Istanbul - Days 2 and 3

Day 2

We woke up late and while I rested, Basem went to find some Starbucks. He came back with a latte (be still my heart) and I got ready for the day. Today was dedicated to sitting by the sea and taking in as much beautiful weather as possible. We took the metro all the way to the end and then took a taxi to arrive at Big Chef (a chain here) overlooking the sea. We shared a traditional Turkish breakfast of breads, jams, vegetables, eggs, and sausage along with many cups of tea. 

After breakfast, we walked around along the shoreline and got on a bus to our next destination. Our goal was to take a boat ride, but the traffic was so bad that we just literally sat on the bus for like 30-40 minutes before we got off and started walking. We walked and walked and walked and walked. Every taxi we saw was filled and the bus was crawling faster than we were walking. Then, we stumbled upon a water taxi. The water taxi took us from the European side to the Asian side and back to the European side to avoid traffic and get us closer to our hotel. 

When we stepped off the boat, we started walking toward the street and I immediately saw a Krispie Kreme!! I was super excited to eat doughnut. I have to say that the doughnuts were not as soft as I remember, but at least the taste was the same. 

Then, we headed to a cocktail bar because by that time we were ready for some drinks. We ordered martinis and saw on a terrace overlooking the sea. The martinis were a bit sweet and I can’t think of anything that is different except maybe the olives. We sat and talked while taking in the scenery. After drinks, we took a taxi to our hotel and rested a bit for the next day.

Day 3

Day 3 was slow to start, but we got up, had breakfast and headed to Galata Tower. On our way out, we asked the hotel staff about the metro because we heard that it was closed. He told us that just the area next to Taksim Square was closed, so we found the metros working except for a few stops.This is a tower overlooking Istanbul and it was really close to our hotel. The tower offers a 360-degree view of the city and had a restaurant at the top of it as well. We took in the view and then had some desserts and coffee. I had a raspberry cake with berries in the middle along with white cake and cream. It was divine. 

After the tower, we headed to the Sultan’s palace. On our way there, I found these beautiful, elaborate pillow cases that will look amazing on my bed and a few more for my family and friends. I love when I find classic, beautiful souvenirs to take back home. When we reached the palace, we walked at least a mile through the gardens past armed soldiers. In the buildings themselves, I was overtaken with the elaborate decoration along the walls and the large sofas that adorned nearly half of the rooms. The view of the sea was breathtaking and I could imagine waking up every day to that view. The grandiose nature of it was too much at times.

After the Sultan’s Palace, we headed off to find some food and then back to the hotel to grab out bags. Unfortunately, when we reached near our hotel, we found police were blocking the streets. So, we had to get out and walk the rest of the way to the hotel. My legs were so, so tired, but we had to keep walking. We reached the hotel and then grabbed a taxi to take us to the next station over since the one by the hotel was closed. The streets were super crowded, but we finally reached the station. After the guy dropped us off at the station, we walked a long way across a bridge to reach the station, only to find out we had no more credit on our cards, so Basem ran back and added credit, which of course further delayed us. So, after watching a few trains pass, we were able to get on the correct train and head towards the train under the sea. Then, we took a train under the sea, another train for 45 minutes, a taxi ride to the train station, and then jumped on the train station with 5 minutes to spare. Holy moly! Thank God for a small train station because otherwise, we would have missed the train.

I am back home and ready to finish up these last two weeks of the semester here at Bilkent and begin my last semester of my doctorate. Thanks for reading and I hope you have enjoyed my adventure to Istanbul. 

Istanbul - Day 1

Since Monday is a holiday and I haven’t been to Istanbul yet, I decided to spend the three-day weekend there with my friend Basem. After comparing all of the different types of transportation, we decided to take the fast train. The tickets were 100 TL ($28) for business class, which provided a meal, wifi, and nicer seats. The 7:20 p.m. train worked perfectly because I had a class until 4:30 and then we met up at 6 and took a taxi to the train. One of my students also went along to meet up with her cousin because she didn't want to go alone. The train ride was a bit bumpy and stopped several times along the way. It took 4 hours to reach our destination. The train reached up to speeds of 250km (about 160 mph), which I thought was impressive as it whizzed through small towns. I was initially annoyed with the screaming kids but then they fell asleep, so I was good. The food was okay. The stewardess served it quickly after we sat down, like literacy 5 minutes within the train starting. The hot part of the meal was beef, bulgar, peppers, and mushrooms in a savory brown sauce. Then, they served a carrot and yogurt salad and bread. There was also a sweet, syrupy dessert along with drinks (sodas, etc.). Afterward, they came by several times with the drink cart to serve coffee and tea.

