Today is the first day of the 4-day holiday, Kurban Bayramı (Feast of Sacrifice), and I had to schedule around it and visited some less-popular sites in Istanbul. Even away from Sultanahmet, the culture shock continued.
Itinerary of the day: Valens Aqueduct → Suleymaniye Mosque → Rustem Pasha Mosque → Eminönü → Istanbul Archaeological Museums → Istiklal Caddesi → Sekiz Istanbul
Warning: This post contains a photo of animal butchering, please view at your own discretion
First morning in Turkey, I woke up to the sound of call to prayer. Most azan are broadcasted through speakers installed on the tall minarets, and I found the sounds to be quite serene and didn't affect my sleep at all.
Turkey is a secular country but the majority of the population is Muslim. Azan takes place six times a day, varying slightly each day according to sunrise times. As a visitor, we have to mindful of this, as tourists are not allowed to enter a mosque during prayer times. Here's an useful website to plan mosque visits accordingly.
Elite Kessaria served the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. The dining area was small, but the selection of food was so wide I did not have enough appetite to try everything! The ladies in the kitchen were so nice, they gave me a bunch of free teabags just because I asked. Tap water was not potable in Turkey, so most hotels provide water refills for free, which was tremendously helpful.
They did provide cereal for the picky eaters, but who wants cereal when I could have Turkish breakfast! Fresh juice, tea, several vegetable cold starters, cold cut meats, different preparations of eggs, fruits and bread. The Turks really know how to cook their eggplants! Top it off with honey on thick yogurt...we didn't need lunch after such a satisfying breakfast!
All the famous sites like Hagia Sophia and Topkapi palace were closed until 1pm on the first day of Bayram. The plan was to take the tram to Aksaray tram station, and walk for about 3km to the ferry terminal "Eminönü", and stop by some points of interest on the way.
The general area we would be visiting today is called "Fatih", and I felt like it's the "old downtown" of Istanbul. It has the Istanbul University and some very dated apartments. We had to walk through a drug dealer/prostitute area, but it seemed ok during the day. There were no other tourists in sight and the locals were a bit surprised to see us there, I felt much more refreshed compared to the suffocating tourist trap that was Sultanahmet.
The first unexpected finding of the day was a somewhat neglected ruins called Church of St. Polyeuktos. It was built in Emperor Justinian's time as with Hagia Sophia. Much of its construction materials were taken during the Latin Invasion and to build San Marco's Basilica in Venice. Having already seen that basilica in Venice, it was neat to trace back to part of its source. It was like following the path of history.
Turkey is so full of ancient ruins that there just isn't unlimited funds to maintain all of them. A "mediocre" ruins like this usually become a local hangout.
Another ten minutes walk and we reached Valens Aqueduct. Even after Portugal and Italy I had yet to properly visit a Roman aqueduct, so this one was my first! It's far from the biggest, but very well preserved.
People had done it before, so I wanted to try climbing this aqueduct (no I didn't mean how it was done in Assassin's Creed, but by real life people!)
We gave up climbing the aqueduct, and end up walking into a butchering scene for Kurban Bayramı. This holiday traditionally consisted of sacrificing animals and giving to the poor, ensuring that each family has some meat. It was kind of nice surprise, while gory as it was, to observe the local customs in their authenticity.
A few cops were overlooking the work, and two of them started giggling at my mom and I. At first I thought they were being friendly, but then I realized they were pointing to the bull's testicles. They wanted us to be embarrassed at the sight for their enjoyment!
I have cut open a human penis (cadaver dissection) before, I think I can look at bull testicles without flinching an eyebrow. I was starting to believe what I read about female traveling safety and the gender inequality in this part of the world.
Next I wanted to visit Vefa Bozacisi, the oldest shop that sells Turkey's national drink "Boza". The drink is made of fermented wheat and served with chick peas, and a favourite of Kemal Atatürk. This shop was featured in several travel shows, but they all failed to inform about how sketchy the neighbourhood was.
While walking in this sketchy neighbourhood, we ran into another butcher scene, this time of a much smaller calf and done on roadside. Kids were staring at us, and mountains of garbage were piling by the roadside.
In a situation like this, we need to get out as soon as possible. After a grueling climb, we escaped to our next stop, the Suleymaniye Mosque.
Typical of any big cities, one block can make such a big difference. Suleymaniye Mosque is Istanbul's biggest mosque, built during Suleiman I, or more famously known as Suleiman the Magnificent.
This was our first mosque of the trip, so were were very impressed by the interior architecture. After a few more mosques we learned that it was pretty standard in Istanbul, and I wouldn't particularly recommend coming here just to see the mosque itself.
A more unique part of this mosque was the mausoleums and tombs of Suleiman I, his wife Roxelana (look her up if you don't know of her yet, she was an interesting character), Suleiman II and several other Sultans.
