Istanbul
More than two years after our month-long trip, I’m finally getting around to sorting and editing my pictures from Türkiye. I made a collection of the more personal photos last year and got a Cewe photo album printed, which I intended to send to my partner’s parents as a memory of our time there. Unfortunately, by the time it was delivered to me, the Austrian post had shut down all services to Iran because of the nationwide protests that erupted at the end of last year, followed by the US-Israel war on the country - still with no end in sight.
Without getting into politics any further, let me tell you about Istanbul. The first word that comes to mind when I think of this city is “overwhelming” - and I mean that in a good way. A metropole so gigantic that even in a little more than a week, I feel like we barely saw five percent of it. It was a family holiday though, and the goal was not to run around (or taxi around) frantically in order to get a glimpse of all the must-sees. We found a place on the European side, not far from Taksim Square - more by chance than by choice - but it was a perfect starting point to explore the city for the first time.
What struck me the most was the constant bustle (despite its nickname, I’m sure New York sleeps a lot more than Istanbul). It’s busy. Everywhere. All the time. One of my many memorable moments was from a football derby day. Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were facing each other and streets, bars and restaurant terraces started filling up early on, with fans sharing mezzes and drinks. I needed to go to the pharmacy, so in the afternoon, shortly after the game had started, I headed back out, not totally unaware of what was awaiting. I ended up inching my way through the narrow streets of xxx district, moving very slowly due to the packed crowd. A fight broke out between some fans, others were lighting sparklers or setting off firecrackers… after about thirty minutes (which should been ten) I got the pharmacy only to find it closed. Turns out it was also Atatürk's Commemoration, Youth and Sports Day, a national holiday during which shops, including most pharmacies, are closed. So I made my way back home through the crowd, the beer bottles and growing tension - thrilling indeed!
I loved almost everything about this city, at least in the parts we explored. The colours, the markets, the mosques and palaces, the tiny, chaotic streets full of cats, the many daily çays, even the pigeons and obnoxious seagulls. What I hated were the restaurant hosts and waiters screaming out their menu at you when you passed by, stopping you in your tracks and nearly shoving you into their restaurants. But as we all know, that comes with every place as touristy as Istanbul and you just have to deal with it (as in run away).
The last few pictures are from our day trip to Büyükada, an island just south of the Asian part of Istanbul.
So have a little stroll and scroll around Istanbul and if you’re up for more, do go check out my collection of Turkish flags in my previous blog post.
