Turkish delight
When a family wedding brought Paula Lenihan to Istanbul, she never expected to fall in love too...
As it was our first time flying with Turkish Airlines, its 8kg carry-on bag policy had me wondering if there would be a bit of shrinkage in service too! But my fears were unfounded – the reclining seats were roomy, food and service on the fourhour flight were good, and there was a variety of films to watch.
Just before departing from Dublin I was reading online about people’s experiences of being ripped off with taxis from the airport, so I contacted the hotel who arranged a private transfer for €135. My nephew who was on the same flight got an airconditioned taxi with a chilled bottle of water to the same location for €17! Note to self: never panic book an airport transfer. The Pera Palace, which we booked for the first three nights, surpassed our expectations. Previous occupants included Agatha Christie, Hitchcock and Greta Garbo, and the vibe when you walk through the door transports you back to that bygone golden era. Luxuriously decorated with rich velvets, deep reds, gold, massive chandeliers, antique furniture and old-world charm, the Pera Palace has lost none of its appeal since it was first built for passengers of the Orient Express, arriving in the city from Paris after an 80-hour journey in 1888. The antique elevator, which was the first in any hotel in Turkey, remains operational and like all guests, including the Murder On The Orient Express author, we got to ride in it.
One balmy evening we sat under the stars on the terrace and listened to an energetic Latino band. We only booked three nights even though we would be in the city for a week, because I found it online and hadn’t any first-hand recommendations. We were doing an overnight trip to Gallipoli and Troy and thought that we could book in for the remainder of the stay if we liked the hotel. When we went to book the availability was limited to a basement room with a price hike of 50%, so we decided to move on with the promise to return. Istanbul, which occupies two continents, Europe and Asia, is separated by The Bosphorus – a natural strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara – and is home to 16 million people with the same number of tourists every year. Everywhere is bustling, the roads are as busy at midnight as they are at midday with drivers that seem to make up the rules as they go along.
The purpose of our visit (my husband Neil and I) was to attend the wedding of my nephew Ben to his fiancée Burcu, and what a fabulous fusion of Irish and Turkish cultures that was, set to the backdrop of the Bay of Bosphorus. Highlights for me included the Turkish meze for starters, the Jordanian drums as part of the entertainment and the Turkish music. Earlier that day we had clocked 13.5k steps walking around the Grand Bazaar and the Old Town. Not ideal before heading to a wedding, but with limited time we had to squeeze in as much as possible.
A brunch in the Old Town consisting of menemen (eggs, green peppers, tomatoes), a warm chicken salad bursting with fresh veg, chips, fresh bread, hummus, olives, coke, water and two coffees cost us €15. After that we walked around the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest markets in the world dating from 1455. It’s also one of the largest markets with 4,000 shops spanning 61 covered streets selling every conceivable Turkish delight from spices
to scents, jewellery, clothes, carpets and food. I was interested in buying some gold and essential oils, but came home without either, giving me another reason to go back!
Going to the wedding necessitated a trip to the hairdresser. When the wash was finished, the stylist asked if I was ready? I said yes, thinking she wanted me to stand up, but she meant was I ready for her to pour ice cold water over my head. I couldn’t ask her the reason for this because she had limited English, but Google told me that it is done to close the pores and control breakages, frizz and flyaways! The blowdry cost me €15 on the main shopping street, which I thought was great value until I met my two sisters, who had fabulous full blow-drys that cost them €3.50 each in a barbers (yes, they do women’s hair too).
We took a day trip to Adalar, the largest of the nine Princes’ Islands about an hour southeast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara – a place we will stay over on our next trip. The ticket cost €1.30 for a return trip on a very entertaining ferry, where the staff put on their very own live shopping channel.
A natural beauty, the island is also a haven of peace, in complete contrast to the madness of Istanbul. The classic wooden homes reminded me of Cabot Cove on Murder She Wrote. It’s car-free with electric buggies, and has some really great restaurants and shops. We enjoyed a beautiful lunch right on the sea shore. An overnight tour to Gallipoli and Troy was on Neil’s wishlist for some time. The Gallipoli campaign was intended to force Turkey, who were Germany’s allies, out of World War I. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India and France invaded Gallipoli on what turned out to be a long and bloody campaign that lasted almost 11 months. It’s estimated that about 250,000 soldiers died on both sides, including approximately 4,000 Irish. Our tour guide Baruk, who we booked via Crowded House tour company, was a mine of information and a walking encyclopaedia on the war.
We overnighted in the city of Canakkale where we enjoyed the most delicious meal in a little restaurant that didn’t look much on the outside, or the inside, for that matter. Here, I had fresh mackerel in warm crispy bread with lots of rocket and lemon; Neil had the same with sardines and an order of fresh and perfectly-cooked calamari to share.
Next morning we spent a couple of hours scouting around the city and had our picture taken with the horse used in Troy, the film made in 2004 with Brad Pitt. Although shot in Malta, the horse was presented to Canakkale afterwards. Later we visited the ancient city of Troy, home of the famed Trojan War and Helen Of Troy, that we all learned about in school. I had been advised that it was going to be small and disappointing, but it was neither.
After leaving the Pera Palace we moved to the Sura Hagia Sophia Hotel. I had seen this online at home before we travelled. However, when I went onto booking.com during our holiday I discovered that you can’t book via that search engine in Turkey when you are already in the country. We walked over to check it out and got a price of €840 for three days. I thought that was a bit pricey from memory, so I contacted my daughter who was able to book it for €230 less back in Ireland. This hotel, set in the old quarter, was modern with an outdoor pool and the loveliest of staff. Bars and restaurants in the area were more expensive than in the Pera region, but still cheaper than home. With only a half day left we hired a guide to bring us to the beautiful and imposing Blue Mosque dating from the beginning of the 17th century, as well as visits to the Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace. The Hagia Sophia, dating from the sixth century, is said to be one of the most important religious buildings in the world. It is gorgeously ornate with lots of gold and marble and a richly decorated dome. We didn’t have enough time to see everything at the Topkapi Palace museum, which would have taken a full day to do it justice.
After a busy morning, our guide Ali joined us for lunch in the square where three kebabs, a small tea and three bottles of water cost €81. It would have been about a third of that anywhere else but we were in a tourist hot spot.
Istanbul was sensational, we both loved it and will definitely be back. The one tip I would give anyone going is to be mindful of the taxi drivers and make your deal for the trip before you go as the prices can vary enormously.