As Seen On TV

Two drifters, off to see the world

Back in November Pal and I met up at JFK to board a Turkish Airways flight to İstanbul.  It was her first time crossing the Atlantic, and the first visit to Türkiye for both of us.

(Part of the reason this wasn't posted sooner is because I've been trying to post pictures as a rotating gallery on here.  I sort of figured out how to do it, but there were issues with the image sizes and it was a whole thing.  As you can see, I've stuck with the tried and true format for now.) 

I'd wanted to go to İstanbul since at least 2011, if not earlier.  I think one of the particular features that led me to add it to my wish list was the Norse runes in Ayasofya/Hagia Sophia (at left), as well as the general historic character of the city.  You know me: I'm happy to go look at old stuff and not engage as much with contemporary culture.  While Pal is also interested in history, she, being younger than me, is more engaged with modern life.  That led us to some different destinations than I would have chosen on my own, ones that I really enjoyed seeing.

This was the first trip I'd taken to an entirely new country since about 2010.  Every other foreign country in the past decade-plus has been a repeat visit.  That was the source of some trepidation beforehand.  I wasn't much worried about my lack of Turkish language skills; I knew some polite phrases, and figured in tourist destinations people would speak enough English that I'd be okay.  The world political situation being what it is, we discussed whether or not we should actually travel to the area; the State Department's advisory was (and still is) at Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution.  (For reference, the other levels on their scale are 1: Exercise Normal Precautions; 3: Reconsider Travel; and 4: Do Not Travel.  Currently Denmark is at Level 2 and Jamaica is at Level 3.)  To be on the safe side we registered online with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, and, as the State Department advises, tried to exercise situational awareness and avoid crowds.  We actually arrived on a national holiday commemorating Atatürk, so saw the town festooned with many a flag, banner, and bunting; on top of that, the hundredth anniversary of the republic had been at the end of October, so there was still much decoration up for that.  The holiday didn't affect our arrival at all, at least as far as I could tell.

(Though I think about the Armenian Genocide a normal amount and rarely have cause to discuss it, part of me was certain that I'd get to Türkiye and be unable to stop myself from talking about it, which I feel would not have gone over well.  Türkiye still doesn't acknowledge that the event was a genocide.)

Some things I read online and others that Pal tipped me off to made me a bit anxious.  One was that tap water from the city's pipes is not potable--and not even just unsafe for drinking, but for brushing one's teeth or washing fruit with.  The idea of having to put so much effort into something I usually do without much thought was almost tiring, even before we left.  Also tiring was the idea of the 11-hour flight from New York, particularly since I'd just been to Slovakia in September and therefore hadn't had time to forget the rigors of that journey.  On top of that, Turkish Airlines' website lists different restrictions for carryons on different pages of its site, which caused me some confusion and angst.  They do, however, have a generous checked baggage policy, even for economy.  I also really liked the amenity kits we got on the way over; the fabric was a colorful Türkiye-themed print, and while I can't wear the little slippers or socks in there, I've put the included eye mask to good use.

(I promise I didn't compare Türkiye to Slovakia the whole time.  If anything, I more often compared it in my mind to Spain.  It's the Islamic arches and tiles among palm trees.)

(BUT I was intrigued to learn that the Turkish word for sour cherry is vişne, not unlike the Slovak višňa.  What is their common root??  Something Proto-Indo-European, no doubt.

Sour cherry juice was one of the options on the flights and not only did I have that with my meals, but I also bought a carton of cherry juice at the mini-mart we frequented and enjoyed that at the hotel for several days.)

Before this trip I did the usual looking up of sites to visit, but when it came to modern Turkish culture I'd gotten most of my information from Turkish media.  I've seen a couple of dizi (TV series)--all of "Maral: En Güzel Hikayem," "Yüksek Sosyete," and "The Protector" and "50m²," the latter two both on Netflix, and some of "İçerde" and "Sen Çal Kapimi"--and movies, like "Paper Lives," "Delibal," "Miracle in Cell No. 7," and the Turkish Top Gun.  (Did you know there was a Turkish version of "The O.C."?  It truly was an iconic show.)  (Also, given the aforementioned holidays, we saw many advertisements for a movie or possibly miniseries about Atatürk, starring an actor we enjoy, as well as a Netflix movie starring one of the country's biggest stars.)  Upon reflection it turns out I've seen more Turkish media than I thought.  Anyway, it was where I learned a few phrases and got a basic feel for the city, where most of the dizi are set.  Of course TV could not completely prepare me for everything we saw and did, but if it could, there would be no point in traveling.

