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Rafting in Istanbul: Where rapids and cultures collide

One of the world’s most significant cities in terms of history, geography, culture, and politics, Istanbul is the gateway between Europe and Asia. Straddling the Bosphorus Straight – a narrow causeway between the Mediterranean Sea (represented by the Sea of Mamara) and the Black Sea – the city is a conglomerate of Eastern and Western culture and a popular tourist destination.

The Coruh River, the most thrilling whitewater rafting. Image: Flickr/ Charlie Brewer

While the unique geography of Istanbul has made it a principal metropolis in the region for two thousand years, the hills, seas, beaches, and the straight also create excellent opportunities for rafting in Istanbul – for residents and visitors alike.

Naturally, sailing has evolved as a popular activity for water goers. But the mountains and rivers of Turkey make rafting the more tempting of treats.

The Melen River lies two hours east of downtown Istanbul. Tour companies are available to pick you up from the door of your hotel booked through HostelBookers.com and drive you to the riverside drop off location in Duzce. Rafting the predetermined 11 kilometres normally takes about an hour and a half. Many tours offer lunch at a stopping point halfway down the course. Here you’ll have an opportunity to eat, relax, lounge the in the sun, capture a few pictures, and enjoy the mountain scenery.

Istanbul, rafting in Istambul, rafting, rafting holidays, Turkey, rafting in Turkey, cheap hotels Istanbul

Istanbul, a great rafting destination. Image: Flickr/ josu.orbe

Arriving at the end point, participants will have a chance to shower and change their clothing at an established facility before the drive back to Istanbul. The tour down the Melen takes one full day including transportation to and from the river. The rapids are family friendly and provide an excellent outdoor excursion away from the bustle of town.

Another notable rafting location a few hours outside of Istanbul is on the Coruh River near the towns of Erzurum and Yusufeli. Approximately 150 kilometres of the Coruh are good for rafting as well as 20 kilometres of one if its tributaries, the Barhal River.

The rapids here are more challenging that than those of the Melen River.

Some sections of the rivers are classified as Level Five difficulty and rafting experience is strongly recommended before taking on these challenging rapids.

The best time to visit Istanbul and take advantage of the rafting opportunities around you is in the summer, from May through September. While the water temperature will be chilly, the air temperature should be pleasantly warm and you will be far from the fog that notoriously hangs over the buildings of Istanbul during these months.

With cheap hotels Istanbul is appealling for both backpacker and adventure traveler. And if you need a place to stay that’s close to great rafting destinations and gives you all the cultural immersion you could ever want, you’ll be easily pleased.

Jeff

About the author

Jeff Rhodes wrote 28 articles on this blog.

Jeff was born and raised just east of New York City on Long Island. He moved to Santa Barbara, California for college and studied psychology and philosophy. At school he discovered a love for surfing, reading, and writing. Jeff has explored both coasts of the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Indonesia, and Australia in search of waves and authentic experience.

via Rafting in Istanbul: Where rapids and cultures collide | Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts – Extreme Sports Blog.

June 16, 2012
Top 10 guide to Çukurcuma, Istanbul

Top 10 guide to Çukurcuma, Istanbul

Istanbul’s antiques district, Çukurcuma, is now home to novelist Orhan Pamuk’s new Museum of Innocence – explore its winding streets with our top 10 guide to its shops, cafes and restaurants

Know a great place in Çukurcuma? Add it to the comments below

Sarah Gilbert
guardian.co.uk

Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence in Istanbul

Museum of Innocence

This wine-red 19th-century townhouse has become part-museum, part-art installation, part-novel brought to life. Pamuk conceived the project as he was writing the novel of the same name and he’s filled 83 wooden boxes with collected and commissioned works of art relating to each chapter – items the characters would have seen, worn, or owned over the last decades of the 20th century when the novel is set. But it’s not just a study of obsession and the mementos of a doomed love affair between the novel’s protagonists. With the aid of cutting-edge technology blurring fiction and documentary, it’s a chronicle of Istanbul at a time of great cultural changed. Click through our picture gallery of the museum here.
• Çukurcuma Caddesi, Dalgiç Çikmazi 2, +90 212 252 9738, masumiyetmuzesi.org, open Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10am-6pm, Friday 10am-9pm, entrance 25TL (about £8.50) for adults, £3.50 for students

The Works: Objects of Desire

As the sign says, this bric-a-brac emporium is aimed at “the slightly deranged collector seeking identifiable memories”, and it’s a sensory overload for even the most seasoned forager. With stock spilling out on to the pavement it’s clear that the owner of this extraordinary shop, A. Karaca Borar, is a consummate collector. In the house-cum-shop’s bathroom, you might find a marble Ottoman washbasin next to a mass of rubber ducks. Vintage clothes are stacked alongside collections of toys, plastic gnomes, wooden hands and other miscellany. If you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist.
• Faikpaşa Caddesi 6/1, +90 212 252 2527, fleaworks.com, open daily 11am-6pm (closed 13-17 June), prices from around £3.50

