Istanbul, Chapter 2: Blue Mosque to Taksim Square

My real journey begins here because on day 1 we did nothing. No no, I'm not downplaying it. Aside from roasting in the heat, staring at the streets, wandering around the supermarkets, we did nothing. Half of my siblings were asleep, one was indifferent and I was going mental thinking WE MUST GO OUT AND BE ABOUT AND EXPLORE AND THINGS but as circumstances had it, we waited until the next day to actually start saying hello to Istanbul.

Now, before you go to any new place, the most important decision you have to make is where you'll be staying. Do not take this lightly (I can't stress this enough) otherwise you'll end up doing 4% of what you actually want to do and 96% of your time will be spent going to and from the place. In Istanbul, we stayed in the City Center, which was awesome. Taksim square - the main hub of cafes, markets, shopping, food, live music, basically everything awesome - was one metro stop away. If you're planning on going, stay in either the City Center, Taksim Square or if possible somewhere in the Sultanahmet District (old city: Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, etc).

Our preferred mode of travel inside the city was obviously the Metro train. Super fast, convenient, light on the budget, most of all NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS OR JAMS. The only thing you have to be careful about is knowing exactly which station to get off at and change lines from (if necessary). Don't you roll your eyes at me, I'm "stating the obvious" because there are like 3 areas with the same name there. Yeah, sometimes Istanbul sucked becau- I'll get to that later. Point is, be very very sure that the stop you're getting off at is where you need to be and not somewhere at the other end of the city. The train stops running around 11 p.m. I think, so after that your options are a little more limited. There's the Metro Bus, the tram, and taxis (total rip offs). Taxis were 24/7, the tram and bus both have fixed timings which I don't remember so just check on your own when you go there. Some places you'll be better off going on taxis though, because the train or bus takes a roundabout way and gets you there in 1-1.5 hours whereas the taxi can get you there in 10-15 mins. I know you know all this, but bear with me.

Onwards then, to where my day starts. After a lovely, lovely breakfast at the hotel, we set off for the old city. Sultan Ahmet was our destination (two metro stops, a tram, a lot of walking) specifically, the Blue Mosque. So if you're unfit (like me), unused to any kind of exercise (like me) you'll be dying within a few minutes. You. Have. To. Walk. A. Lot. Like a lot. A LOT. Am I making myself clear? No? There is a ton of walking. A mega ton.



Okay, you get the idea. So we walk, walk, walk, walk to the mosque area where I was lucky enough to go and pray on Jumma-tul-Wida hashtag blessed. Here are a couple pictures for you to ooh and aah over.

I don't have words to describe what the whole experience was like. From sitting outside on the stone steps, to going inside the vast maidaan, to praying on mats in front of the domes, to the lush gardens ringing it on both sides - it was stunning, amazing, beautiful, completely majestic. 

After taking a million pictures and being quintessential paindu tourists, we set off to explore it from the inside. Here, we had about a 30 minute wait because Jumma prayer had just ended and the area from the inside wasn't open for visitors. So we baked in the sun, experienced olfactory death thanks to hundreds of unwashed, sweaty tourists.

Finally, the doors opened and here again we were treated to the smellier side of humanity. Mashed up against each other single file, we inched our way across the steps to the main entrance. Yahan sab nangi aurton ko burqay aur hijab pehnaye ja rahay thay, which were called 'parachutes' by the goray. Lol. Khair, we went in and it was super crowded so I didn't get many good pictures but just to give you an idea:

After trying and failing to take nice selfies inside - too dark, too crowded, too many other toursists taking photos behind your ear, tui, elbow, etc. - we ventured out and to the opposite side of the mosque. 

Here, there was a massive handicrafts market in the front and to the side, these tiny shops full of Turkish lights, local souvenirs, scarves, keychains, handmade tiles, decorative items and such. For hijabis, don't go mental buying your scarves here. They might seem very inexpensive but trust me you can get a much better price and equal quality in the Grand Bazaar or even Sultanahmet market.

Bargaining is essential here. In the hand crafted goods area, everything has a fixed price and they're pretty fair. But these markets and bazaars, look out for people taking advantage of tourists and charging way more than they should.

From here, we wandered down the road past the gardens to Hagia Sophia: started out as a basilica, became a mosque and now a museum. We didn't go inside because the ticket price seemed a bit excessive and also it was almost closing time. Here's a shot from the outside.

It was pretty late in the afternoon by now - around 5:30ish or maybe 6, I don't really remember. But basically, the old city mosques, museums, galleries and bazaars were all closing up. Baba decided to go down to the waterfront just to see if there was something to do there. 

We all followed - little did we know HOW LONG A WALK IT IS from this area down to the Bosphorus tour ferries. Or maybe it seemed that way because we were all hungry, tired, sweaty and unused to being in the sun all day. So we set out pretty grumpily but honestly, even the roads there lift your mood. I mean, just check this out. 

 

A very welcome cool breeze began as soon as we stepped out of the main square and towards the seaside. There were hundreds of tiny little cafes, shops, patisseries and bakeries that had me salivating for the next 30 minutes. Quaint little shisha cafes, pretty cool gadget shops with camera and phone equipment - there was tons of different stuff to be found there. We didn't really stop here because of time constraints - the way back to the hotel was pretty long and we didn't want to miss the Metro train time. So onwards to the ferries. Here, we were greeted with blazing sunlight, a gorgeous strong breeze (severely fish scented), fishermen everywhere on the dock and so many, many, many people! It was like a busy little world of its own. Spectacular view, fresh seafood cafes, great local color.

From here we decided to take one of the famous Bosphorus cruises (rates vary acc to the time and amount of people. For e.g., in the morning the fares ran about ₺12-15 but by the time we booked seats, they'd increased to ₺20-25, per person). Not too expensive. The whole thing took about an hour and a half because it was very slow going so it's more of a peaceful ride where you enjoy the city and the breathtaking view. 

The whole experience was pretty sublime, but I won't lie: the heat was scorching hot on the top deck. Like, the sunlight felt like it would burn my face off. So unless you're sitting in the shade, you might not enjoy it too much. 

Around 8ish, we started heading back to the city and decided to swing by Taksim square and have dinner there. I swear it felt like I'd found my home. Istanbul and especially Taksim ki Istiklal street is Lahore elevated by several hundred levels but the vibe is the same. It is so full of life! One of my absolute favorite places in the world. 

There's tons of food options here. Everything from chains like Burger King and KFC to local Turkish food - which I'll talk about in the next post. The shopping and bargains you get are well worth visiting this little area. There's always something happening here, from live music to dancers to a group of people singing bus ainwaen. 

Whatever you do, wherever you're staying, please don't miss Istiklal street. It's so vibrantly alive. 

Okay, I think I've talked A LOT in this one post so the rest will have to wait until the next one. If anyone's reading this (lol) please drop a comment and let me know if there's anything you're looking for specifically.