Istanbul - A City That Never Sleeps
It has been a summer reconnecting with friends I hadn’t seen for far too many years. It’s amazing how, with all of them, the time apart dissolved as soon as we met again.
Another opportunity presented itself recently. A four-day trip to Istanbul to see my friend Guven who I hadn’t met up with for nearly 20 years. We had originally met when I was building a house in South London, and he owned the local cafe. My whole family became friends with him, and it’s endured for over two decades. His bacon sandwiches and endless cups of coffee probably did more to ensure that the house was finished than anyone else did
I’d only been to Istanbul in transit on my way further south to either Izmir or Bodrum. I’ve never explored the city. This trip would be special, seeing my friend and being shown around by someone who knows a lot more than just the tourist hotspots.
Ionia Tours were excellent in picking me up and getting me to Izmir Airport in comfort with plenty of time to spare to drink overpriced airport coffee!
The flight arrived 20 minutes early, which is incredible for a 50-minute flight. I walked through the domestic terminal and saw Guven directly in front of me. It was like we’d seen each other yesterday. Good friendships have that effect. We hopped on the metro to the stop five minutes’ walk from his home. A perfect location all round.
The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting. Actually, we didn’t stop chatting for most of the four days. We then headed to Kadikoy for some food. A great location on the upper terrace to look over the bustling city below. Suddenly, it was nearly midnight. The time had flown by. Istanbul has that effect as it never seems to sleep, as this trip would prove.
There was only one downside to the entire trip. Rain. It hardly stopped for four days. Then again, I’d hardly seen any rain this year, so it was a welcome relief. Somehow, we avoided most of the frequent showers, making sure it didn’t spoil any of our plans.
The next morning would be our tourist day, seeing the sights many recognise of Istanbul. Our first stop was the ferry terminal. We would be leaving Asia for Europe as we took the ferry across the Bosphorus. Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents. This ferry trip truly was a bucket list moment for me.
Halfway across, we saw the virgin tower standing proudly in the middle of the river. Legend has it a princess lived here after her father had been given a prophecy that she would be killed by a snake bite. She lived alone in the tower with just servants as company. One day, she asked a servant to fetch her some apples. He did as asked and placed his basket on the floor whilst he picked the fruit. He didn’t realise a snake had crept into the basket. As the prophecy had foreseen, the snake bit the princess, and she died. I do not know if the story is true, but it’s a good one either way.
25 minutes later, we were in Europe. We hopped straight on the tram to see some of the sights of Istanbul. We headed for Taksim Square. It is possible to walk up the hill, but the slope is like climbing a cliff face. We didn’t even need to discuss it. We were taking the 90-second metro ride to the top. The picture explains the history of this short piece of underground railway. Bonus points if you know the oldest underground railway in the world.
Our first stop was lunch with amazing views of the Bosphorus looking towards the Asian side of Istanbul. It was perfect timing as rain started to fall.
It was then time to be a proper tourist. Taksim Square, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and Galata Tower were highlights of what became a very interesting afternoon. Hopefully, the photos tell a better story than my words ever can.
We headed to the ferry as dusk set in. Guven spotted a ferry to Bostanci. He decided it would finish the day perfectly by going home by a different route. The journey was longer but well worth it as the lights lit up the shoreline on both sides.
The heavens had opened by the time we docked. The pub, whilst the rain passed, seemed like a good idea. It turned out that our waitress came from a few streets away from me in the small seaside town I call home. It really can be a small world.
Our brief pit-stop turned into us still chatting at 11pm. It was, bizarrely, the earliest we’d get home on the entire trip. I warned you, Istanbul never sleeps. We had to depart as Mehmet was arriving from Northern Cyprus for a couple of days.
We’d done the tourist bit. The next two days would be spent seeing the parts of Istanbul tourists rarely see.
Friday started with Guven making us all breakfast. Scrambled eggs with Cypriot halloumi melted into them were amazing. A perfect way to start the day.
It was time to go exploring. Mehmet had business meetings booked, so myself and Guven wandered down to Hilltown, a local and large shopping centre. It was dangerous. Two large bookshops and a Lego store. A call to my bank manager could have been in order. The thought, “It’s a limit, not a target,” kept me sane. I only made one purchase in the Lego store.