We played UNO in which I lost, read, played on our phones, and I cross-stitched. The ride passed quickly and then we headed out of the train and into a taxi. I was impressed with the train because it was clean, efficient, and easy to access. It was the best choice for transportation for a short weekend.

After jumping in the taxi, we round our way around the city to get to the hotel. We arrived on the Asian side and had to go over to the European side. We crossed over the bridge and headed to our hotel. The hotel has adequately decorated rooms with bright decor. The rooms are clean, but a bit small.


After a good rest, we went over to the breakfast place across from our hotel and noticed that there were a lot of dirty dishes on the tables. The breakfast was set out, but it was quite sparse and the workers were running around frantically. When we finally got plates and coffee cups, the workers told us that they were taking care of a breakfast on the terrace (on top of our building) for the boss, so they were basically running back and forth with trying to take care of everything. We were a bit annoyed but we understood the situation. After breakfast, we told the worker at the desk about the breakfast fiasco. They were apologetic and told us they did the best they could, but it was for their boss. I told him that the boss chose his guests over the residents. Later, when we got back to the room, we found apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, and kiwis as a peace offering.

After breakfast, we took a walk down the alleys and it looked so European to me. The alleys are close with small shops at every step. We caught the train and took it Güllhane and headed towards Aya Sophia. There were beautiful purple tulips along the way to the museum. Once we reached the museum, there were the typical guys there trying to sell extra tours (for a fee, of course) to tell you about the museum. We rejected the tours and waited in the long line for tickets. I love the way Turkey really supports teachers and offers a museum card for 20 Lira (less than $6) with access to over 300 museums, gifts shops, etc.

Aya Sophia was originally a church and then turned into a mosque. There was scaffolding covering nearly half of the museum, but the building was still stunning. It was adorned with calligraphy, mosaics, wooden signs, paintings, etc. of the past religious relics. The building itself is stunning and along with the number of tourists, it was truly something to see. I was fascinated by the diverse number of people and all of the Christian ruins. We ran into a group of Turkish high school students whose English teacher asked us to take their picture. After the picture, we asked one of girls about her shirt that said: “holy chick” and the whole group giggled. They felt embarrassed by their level of English and asked their teacher what we said. It was a fun moment that reminded me of how much I miss my high school students.

After Aya Sophia, we passed by the largest tulip carpet (I am not sure if it in the world or not, but it was large) and then headed over to the Sultanahmet (the blue mosque) mosque. This is the first time, I have been to a mosque, so I was excited. I knew that I needed to cover my head, arms, and legs, but I didn’t realize I couldn’t wear pants. So, they had an area for foreigners to change and get the appropriate clothing. Since it has warmed up, I totally forgot my scarf, so I borrowed some material that worked like a scarf. We took off our shoes and entered the mosque. Less than half of the mosque was for visitors and the other half was just for people who were praying. Of course, you had to be a resident of Turkey and a man to go to the prayer area. I found women praying at the very back of the mosque. It was disturbing to me to find women who were taking off their scarves when they came in the mosque or not really paying attention to the regulations. I just felt it was so disrespectful. No one would really say anything to them, but it was more of a respect thing for me. I was a visitor and I needed to respect the rules.

After the mosque, we grabbed some fresh juice (orange and pomegranate) and headed to Karaköy dock to take the ferry across from the European side to the Asian side. It cost about 1.75 Lira, which is about 50 cents. We went to Kadikoy, took a walk in Moda and found Walter’s Coffee shop. Basem had found this coffee place a few years ago. It is a homage to Breaking Bad and Walter White. The coffee shop is decorated in white, yellow, and black with a chemistry theme. There is a large periodic table on the wall with several names and a chemistry set that brews the coffee (pour overs). They actually roast real coffee and use these yellow hazmat suits when they are roasting it. The coffee shop is also very well-planned and spacious with electrical outlets everywhere. The vibe was very nice.

After coffee, we found a beautiful terrace on the third floor of a restaurant and had a late lunch of traditional Turkish food. Then, we walked around a bit more, took the ferry back to the hotel and rested for a while. I wanted to go out to a pub later, but by the time I reached the hotel, I was tired and just wanted to rest a bit. After a few hours, Basem went out and found us some food and wine and we had dinner on the top of our building. The view was specular and the weather was perfect. In the distance, you could see at least five or six planes lined up to coming into Attaturk airport. After dinner and wine, I slept like a rock.