Dateline Discovery

Worlds collide as east meets west and past meets present in a uniquely influential city.

Call it Byzantium, Constantinople or Istanbul, this sprawling metropolis has had a significant impact upon the development of the modern world for centuries.

FRIDAY

After arriving at Ataturk Airport in the mid-afternoon, we took the Metro to our hotel two blocks away from the Sirkeci train station, the DoubleTree Istanbul Sirkeci, and waited for our arranged pick-up for the best introduction a city has to offer: a Bosphorus cruise. Bosphorus Tour Istanbul is among the daily companies that runs cruises up and down the waterway separating Europe from Asia, and with a guide pointing out the highlights in English, we were not only to see many of the area’s main attractions from a distance, but also a fantastic sunset over the city.

Once back on land, we headed to Hamdi Restaurant (Kalcin Sokak 11), a famous eatery on the fourth floor near the Galata Bridge. Still owned by the family of the man who established the food cart in the 1960s, the restaurant specializes in kebabs — though a reservation, especially on the weekend, is strongly suggested.

Exhausted from the flight, we called it a night, knowing we’d have to be up early the next morning and that we had a lot packed into this trip.

What To Know
Date of visit: Sept. 28 to Sept. 30, 2018.
Airport location: There are now three airports: Istanbul, Ataturk and Gökçen. The new airport, Istanbul, is 34 miles northwest of city and takes at least an hour by bus until the Metro opens. Ataturk, 10 miles southwest of the city, takes an hour by train and subway; Gökçen, 28 miles east, will take 90 minutes with several connections.
Walkability: 4/10. Istanbul is a massive, sprawling city divided by a strait and an inlet.
English: Don’t assume it will be spoken.
Must-See Attraction: The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are the main tourist spots but cannot be missed for their significance.
Traveler’s tip: The most popular sights (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque) are under renovations and are full of disappointing scaffolding.

SATURDAY

Adept readers of the Two-Day Trek series will know how important it is to get to popular sights when they open, and thus we were up bright and early to head over to Topkapi Palace, just down the street from the hotel. The main residence of the sultan from the 15th through 19th centuries, it became a museum shortly after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. Tickets for the Harem, the royal family’s quarters, are extra, but getting on site early, even on a Saturday, and heading there first meant we could explore it in relative silence.

After a little over two hours, we headed out the main entrance and tucked into the Halı Müzesi, or Carpet Museum, which is hidden away across the alleyway. Inside the three large chambers protected from the humidity and the light is a collection of Anatolian rugs, some of which are more than 700 years old.

Across the main plaza is the Sultan Ahmet Camii, or Blue Mosque, which, like many of Istanbul’s most famous and treasured mosques, is still open for worship. It’s one of Istanbul’s most photogenic buildings and is covered on the inside by more than 21,000 blue iznek tiles, giving the building its name. Lines are long as access is tightly controlled, but even then, we did not have to wait long.

For lunch, we headed outside the mosque to the main street and Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi (Divan Yolu Caddesi 4), a restaurant still frequented by the locals despite the commercialization of the area. Everyone orders meatballs with white bean salad, which arrive seconds later, and they’re filling enough to help power through the rest of the afternoon.

The next stop, 15 minutes away, was an Istanbul staple — the Spice Bazaar, where all the Turkish delight and nuts and dried fruits and, yes, spices are ripe for purchase. Compared to the Grand Bazaar, it’s relatively small, and if you’re on the lookout for something specific, compare the prices with shops outside the market to avoid the markup and save a bit of money.

We didn’t follow that advice, of course, and bought four intriguing spices, then walked just 10 minutes to the Süleymaniye Mosque, which dates to 1550 but was renovated last in 2010. Its use of flying buttresses keeps a bright, airy, open inside that is unequaled in many of the other large mosques around the city. And, across the street and part of the original mosque complex was the Süleymaniye Hamam, a Turkish bath house that is rare in Istanbul in that it accepts both male and female visitors in the same chambers simultaneously — perfect for couples.

Refreshed and relaxed after about an hour, we leisurely strolled down the hill and across the Galata Bridge and the Golden Horn to the Galata Tower, completed in 1348 and for centuries the tallest building in Istanbul. It has a remarkable view, but be warned: It attracts long lines, and we only got lucky because it started to rain as we were waiting, sending a number of people running for cover. We tried to time our arrival so that we could be atop the tower during the call to prayer, as the echoes and reverberations from the numerous mosques in the area are said to be mesmerizing, but we failed.

After a pit stop to change our clothes at the hotel, we looped back to very nearly where we just came, arriving back at the Kabatas Dentur boat terminal in order to catch our ride out to Kiz Kulesi, the Maiden’s Tower. A lighthouse built in the middle of the Bosphorus in the early 1100s, it has recently been renovated to serve as a restaurant. It’s pricey and elegant, and reservations are required well in advance; we witnessed three marriage proposals on the night.

And, on our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Hafiz Mustafa, a bustling popular after-dinner restaurant where I had the chance to show off some of my newfound Turkish language skills. We ordered tea and a few pieces of baklava, and our waiter, impressed by my efforts (if not the actual pronunciation or grammar), humored us with a few different pieces on the house.

SUNDAY

Up early again to explore, this time to the Hagia Sophia, which was the spiritual center of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. A Catholic church upon construction in the sixth century, it became a mosque in 1453 and then a museum in 1935. It’s an awe-inspiring facility on both the outside and inside, but be warned — it has been under construction for more than a decade with restoration works expected to take at least another five years.

Not far away is the entrance to the Basilica Cistern, which was built to serve Topkapi Palace and could hold up to 21 million gallons of water. Forgotten for 500 years, it was rediscovered in 1545 and originally used as a dumping ground for human remains. Now, the massive flood-lit hall, half-open to visitors, provides a unique yet eerie atmosphere.

Five minutes away by tram was another of Istanbul’s famed treasures — the Grand Bazaar, long the heart of the old city. Encompassing 61 streets, most covered and some outdoors, the market has more than 4,000 shops, many of which are hidden behind others. It’s mostly a cash-only market and really the only place remaining in the city where people can barter, and it’s also a great place to grab a cheap and easy lunch.

From the chaos of the market to a bit of tranquility, we caught the metro back across the Golden Horn to the Dolmabahçe Palace, the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire. Access is tightly controlled, with only 3,000 visitors a day, and we took a gamble going on a Sunday afternoon, but we had no problem getting in and saw no indication that anyone was counting.

Our final stop before our departure was to the nearby Galata Mevlevi Museum, located a strenuous walk back up toward the Galata Tower. Here visitors can watch a ceremonial performance of the Mevlevi Order, known more commonly as the Whirling Dervishes. Tickets are available in person the morning of the performance, but they can also be bought online in advance in order to guarantee. Arrive early for front-row seating; we were also advised beforehand to dress respectfully.

With our own whirling tour of the city complete, we took the metro back to our hotel, where we collected our bags and headed back to the airport.

Verdict: Outside of a longtime desire to visit, I didn’t have any idea what to expect in a place that was so different from any other than I had ever seen. It’s a sprawling, massive city, and one where I believe my trip still didn’t even scratch the surface of what it has to offer.

► Want to prepare an itinerary like this? Contact Zac to work together to prepare the right trip for you!

Disclaimers: All products, services and experiences were paid for and arranged by the author and the vendors named herein had no editorial oversight of this piece. All photographs were taken by and remain the property of the author; contact for republication rights.