That I'd learned so much from watching media seemed somewhat lowbrow to me at first.  The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that that was silly at best.  There's a lot of ambient knowledge around about places like Italy, and some of that comes from TV and films, whether they're factual or fictional.  Why should it make a difference how you're first introduced to something if it leads you to seek more knowledge and a greater understanding of it?

in the harem at Topkapı Palace

Pal, who's watched even more dizi than me, did a lot of research to find filming locations.  Some of them were obvious, like Sultanahmet Square, while others were further afield.  One of my favorites was a café that was featured in "İçerde."  It's a small place, apparently popular with university students, as it's in the area of Kadir Has University; the menu is limited to a few dishes each day, and the food is inexpensive, plentiful, and extremely tasty.  We had a chicken stew served with pilav, and while the chicken was good, I don't know if I've ever had rice as delicious as that pilav.  Plus, there were a few photos of the scenes that were filmed in the restaurant, and it was exciting to realize that we were sitting in nearly the exact same spot as some of our favorites.

(I've thought often about the İskender kebap I had for dinner one night.  A CNN Travel article describes the dish thusly: "Thin slices of doner meat are reverently laid over pieces of plump pide bread, smothered in freshly made tomato sauce, baptized with a dash of sizzling melted butter and served with a portion of tangy yoghurt, grilled tomato and green peppers.")

Things we saw that I recognized from the shows (apart from sites/locations):

• çaycılar delivering hot tea
      (I've seen çaycı (singular) variously translated as tea server, waiter, or porter.  If you use my foolproof method of consulting Google Images to literally see what words mean, though, you'll notice that a çaycı, besides being a person, also seems to be a teapot.)
  
• men counting on prayer beads
• toplayıcılar (collectors) hauling giant bins for collecting recyclable waste
• young women who looked vaguely familiar
• cats and dogs roaming free
• simit, a common and inexpensive snack sold from carts
  

Things the shows neglect to depict:

• traffic: cars at a standstill on city streets, with pedestrians weaving through them to cross; and a total disregard for things like turn signals and lane markings that somehow does not lead to mass carnage
  
• the hills...  It's not like I didn't see any pictures of the city before I left, but I severely underestimated the hills.  Some of them are STEEP.  Even though there are public transportation options to help avoid having to trudge under one's own power, there are times when the hills simply must be ascended.
  
• trams at rush hour, which apparently starts at around 3:30 PM
  
• the general mass of humanity that fills a metropolis
  
• the call to prayer from several mosques overlapping 

One evening I was sitting on the roof terrace of the hotel when the evening adhan began.  I heard it from Sultanahmet, the closest mosque, and Ayasofya, as well as at least one other mosque nearby.  In the short space of time that we were visiting I got so used to hearing the call to prayer multiple times a day that I expected to hear it when I got home, and assumed that noises I heard in the distance were the adhan.

It should have come as little surprise that Türkiye is full of mosques, and yet I was still amazed at how many there were in the city.  They range from magnificent grand edifices surrounded by towering minarets to humble neighborhood temples whose minarets barely rise higher than the buildings around them, though the former are more visible. 

Despite the number of opportunities, we only visited three mosques: Süleymaniye (pictured here), Sultanahmet, and Ayasofya, in that order.  Just as some cathedrals enforce modest dress codes for their visitors, the mosques require modesty of dress and head coverings for women.  The modesty did not seem to be a problem for anyone as it was, as previously noted, November, and not particularly balmy; I can imagine summer visitors having to be asked to cover up.  In terms of head coverings, there are plenty of vendors around Sultanahmet Square selling scarves, for those who want a souvenir with immediate practical use.  The mosques and the Relic Room at Topkapı Palace will also loan visitors scarves, if necessary.  Pal and I both brought scarves with us, just in case we needed them before we were able to purchase some.  This worked out well.  I enjoy putting things on my head (and yet am somehow not a hat person), so I appreciated being in a place where it was socially acceptable and not unusual to do so.  In addition to the modest dress, worshipers and tourists alike must also remove their shoes before entering the mosques.  You can carry them with you if you have a bag big enough, or stow them in cubbies near the entrance.

All three of the mosques that we visited are very large, to say the least, and very beautiful, yet Ayasofya is the most popular with tourists; it's the only one we had to wait in line to enter, and the only one with any kind of security screening.  We managed not to have to wait very long, though.  Ayasofya seems the most well-known of the city's mosques, and one of the best-known of the world.  It, like many in İstanbul, was originally built as a church and was converted to a mosque during Ottoman rule; in fact, the massive Hagia Irene on Topkapı Palace's grounds is the only Byzantine church not to have been converted, though it was used as an arsenal. 

I found this article a cut above the usual encyclopedic information, as it also discusses the decision to convert Ayasofya from a museum to an active mosque again.  Since our visit it's changed further still; now visitors can only access the second story mezzanine and not the mosque floor, whereas for us it was the opposite (meaning I didn't get to see the runic inscription).  It now costs 25 euros for visitors to enter, too.

