Itinerary of the day: Toronto (Pearson International Airport) → Istanbul (Ataturk Airport) → Blue Mosque & Hagia Sophia night shoot (exterior)
This time I am traveling with my parents, again, as Turkey is also on my father's bucket list. It would be a pilgrimage for him and I designed an itinerary which also take into consideration of his interests. They would be meeting me in Istanbul, arriving by Emirates Airlines through Dubai.
Not too long before we departed, the Air Malaysia incident happened. The situation in Syria and Iraq worsened, US sent out bombers, and ISIS got uncomfortably close to the Turkish border (we even thought about canceling part of the trip because of this, and more on this in later reports). We were worried that my parent's flight would be affected, but felt more at ease when Emirates adjusted all their flight routes to bypass these countries, and they arrived and returned home safely. Emirates as they described is an exceptional airlines, and they had plenty of fun shopping in Dubai as well!
As for my experience with Turkish Airlines. It was very positive overall!
Turkish airlines conveniently flies direct between Toronto and Istanbul to cater to the large Turkish population. I never knew Toronto has such a significant community of Turks until I met this very nice Turkish lady named Deniz on the bus to the airport. She answered my many questions about Turkey - famous sights, transportation, cuisine, and even made a few stabs at Erdoğan ("he wants to be like Putin" were her exact words). She showed me what I think is the most admirable trait of Turkish culture - family bond, hospitality and passion. She gave me her contact within Turkey and Canada in case I need help, and pretty much treated me like an old friend. She even got three seats for the two of us!
Borussia Dortmund also shot a commercial that focuses on the gourmet aspect of Turkish Airlines. MatsHummelsinasuitwhatsnottolove
Turkey is famous for their pistachio and various nuts.
The second meal adhered closely to what a Turkish breakfast is. Thick yogurt, cheese, cucumber, fruits, Turkish omelette, and bread.
This place was a complete tourist trap...I wished I had data roaming so I could see all the bad reviews before we walked in. The waiter was very friendly starting off, but once he found out that the three of us were sharing plates, he showed complete DISGUST (not exaggerating!) and kind of ignored us for the rest of the meal.
Food was ok as I didn't know any better on the first day, but once I found out how well I could really eat in Turkey, this became worthless in comparison.
Döner kebab is probably the most common street food in Turkey, so the standards are high. This place's kebab was ok, but the fries were cold and the salad was not fresh.
I haven't been to terminal 1 of Toronto Pearson for a while, and was surprised to see how fancy it is now.
The entertainment system on the plane was quite good. They used to provide in-flight wifi for free, but now charges a fee (still impressive!).
Lots of freebies...the toiletry set was probably one of the most practical one I got from an economy class flight.
Football is without a doubt, the most popular sport in Turkey, and I can't help but conclude that Messi is hella popular because I keep seeing his commercial throughout the country!
Messi is the main spokesperson for Turkish Airlines right now and has shot many commercials.
Messi & Kobe - Selfie Shootout
Drogba vs. Messi: #EpicFood
If you think the chef on board thing is a dramatization, IT IS NOT. There was really a chef dressed in full chef's white and toque on the plane, serving the best airplane food I've ever eaten.
In the 10 hour flight I got two meals and can still ask for a pide anytime in between. Totally blown away. On the down side, I'm generally unimpressed by Turkish alcohol so my consumption on this trip was limited.
Turkey is famous for their pistachio and various nuts.
The second meal adhered closely to what a Turkish breakfast is. Thick yogurt, cheese, cucumber, fruits, Turkish omelette, and bread.
There's not much to complain about Turkish Airlines, especially with very reasonable ticket prices (if you buy at the right time, this flight can cost as little as $749!) The only things that need improvement is the electronic booking system (useable but with a few glitches) and general service (no smiles, and kind of slow).
I had such a comfortable flight that I could overlook these shortcomings. Before I realized it, we landed in Ataturk Airport. Deniz bursted into tears as she was "too emotional" to have returned to her home country. What is it about Turkey that play on people's heart strings? I guess I'll find out!
For the volume of passengers that pass through this airport, Ataturk is way, way too small. Despite the crowds and choas, passport check was quick and painless. VISA was required for most foreigners to enter Turkey, and starting 2014, on arrival "sticker VISA" was no longer available and visitors have to apply for E-VISA online.
The only legit website to apply VISA is https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/. If you google "Turkish E-visa", the search results are full of FRAUD. These sites overcharge, claim that they'll provide service, but in reality it's much faster and easier to apply the VISA yourself. Unfortunately my parents have fallen victim of this, and while they did receive a real VISA in the end, it did not feel good to be scammed.
Ataturk Airport is about 30 minutes by taxi to downtown Istanbul and 1hr15mins by public transport. The latter is a lot cheaper and not too overly complicated.
We would be taking a lot of transportation in Istanbul, so it only made sense to buy a "Istanbulkart" which works similarly to most electronic wallet cards in other cities. The metro station at the Ataturk Airport had machines that sell and refill the cards. A very good tutorial can be found here (this website is a wealth of information and definitely recommended for anyone traveling to Turkey!), but we were quickly assisted by a metro staff before I even had a chance to figure it out myself...
Only the yellow machine sells and refills new Istanbulkarts (6TL) and the orange ones sell one-time fare tokens called "Jetons" (3TL). Unless you will really only take one or two trips, Istanbulkarts is way more convenient as it saves a lot of time fiddling with small change. Some points about traveling with Istanbulkart:
- can be used on trams, metro, ferries, and funiculars
- swipe when entering the station, no need to swipe for exiting
- one card can be used by multiple people
- for transfers between different lines, a new fare will be charged, but there is a transfer bonus for the first person (first segment 2.15TL, second segment 1.45)
- does not expire
- we happened to be in Istanbul for the Kurban Bayrami holiday, and all public transportation were half price
The metro and tram system in Istanbul was one of the better system I've used. The naming was very straightforward and navigating was easy. M1=Metro line 1, T1=Tram line 1, for example.
