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giovedì 16 agosto 2018

Istanbul: where east and west merge and mix together with perfection

During a flight to Indonesia with the Turkish Airline, I had to stop for more than 11 hours in Istanbul both on the outward and on the way back. This gave me the opportunity to have enough time to go around and take a peek at this wonderful city, a perfect successful cross between Europe and the Middle East, between the Western and Arab world, but with a dash of other dozens of different cultures.

Booking flights I found that the Turkish Airline in case of prolonged waiting between one flight and another (there must be at least 6 hours gap) organizes guided tours of the city.
Upon arrival at the airport you need to exit the arrivals by passing the passport control and then go to the Turkish Airline counter for Hotel reservations which is located on the right, past Starsbruck, immediately after the baggage deposit.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at the airport I took it a bit 'too comfortable and I did not have time to join the last tour of the day. You have to be at the counter to book at least half an hour before and however it varies depending on the availability of seats. I was told that in addition to being too late, there were still no more seats available.
At this point, since I'm not particularly fond of organized tours anyway, I decided to leave my backpack (54 Liras for about 6 hours, but I think it's the full-day rate, you pay after you pick-up the luggages), changed € 20.00 in Turkish Lira and asked for a map and some tips at the information office.

At the information office they told me that it is not advisable to exchange money at the airport because the commissions are too high and only change a few Euros just to buy the metro ticket. They also advised me to change the money at the Garanti counter.
The official exchange rate for € 20.00 was 125.55 Lire and at the counter got 120.25 Liras, as they kept the difference between the commission and taxes.


From the airport you can reach the city both by a bus that arrives directly in the new area of the city center and that directly connects, without intermediate stops, the Atatuk airport with Taksim square, or by metro.
Since I preferred to take a walk through the alleys of the old city I opted for the metro and with a change of line I arrived in just less than an hour at the Sultanhamet stop on the blue line.


To access the metro and any city bus you can buy a rechargeable card that costs 6 Liras and is called Istanbulkarte. On this card you can then load the number of trips you intend to make.
As for the Metro, every time you change the line to the turnstiles unload a trip so to go to Sultanhamet and return must consider a total of 4 trips.
The metro travels exclusively on the surface (it's actually more a modern tram than an undreground train) and this gives the chance to start taking a quick look at the city that is always alive at any time of day or night.

From the metro I realized how in this city dozens of different cultures are melted together and live in harmony (at least apparently).
People are very kind and if a seat is available they do not jump right away as it happens in Italy, but they ask the person next if he wants to seat.

Most women dress up in the western way, some nurture the veil and a few burkas from which only the eyes can be seen (which often have a perfect make-up).

If you are too shy to ask passers-by about the place you want to go there is no problems, just open a map and someone will stop immediately to ask where you want to go and give you directions (without expecting anything in return).



 Getting lost in the narrow alleys of the historic center is amazing. Lots of typical restaurants, one more nice thank the other one, souvenir shops, but also art studios, pastry shops displaying phenomenal desserts and tea and spice shops that are hard to resist for someone like me.

Shopkeepers will try to lure you into their shop, but without insisting too much. It can be an opportunity to have a chat with the locals and maybe learn something new or get some advice on where to go.

Some streets are really characteristic, houses made of wood and colored with bright colors and one different from the other.

Among the thousand things worth visiting when going to Istanbul are the Hagia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque, facing each other and separated by a beautiful and very well kept garden with a beautiful fountain in the center.

In the Hagia Sophia museum one can see how the Middle East and the West have become perfectly integrated.

It is in fact a Roman basilica, later transformed into a mosque, but where incredibly religious paintings and mosaics have not been covered by a coat of paint. On the contrary, the mosaics and the Catholic frescoes are flanked and perfectly integrated with the Muslim religious writings.

The air that reigns within this former temple is so relaxed that even a group of cats decided to make it their home.

The admission ticket costs 40 liras and if you want with another 20 liras you can take the audio guide.


With a pleasant walk in a beautiful colored garden, passing next to various kiosks selling corncobs and chestnuts, but also typical sweets, you get to the blue mosque.Unfortunately when I arrived it was too late and it was no longer possible to visit it, but also from outside it is worth taking a peek.


Before returning to the airport, I decided to taste the typical local cuisine in one of the many restaurants in the area.I know that usually the real cuisine does not taste in the tourist areas, but the time was short and I decided to trust it anyway.

I chose The Kybele restaurant (www.kybelehotel.com), where the owner explained me that a small scene of Carlo Verdone's movie "My Best Enemy" was shot.

The place is very special, in addition to the classic colored tables on the street, the inside is full of antiques and trinkets and going upstairs there is a terrace / garden.

I chose the latter, ordered a good glass of local wine a mix of cold vegetarian mixed appetizers that were served with the classic Arabic bread and then the "Testi" a typical dish that is cooked in small clay jars on the embers and then they break at the moment to pour the contents into a plate. Inside there is meat (you can choose between lamb, chicken and beef) and mixed vegetables.


I have to say that it was all very good, extremely friendly staff, spotless bathroom and nice and quiet environment. It is also possible to smoke hookah.





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