Turkey: Old Istanbul

When we came to Turkey three years ago, we skipped Istanbul, not wanting to break the enchantment from our 1996 visit. During our 2023 tour, several Turkish people told us Istanbul was worth a revisit . When our friend Weiqing told me about the Istanbul Tulip Festival in April, we just had to see them. In fact, this trip has become a repeat of the three countries we visited in 1996, UK, Greece, and Turkey, 30 years later. Only two years ago in Dushanbe, we learned that tulips are native to Tianshan mountain, cultivated by Ottomans, who introduced them to the Dutch. So it is only fitting that Istanbul should have tulips.

Sultanhamet, the heart of old Istanbul, where the landscape hasn't changed much in 30 years, is now overrun with tourists. I don't sense the same hospitality of Turkish people as I did in the rest of the country. Thirty years ago, we were tipped to come to Turkey because Greeks were tired of tourists. Now the situation is reversed. I guess the Greeks have resigned to the fate of relying on tourists, as 80% of their economy is from tourism.

Nevertheless we enjoyed going around. The city has improved and more improvements are in progress. We went into several mosques inspired by Hagia Sophia. We searched for old Byzantine churches that are now mosques. Istanbul is so much bigger than its tourist center.

Our bus pulled into Istanbul European Coach Station at night, and we rode the Metro and then the Tram to our hotel in the Sultanhamet, passing this mosque while on the tram (I think).


We stayed at the Merial Hotel, a pretty decent place, with an excellent included breakfast on the 5th floor of the Adamar Hotel across the street. We would enjoy amazing panoramic and skyline views for the next 6 mornings, plus a few sunsets.








After breakfast, we met up with our friends Weiqing and Joel and headed to Gülhane Park to check out the tulips and the free, but not well known, Gülhane Park Cistern. then onto the Obelisk of Theodosius in the nearby Hippodome. The Blue Mosque was open for prayers, but not visitors. We will come back later.








Next stop = the Istanbul Archaeology Museum where the ground floor exhibit of the Lycian Sarcophagi from the Phoenician city-state of Sidon (circa 500 BC) blew my mind.






My second favorite exhibit was the "real size" Archaeological Layers of Ancient Troy.


We walked down to the blustery Golden Horn Waterfront where tourists and fishermen were enjoying themselves (?)




The best sunset views are from the Seven Wonders Terrace. It's a restaurant but tourists are welcome to visit the rooftop terrace.


One day, after walking by the best, but sadly deteriorating, Art Nouveau building in Istanbul (1st below), and stepping inside the Rüstem Pasha Mosque (2nd below) to admire its 15th-century Blue Iznik tiles, we rode the tram along the Golden Horn to the old city walls, then back through the Fatih neighborhood to Sultanmeth.










Along the way we became experts at finding mosques, like the Rose Mosque below, that had formerly been churches; just look for a minaret "stuck" onto the southwest corner of a building with Byzantine church architecture.




We stopped at a borek place for lunch.


And continued walking in the Fatih District, the Historic Heart of Istanbul.




We passed a lively fruit and vegetable market set up in the streets, on our way to the 5th-Century Roman Aqueduct of Valens.




After stopping for dinner at a Uighur Restaurant, we headed home.


Süleymaniye Mosque




Blue Mosque.






We walked by the ruins of the Roman Forum of Theodosius twice without seeing them - we were on the wrong side of the street - before tracking them down on our final morning in Istanbul.