We were not allowed to enter mausoleums, so we could only glimpse through the glass to see these green coffins. A bit disappointing, as I couldn't see which coffin belonged to whom.
The next mosque we visited was the Rustem Pasha Mosque. Rustem Pasha was a Grand Vizier (Ottoman equivalent of a prime minister) so his mosque was not as grandeur as a Sultan's. Its entrance was indeed, very unassuming.
After a series of winding stairs, the mosque, standing on top of a hill, opened up to a airy courtyard. This mosque is most well-known for its extravagant use of Iznik tiles.
Regarding the dress code of visiting mosques, both men and women must cover elbows and knees. Wrists and ankles covered to be safe, as they've tightened up the rules recently. Shoes were to be taken off and placed at the storage shelves provided. Every mosque lent headscarves at the entrance which could also be used to cover up parts of the body if necessary. It would be more sanitary and fashionable to bring your own.
Some examples of the exquisite blue and white tiles used.
Not far away from Rustem Pasha Mosque was the busy and bustling ferry hub of Istanbul, Eminönü, and another mosque called New (Yeni) Mosque. I had often mistaken this mosque for the Blue Mosque because of the dome colour.
Small booths at this plaza sold pigeon food, so no wonder pigeons loved it here. There was a very high chance of being hit by pigeon droppings walking through.
The most touristic thing to do at Eminönü was to get balık-ekmek (fish sandwich), which are sold by countless rocking boat on the dock and small shops under the Galata Bridge. Traditionally, they used fish captured by the fishermen on the bridge, but I had doubts about where the fish come from nowadays.
Şalgam was the drink of choice to go with this sandwich. Suyu means juice in Turkish, and Şalgam is turnip and red carrot juice with salt, spices, and pickles. It really did taste as weird as its ingredients sounded. It matched well with the fish sandwich but I couldn't imagine drinking it with anything else. We ended up adding the pickles in the drink to our sandwich to cut the fish smell a little bit.
I was not impressed with the fish sandwich, as there were a lot of little bones and the not so fresh fish smell was quite strong. Each table was equipped with lemon juice and salt to help cover up that strong fish taste. Not bad for a cheap eat, but I there were far better food to be had in Turkey.
The sight was interesting and there were many locals dining here, but I would suggest take out and just find a quiet spot to enjoy the sandwich. By sitting down, we were constantly pestered by vendors that sold napkins. After being asked too many times, we put our own napkin on the table, but it didn't stop them. One of the vendors was a young boy. He walked up to us and tried selling the napkin.
"No, thank you" I said and waved my hand.
"Yes"
"No"
"Yesssss"
After a few more back and forth of noes and yeses, we ignored him. He then walked up closely to my dad's face and started what the boy at the Blue Mosque did yesterday - made weird sounds, clicked his tongue, etc. He was so close that I was sure there were some spit involved. It was an uncomfortable few minutes until he finally got bored and moved on.
What I hate the most about the businesses in Turkey was not their dishonesty or their haggling, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. They always wanted to persuade us and got pissed when they realize I am not going to spend any money. They shouted at me for not responding to them on the street. Imagine having to say "no" repeatedly throughout the day! It was annoying.
After lunch, my plan is to take the tram back to the historical area and see if we could get inside Hagia Sophia. I suspected that since it was only open for half a day, we had very little chance.
At the tram, I was targeted by what Tripadvisor folks call the "Istanbul Romeos", which are Turkish men who wanted hook up with foreign women (and in some cases, specifically Asian women) in hopes of finding a booty call / sugar mama. He was a man in his thirties or forties with oily slicked back hair, button-opened casual suit and shirt, and a pair of shiny leather shoes.
I noticed that he was eyeing me, so I kept on talking to my parents. As soon as I face his general direction, he opened his mouth to attempt to talk to me, which I of course ignored. When another Asian lady with her Turkish companion walked into the station, he started eyeing her as well. The way he looked at her would be best described as a "body scan". He followed us onto the tram, and thankfully the tram was very crowded so he was kept a good distance away.
Whether a female traveler has a male companion or not, it seemed to make little difference to these Romeos.
Istanbul gets so much tourists all year round as a major cruise ship port of call, and it made the tourist industry sloppy. Accommodations and food were pricey, service was subpar, scammers were everywhere and I did not sense the "great hospitality" that everyone raved about Turkey.
We bought the "Istanbul Museum Pass" from a vendor van parked outside Hagia Sophia. We visited three museums included on this card and just about equated the price. It did saved us a lot of time queuing at ticket booth though, so still worth buying.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum had an extensive collection of artefacts from Asia minor and the near East, but the majority of it was under renovation. They didn't bother to relocate the key pieces nor decrease admission price.