On the metro I ride I had my first encounter with the infamous "horny Turkish men". I've already read up on several horror story online, but I didn't expect it to happen to me that soon! I was wearing a regular T-shirt, and noticed this guy deliberately trying to get closer to look down my shirt. As soon as I put my jacket on, he lost interest and looked away.
At the time I didn't think too much about it other than a brief, unpleasant encounter. Little do I know this would not be an isolated incident...
After taking M1 from Ataturk Airport to Zeytinburnu station, we transferred to T1. T1 is especially useful for tourists, since it runs right through the historical area of "Fatih" and "Sultanahmet", and the new city area of "Beyoğlu". Almost every main tourist attraction can be reached by this tram line.
We are staying in Istanbul for the first and last few days of the trip, and for the first segment I decided to stay in Sultanahmet, where most historical monuments are. While convenient in location, I really did not enjoy staying in this area.
Our hotel was Elite Kasseria Hotel, a new small-scale hotel that just opened this year. It has received few but positive reviews. Only steps away from the Tophane tram station and walking distance to major tourist sites, the location was impeccable.
In the process of finding this hotel, I came to understand how useless address and door numbers are in Turkey, as nothing is in sequence. Before I had a chance to pinpoint the location on a map, a young man who was just sitting randomly by the roadside, called out to us offering help. He was pointing to the right direction, but I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT when he had to follow up with the question "Where are you from? China? Japan? Korea?". The dreaded question pops up non-stop for the next 100 metres we walked to the hotel, along with "Nihao? Konnichiwa? An nyoung ha se yo?"
I already disliked Istanbul.
Traveling in Peru has taught me that people who ask this question before a conversation has even started are 100% looking to make money off you. Besides, I really hate to be pigeon-holed into the "Asians only comes from these three countries" bullshit.
Hotel was great though!
I booked the biggest room so it was roomy, everything was brand-new, and got all the necessities including a small fridge. A small balcony overlooked the tram route and crowded street, but sound-proofing was excellent so noise was never a problem.
By the time we got organized, most historical sites were already closed, but they were just as beautiful at night if not more so than in daylight.
Blue Mosque is the touristic name, its real name is Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Built in 1616 and still in use, it was best appreciated from the outside because it was huge, and the only mosque in Istanbul that had 6 minarets.
Even though we cannot enter the mosque, the courtyard, as seen in the cover photo of this post, was a worthwhile visit. I would even suggest a night visit to this mosque to avoid the crowds. The interior of the mosque, judging from feedbacks of previous travelers, was ok to be missed.
Right across from the Blue Mosque is the famous Hagia Sophia, also very nice at night.
As I set up my tripod and ready to shoot, a young boy walked into my shot, asking for money.
"1 Lira, 1 Lira" he said. I refused and waited for him to leave, but his strategy was to basically wear out my patience. He started dancing, making faces, and even spit in front of us. I screamed at him for a bit, then took my tripod and walked away. He finally gave up and went to bother another tourist.
At this point, my first impression of Istanbul had gone from bad to worse.
For dinner, my original plan was a local's joint called Balkan Lokantasi, but they were closed by 8pm, perhaps because the next day was a holiday. We were really hungry so thought this place Urfalim Lahmacun ve Kebap Salonu looked decent.
This place was a complete tourist trap...I wished I had data roaming so I could see all the bad reviews before we walked in. The waiter was very friendly starting off, but once he found out that the three of us were sharing plates, he showed complete DISGUST (not exaggerating!) and kind of ignored us for the rest of the meal.
Food was ok as I didn't know any better on the first day, but once I found out how well I could really eat in Turkey, this became worthless in comparison.
Döner kebab is probably the most common street food in Turkey, so the standards are high. This place's kebab was ok, but the fries were cold and the salad was not fresh.
Pide is a Turkish boat-shaped flatbread pizza that can also be found everywhere in Turkey, but theirs was leather-like and tasteless.
I tried the ayran, the national drink of yogurt mixed with salt. I didn't like the fact that it was prepackaged, and didn't like the taste either. I won't be ordering this again.
The final bill come close to 60TL, and we found out there was a mysterious 3TL on it which they claim was a service fee! Tipping is not the norm in Turkey and certainly not mandatory! Many people on TA mentioned of this scam, and the waiters would never explain what it was. We left angry, and I kept my anger until I submitted a very negative review on Tripadvisor that same night. I could only hope that more people can see my review and never give business to this horrible restaurant in Istanbul.
We were not quite full yet, so we decided to follow the crowd to Birlik Bufe, a small kebab joint just across the street (Tripadvisor has it marked as "closed", but it was still open for business). A chicken döner cost 3TL, and a side of orange juice cost 1TL. The service was efficient and friendly too! What a world of difference compared to the previous disgrace of a restaurant! This little stand was so busy and packed with locals, I was kicking myself for not deciding on eating here earlier.
In terms of simple street food, this was my fondest memory of all of Turkey. Unlike kebab wraps I've seen in Canada, fresh fries are added into the wrap for some extra crunch. The vegetable soaked with meat dripping was what made this place stood out, though. We will definitely return for this heavenly döner kebab.
In Jay Chou's first album, he sang about Istanbul being this magical, fairytale like city (please ignore the inaccuracies in this video, the director was an idiot).
This image was quickly busted on my first night in the city. Istanbul was a metropolis, bustling, busy and filled with all walks of life that sometimes weren't all that pleasant.
The architecture was beautiful, but the dishonest people kind of ruined it. I went to bed thinking if I can stand being in this city for another three days.
