy; now most are empty. It was a lovely cruise on a beautiful, sunny day. We ended our cruise on the eastern side, the Asian part of Istanbul, where we met our bus for the long ride to Ankara.