I was very disappointed to miss out on the Alexander Sarcophagus and the Hittites-Egypt Peace Treaty, but a few exhibitions still stood out.
Lion mosaic of Ishtar's gate of Babylon.
Column base with double sphinx from a ancient Hittite city, around 8th century BC.
Being in this museum reminded me of another Jay Chou's song and I was just humming it to myself when I look a these artifacts.
I could recognize this guy without even reading the caption. It was a bust of Alexander the Great, or in Turkey's case, Iskander.
Another guy I could recognize from a mile away, a bust of Augustus.
Sappho, the famous Greek poet, and the etymology of the word "Lesbian".
This museum had a lot of potential but the layout looks like it came straight out of the 60's, and was indeed in need of a renovation. Some people even call it "the museum of coffins" because of its extensive collection of tombstones, steles, and sarcophagi.
Not the Alexander Sarcophagus, but just as impressive with its deep, three-dimensional relief.
This mummy caught my eye because of the anatomically placed viscera. I could still see the mesentery! This was not an Egyptian mummy but of a Phoenician king called Tabnit I during late 4th century BC.
Islamic pottery during the Ottoman times definitely had a strong influence from Chinese blue-and-whites and vice-versa. I like the addition of red and teal. While the vessels themselves didn't interest me, I enjoy looking at trading items like these which proved the past interactions between different cultures.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by the ever so popular Hafiz Mustafa, an old-school confectionary shop. We saw many tourists and locals holding their bags, which spoke for how popular they were.
Service was great and we got lots of free samples. I tried my first and probably the last Turkish delight here. Didn't care for the chewy candies much, but I was all over the beautifully crafted baklava. Turkish sweets are usually way too sugary for me, but I fell in love with baklava, and its delicious pistachio and honey glazed pastry!
Famous stores like Hafiz Mustafa might not be the best in what they do, but at least surpass a certain standard. Later in the trip I found an even better, and probably the best baklava place in Istanbul, which I will write about in the last report of this trip!
For dinner I have booked a table at a new and hip restaurant in the new and hip area of Beyoğlu. It is a district on the European side of Istanbul, north of the Golden Horn, where all the new restaurants, bars and night clubs were located. Other than trams, the district had two funiculars to help with the hilly terrain of the area.
The two funicular stations sandwich a street called Istiklal Caddesi, the main fashion street of Istanbul. On one end was Taksim square, where if a protest did happen, would take place at. A large scale protest broke on the Monday right after we left Istanbul, and we missed it by one day.
As previously mentioned, Kurban Bayramı is the local's shopping holiday, so Istiklal Caddesi was INSANELY CROWDED. Elbow-to-elbow horrible!
Istiklal street to me looked just like any other shopping streets in big cities, but the traditional little red trams add a bit of uniqueness. This tram runs between the two funicular stations and is more of a sightseeing transportation rather than practical one. Locals often just jump and attach on the outside of the car without pay...
Taksim square was full of doner shops, and I was tempted to give up our reservation and just have doner for dinner!
Or maybe one of these "islak hamburger"? These "wet burgers" had been featured on No Reservations before, but I simply had to stick to my original plan and bypass them.
After braving through the swarming crowd, we finally reached Sekiz Istanbul. This restaurant advertised themselves as fine dining and a new spin on traditional Turkish food, and received very good reviews everywhere. In my opinion it was more of international fusion. If I had known that I wouldn't bother with it.
Hummus in olive oil, pita, and strawberry salad were all good. We also ordered a glass of wine from the Cappadocia region, but it was mediocre so I didn't bother to show a photo.
Fish cake that tasted very much like crab cake.
The hünkar beğendi was our favourite dish and indeed 100% Turkish. Also known as Sultan's delight, it is braised lamb over a bed of eggplant purée. We finally dabbled into Turkish cuisine and were very happy with what we found.
There was really nothing innovative or sophisticated about this vermicelli dish...I feel bad for critiquing like this, but it was even too overly salty. I could probably made this at home myself.
We ordered dessert because I really wanted to try Turkish ice cream, but was not happy when there was one tablespoon of it. The cookie crumbles and grill pineapple didn't seem to go with it much.
I felt like this restaurant didn't allow me to appreciate the full scope of Turkish food. Even the best dish, which was the lamb and eggplant, we got far superior versions of it later on in the trip. The final bill also came out to be the most expensive meal we had in Turkey. Overall I wouldn't recommend it. Not that the food was bad, it just wasn't what I was looking for.
Another day has passed and I still didn't like Istanbul, because so far, the unpleasant people outnumber the friendly ones. I couldn't hide the fact that I look like a foreigner and a tourist, so we would always end up being a target. I really don't understand the immense love that Istanbul receives from previous travelers, and dread another day to be spent here.
