Boutique Saint Sophia Hotel Istanbul, İstanbul, Turkey
Not surprisingly, we slept in a little later than usual! Breakfast was accompanied by live harp music — very pleasant. Platters of cheeses and salad vegetables with a basket full of bread were provided on each table, and then we could supplement these with a range of foods, including a hot cheesy pastry dish that I particularly liked.
We set off some time after 11 to explore the European side of Istanbul. (I hadn’t realised before that there is a European and an Asian side to the city.) We wandered down the road from the hotel, past shops selling carpets and rugs, as well as one selling ice cream. Two Turkish men with great long ladels and rods with loops on the end (which could hold on to a cone) were scooping ice cream into cones and then trying to hand them to the passers by, or sneak them into people’s pockets. They would then expertly whisk them away, sometimes transferring the ice cream into another cone. They were like magicians, even playing tricks on those who succumbed to their clever marketing strategy! I wish I’d thought to get out my camera and video the act I witnessed, but alas thought of it too late.
We continued on our way, shortly arriving at the huge under cover market. A website describes the Grand Bazaar as a place where “lamps hang from the ceiling of the stall, glowing like a constellation. Different shapes, varied sizes, a range of colours. Each on their own is a work of art – together they become a gallery of light.
“Such is the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. At the centre of the old city, undercover and along ancient alleyways, it was once the heart of the city’s trade. In fact, it was at the heart of much of the world’s economy for decades – the bridge between Europe and Asia culturally and commercially. These days it’s more about tourism than trade…”
“There are more than three thousands shops in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Over the centuries, it has grown in size and evolved with the changes of society. The first form of the market was built in the fifteenth century and was originally used for textiles. It has been the centre for books, jewellery, furniture, food – even slaves. Now it is a mixture of everything… except the slaves, of course.
”
“It’s sometimes claimed that the bazaar is the most-visited monument in the history of the world, in terms of total visitors. Every day there are between 250,000 and 400,000 people who walk under one of the small stone arches into the labyrinth complex. The majority are tourists – a minority are there to actually buy something.”
Our senses were almost overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells of the bazaar. Near the beginning of our trek through some of the corridors, we were approached by vendors wanting to make us a suit or sell us a carpet. As we ventured further in, there were all manner of items for sale — colourful lanterns, bags and cases, cushions, fabrics, gold, clothing and other items, — too many to mention! We wandered through a number of alleys, randomly deciding which direction to take, as they all looked very similar. Eventually, we were out on the street again where there were even more shops. Further down the hill, we wandered into another covered market area — this one featured shop after shop selling Turkish sweets and spices.
We sampled a couple of sweets, but weren’t tempted. Outside, Michael decided he would try one of the ice creams. Sadly, the vendors at this store were not quite the craftsmen we had seen perform earlier on — I videoed their attempt at trickery, but it was not worth the effort! The ice cream itself had a bubble gum consistency — interesting, and tasty enough.
The subway going under the busy road was surprisingly chock-a-block with people wandering through or buying goods from the stalls that lined each side. It was as if no space could be left empty if there were room enough to squeeze a small store. We then walked across a bridge, the underneath of which was filled with restaurants...and, of course, there were spruikers in front of each one, trying to befriend every passerby in the hope to entice him or her to come in and order a meal.
Once on the other side (still part of the European side of Istanbul), we had to go under another subway to cross the road. I was quite shocked to see one store selling guns — I wondered then how many citizens of this city are wandering around armed with guns.
Some steep streets led us up to the Galata Tower, recommended by the man at our hotel. According to, “The Romanesque style tower was built as Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. Galata Tower was the tallest building in Istanbul at 219.5 ft (66.9 m) when it was built in 1348.[2] It was built to replace the old Tower of Galata, an original Byzantine tower...which controlled the northern end of the massive sea chain that closed the entrance to the Golden Horn. That tower was on a different site and was largely destroyed in 1203, during the Fourth Crusade of 1202–1204.
“The upper section of the tower with the conical cap was slightly modified in several restorations during the Ottoman period when it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires.”
We joined the long queue, the 30-minute wait mostly being in the shade of the tower. It was most distressing to see a young Moslem boy purchase a selfie stick from one of the old men selling them around the base of the tower, only to then see him shortly afterwards drop his phone and shatter the screen.
(I don’t think he had secured it tightly enough on the stick!) Inside the tower, I was almost relieved to see that there was an elevator to take us up to the top. (I didn’t mention how hot and humid it was!) We paid about $13 each to go to the top and to take a helicopter simulation ride. The views at the top were great, but some people took their time to linger over them — you need time to set up your selfie shots, I suppose! A couple of floors down was a small room where the helicopter simulation theatre was set up. It was similar to the one we went on in Vienna, even in having a little whip to slap our ankles and calves with (I worked out that I could hold my hat by my legs to prevent the whip from stinging my skin!). However, for some reason this simulator just made me feel sick. It moved so quickly from side to side, taking us over the city and into the mosques and palaces, that I couldn’t wait for the ride to be over! I felt a little wobbly as I descended the spiral stair case to the bottom.
I bought a banana and ate it as we wandered down the street, gradually returning to my normal state.
Our walk back to the bridge took us down a street that was full of shops predominantly selling electric lights. A side street we took specialised in hardware, with many goods sitting out on the street or piled up against the walls. Paints and fishing gear were sold along another street. It would certainly make it easy to know where to go for particular items, but surely the competition would be rather fierce?
We crossed back to the other side and then headed back to our hotel, using the spires of the Saint Sophia Mosque to guide us, as our hotel was situated right next to this dominating landmark. As luck would have it, the street we took landed us right back at our hotel...just in time for the complimentary afternoon tea, which isn’t worth writing about!
After freshening up (we were very sweaty and dirty after walking around in the 37C heat), we headed out for dinner in a nearby street that Michael had come across during his morning jog. The temperature had dropped to a much more comfortable level, just a degree or two above my need to put on a light cardigan.
We sat at a table on the street, across the road from a poor man dressed in traditional Turkish clothing whose job was to lure customers inside to pay to dress up in costumes and have their photos taken. In countries like this, you certainly get to witness what lengths some people have to go to in order to make a living. I also felt particularly sad for the old men selling selfie sticks, whom I mentioned earlier in this post. How lucky we are to have been born in Australia where we have so many wonderful opportunities, as well as a welfare system, as inadequate as it may be.
We shared a mezze plate (a selection of dips) that was served with a huge ‘loaf’ of pita bread — fresh out of the oven which we could see down the stairs from where we were seated, it was really full of hot air, and so not as enormous as it appeared. We suspect that we were given a double serve, rather than having one serve to share, as we had intended. This was followed by Turkish meat balls and a lamb casserole, the latter being the tastier of the two dishes. With stomachs full (for the equivalent of about $27, including a glass of wine for Michael and some sparkling water to share), we wandered back towards the hotel, stopping to take photos of the two mosques and the illuminated water display in the park between them both before calling it a night.
Rick Clise
2018-08-19
Wow Merrilly, what an experience. Istanbul looks like such a vibrant and diverse city. Thanks for the update and photos. Rick
Debbie
2018-08-19
More great photos Merrilly, especially love the shots taken in the Grand Bazaar. Looks like an amazing place, so many different products to buy. Wondering if the souk in Dubai will be similar! Xx
melandmic
2018-08-19
It was definitely an intriguing place to visit! Nice to hear from you, Rick! We didn’t get to the souk in Dubai, Debbie — I’ll be interested to hear what it’s like (not that I ever want to go to Dubai again!). xxx