I'm used to reading reviews of Christian places of worship that say things like "I'm not Christian/religious, but [place of worship in question] is really beautiful/inspiring/whatever."  To be honest, I've often rolled my eyes at this.  But my uppance has come, because I experienced the same reaction in the three mosques.  I'm not Muslim, but seeing the detail and enormity in the architecture and decoration--the very small and very large manifestations of believers' devotion--was awe-inspiring.

Recommendations:

Hotel Sarı Konak: A relative actually recommended this hotel and because of that I thought we might not be to afford it.  But we could!  True, the Sultanahmet area does seem to cater to tourists, so you have to run the gauntlet of restaurant hosts and shopkeepers trying to entice you into their places whenever you step out of the hotel, but despite that, it was a fairly quiet neighborhood (in November; your mileage may vary in peaker seasons).  The breakfast was abundant and tasty, and the views from the rooftop terrace, including of Sultanahmet, at left, were better than I ever could have imagined. 

Albura Kathisma: We ate here twice and the ball mahmudiye was so delicious that Pal ordered it both times (I got köfte the second time and it was very good, too, but I need to find a recipe for ball mahmudiye).  Ball mahmudiye is an Ottoman dish of chicken with apricots and almonds over rice, all drizzled with a honey glaze.  The restaurant touts itself as a "hassle-free zone," meaning that the hosts don't harangue passers-by to get them to come in; once you've decided to join them, you're in the company of attentive waitstaff and Madams Sylvester and Gold, as well as other cats.

Dubb Ethnic Restaurant: We also ate here twice!  Several restaurants we went to offer a dish that's cooked over a fire in a tall clay pot with a lid; at some places, the waiters make a show of the cooking by raining what I assume are coals over the pot while encouraging diners to clap along.  The show at Dubb Ethnic Restaurant was by far the most impressive, as you can see if the video below works.

I think both restaurants asked us to review them online, on places like Yelp and TripAdvisor.  While I look at the latter quite often, I don't have accounts on either site; so here I am, reviewing them on my blog.

Welcome Pickups: While the Internet assured me that it would be manageable to get a bus from the airport to somewhere near our hotel, I was not keen on trying navigate a new big city after a long overnight flight.  Instead, we opted to book a driver with Welcome Pickups.  He contacted us over WhatsApp, and when we landed he sent us photos of where he was waiting and of himself.  I greatly appreciated having someone take us directly to our hotel and not having to lug my suitcase over uneven streets.

eSIMs: Speaking of WhatsApp, after my last two trips I am fully converted to using eSIMs for international travel.  No more paying the phone company a daily fee for international roaming!  The eSIM I bought to use in Slovakia included a phone number, while the one I got for Türkiye was just data.  But that allowed me to use WhatsApp to call home, and to look up directions and times while we were on the go.

the hop on-hop off bus: Recommended if only for the cleverness of the company's name, Bus for Us, being a play on Bosphorus.  It's the only hop on-hop off I've ridden that drives between two continents, and allowed me to snap a photo of the sign that says "Welcome to Europe."

Piyerloti/Eyüpsultan: When we were first thinking of going to İstanbul I of course searched the Internet for historic cemeteries to visit.  One of them, unfortunately, had been the site of a murder and a few robberies; though those were years ago, it did give me pause.  We decided that if we didn't linger in the cemetery, and went during the daytime, it would probably be safe enough, and it was.  Eyüpsultan Cemetery covers one of the city's steep hills.  Luckily, a cable car makes a short ascent to the top of Pierre Loti Hill.

There seems to be no shortage of places in the city where you can get a wonderful view, and the plaza there showcases the Golden Horn all the way to the Bosphorus.  Get a table at one of the cafés and have a tea before you walk down the hill through the cemetery, admiring the Ottoman-style gravestones.

public transportation: Get yourself an Istanbulkart and get riding.  The reloadable cards are easy to buy at stations, from machines with several foreign language options.  Most rides we took cost 15 lira, or about half an American dollar, and you can add money to your card whenever you need.  I occasionally had difficulties getting the tram station entrance gate to read my card, but I think that was user error.  We mainly took the tram, but also the metro, two funicular lines, two cable cars, and the ferry, with fares on all of those various methods of transportation paid by Istanbulkart.

so much history they just leave it lying around (outside the archaeology museum, at least)

on the ferry on a bright, beautiful day

Sultanahmet/the Blue Mosque at sunset

On top of all of the things we saw and did and ate, I got to wake up in a room whose window opened onto cool air, seagulls calling, and the smell of salt water.  That small thing always fills me with contentment and gratitude. 

 

Footnote: I thought of "Moon River," probably because of the line quoted above, while on the trip, and listened to it several times there.  Here are three versions I enjoy.
one, two, three