We wandered onwards after a lovely coffee at what I’m not calling the cat coffee shop.
We arrived at the seafront, which was by far the most surprising part of my trip. An athletics stadium, numerous football, volleyball, basketball, and paddle courts lined the seafront for what felt like miles. All are open to local residents. A brilliant investment by Istanbul Belediye. There were even areas to rest in hammocks. A truly brilliant use of space.
We walked along the seafront, looking at the five Princes’ Islands. Visiting at least one is on my list for my next visit. Apparently, it’s an almost car-free zone. It sounds perfect.
We wandered all the way to Maltepe. It was the perfect way to spend the day. We could see the black rain clouds gathering. A stop for libations was in order. We couldn’t stay too late as we had a boys’ night out planned with Mehmet, Ahmet, and Hakan. The metro and a short trip on a dolmus had us home in less than 30 minutes. Enough time for a shower and a change of clothes before a night in Kadikoy.
Spending an evening with Turkish friends on a pub crawl is very special. It’s not about the beers. The pit-stops for food are integral to it. We’ll ignore the football on the TV. It also doesn’t run in any particular order. We started with a shot and ended up many hours later drinking tea.
Our first food stop involved mussels cooked in different ways. Steamed and stuffed with rice, in hot sauce, or deep-fried. It really was beautiful.
Onward we went, with Mehmet stopping at every food stall. At 2am we all went for more food. It was time for a Turkish speciality I’d never had before. Kokorec is amazing.
It’s a dish comprising lamb or goat intestines wrapped around offal including sweetbreads, heart, lungs, or kidneys and rotisserie grilled. It can also be just chopped innards cooked on a griddle and served in Turkish bread. I tried both.
We walked into the last bar of the night. Kadikoy was still buzzing with life. It was brilliant.
We finally arrived home at 4am. There’s still something strange about four middle-aged men falling asleep on sofas. It was like we were 20 again. One of those legendary nights out.
Saturday lunchtime was all about goodbyes as Hakan and Mehmet went home. I’d made new friends who I know will be part of my life for years to come.
Myself and Guven spent the afternoon with another of his friends, Bekir, walking the opposite way along the seafront, stopping at my favourite place in Bostanci. A tip for our waitress from the place we both call home was in order. Little did I know we’d be back in the same place a few hours later.
Guven had arranged a night out with his friend ZuZu. I didn’t realise it would start at 10pm. It was worth the wait as we had an amazing night. Live music, laughter, and me trying to drink raki without retching.
ZuZu was brilliant company. I can see why she is such good friends with Guven.
Time evaporated. We left the restaurant a little after 5am. It’s many years since I’ve done that. It meant we made our way to another restaurant and were eating soup and kebabs at 6am in the city that really never sleeps.
My flight time meant sleep was pointless, so myself and Guven sat chatting in his apartment before it was time to say goodbye. It had been an amazing trip with an old friend and several new ones.
I can’t wait to go back.
As with every one of my trips, there was a glitch at the end. My flight was delayed by two hours. These things happen. Pegasus Airlines had the good grace to give me a free cup of coffee. A far better service than many other airlines I could mention.
Ionia Tours was amazing once again. I called them when I knew the flight was delayed. They adjusted the timings and were waiting for me when I finally arrived in Izmir. I could stretch out on the back seat and sleep all the way home. A truly brilliant service and one reason I’ll be seeing them soon for my next trip.
It was a truly special few days. I have my travel bug back. I will visit Mehmet in Northern Cyprus. I’ll be going back to Istanbul for Guven’s birthday, and I can’t wait to see Hakan, Ahmet, Bekir, and ZuZu again.
If you need tour advice in Turkiye, Ionia Tours can be found at www.ioniatours.com
Thank you so much to Guven for an absolutely amazing few days. I’m missing you and Istanbul already.
Regular readers will have spotted a common theme over the past few blog posts. If you’ve spotted it then you’ll know what the next book is going to be. Although if I don’t start editing it, you may need to pay excess baggage just for the book!
TTFN
MaxS and the Stray Army
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