A La Turca

A visit to Erkal Aksoy’s A La Turca kilim house is like wandering around a delightful ethnographic museum – with price tags. A hoarders’ heaven, this beautiful four-storey townhouse is filled with his global finds, displayed with the know-how of a skilled interior designer. There’s plenty to covet if you can afford it and it’s worth exploring even if you can’t: the colourful, tightly woven antique kilims, rolled up and stored on bookshelves, the Ottoman embroidery draped over a chair (which is also for sale) and countless decorative objects. Don’t forget to head down into the basement for stacks of green-glazed Tokat pottery.
• Faikpaşa Caddesi 4, +90 212 245 2933, alaturcahouse.com, open Monday-Saturday 10.30am-7.30pm and by appointment, prices on request

Hall Istanbul

New-Zealand born interior designer, Christopher Hall, has been living in Istanbul for the past 12 years. His eponymous shop – open since 2003 – mixes antiques with his own contemporary designs. He works in stone, iron, steel, glass, linen, cotton, wool and wood and is inspired by the wares of the neighbouring junk shops, the influence of the city and Islamic form. You’ll find some of his bronze and marble furniture in this chic showroom, along with more portable objets d’art, lighting, ceramics and textiles. Most pieces are beyond the pocket of the average visitor but a few small decorative objects start from around £30.
• Faikpaşa Caddesi, +90 212 292 9590, hallistanbul.com, open Monday 2pm-7pm, Tuesday-Saturday 10am-7pm

Leyla Seyhanli

This wardrobe-sized boutique is piled floor to ceiling with an eccentric collection of vintage clothes, hats and hat boxes, handbags, wall hangings and embroidered textiles. A good rummage will reveal Ottoman-era silk pillowcases hand sewn with gilded thread, embroidered linen towels and Anatolian velvet table cloths, ornate traditional kaftans, turn-of-the-century silk blouses and 1950s taffeta party dresses. Always the genuine article, it’s become a popular stop for collectors and Seyhanli also lends costumes and accessories to the Turkish film industry.
• Altipatlar Sokak 6, +90 212 293 7410, open Monday-Saturday 10.30am-6.30pm, prices range from around £30 to £160

Leila Butik

Virtually everything in this small, whitewashed boutique is a quirky, fun, one-off design. Different designers supply the store with everything from fascinators to ornately decorated heels, cute little prom dresses to hand-printed T-shirts, crazily patterned tights and leggings to customised straw hats. It also stocks jewellery from Anatolian-influenced crocheted necklaces to plastic brooches and, for men, vintage sunglasses and unique trilbies.
• Hayriye Caddesi 18, +90 212 245 3365, leilabutik.com, open Monday-Saturday 11am-8.30pm, prices from around £5

Holy Coffee

With its sofas, armchairs, bookshelves and art-covered walls, a Holy Coffee break is like stepping into someone’s living room. Just a year old, it’s become the cafe of choice for locals, ex-pats and visitors thanks to its relaxed vibe and its hands-on Turkish owner, Arzu, who is more than happy to offer her tips on the city. The smell of freshly baked cakes and biscuits wafts from the kitchen, and soups, sandwiches and salads are also on offer. Drink the homemade bitter lemonade alfresco on a hot day – the coffee is excellent too.
• Hacioğlu Sokak 1B, +90 212 243 6869, Holy Coffee’s facebook page, open Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm

Cukurcuma Köftecisi

Traditional Turkish fare is served at this family-run lunch venue next door to Holy Coffee, complete with wooden tables and chairs and walls adorned with kitsch art and portraits of Atatürk. It’s a paradise for carnivores, with all manner of köfte (meatballs) and şiş (skewers) sizzling on the grill, served with a carb overload of chips and Turkish pilaf rice. But there are also daily specials such as soups, stews and freshly made salads. Fridays and Saturdays are fry days, when you can sample the sublime courgette, aubergine and cauliflower fritters.
• Hacioğlu Sokak 1A, +90 212 245 0833, cukurcumakoftecisi.com, open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner

Münferit

Award-winning interior design duo, Seyhan Özdemir and Sefer Cağlar – better known as Autoban – gave Münferit a retro feel with marble-top tables, smoked-glass mirrors and wood panelling. But the vintage aesthetic belies a menu filled with thoroughly modern meze, such as black couscous topped with sprigs of grilled calamari, baby octopus skewers and, for dessert, the irresistible sage ice-cream with plum sauce. Wash it down with some thrice-distilled Beylerbeyi Raki, Turkey’s potent anise-flavoured spirit produced by the owner’s family, or one of the inventive martinis and mojitos. On balmy evenings, you can dine alfresco on the terrace before it’s transformed into a dance space.
• Yeni Carşi Caddesi 19, +90 212 252 5067, munferit.com.tr, open daily 7pm-2am, main courses around £14

House Hotel Galatsaray

The first hotel project from the owners of Istanbul’s trendy House Café chain has turned a dilapidated 19th-century building into a design buff’s dream with help from Autoban. Spread over four floors, the 20 rooms combine old-world charm with innovative design – lofty ceilings, ornate plasterwork and polished parquet floors, with sleek, custom-made furniture and rainforest shower cubicles in the middle of the bedroom. The top-floor lounge bar, with its open fire, large brown Chesterfields and panoramic views is the perfect place to relax post-sightseeing.
• Firuzağa Mahallesi, Bostanbaşi Caddesi 19, +90 212 252 0422, thehousehotel.com/the-house-hotel-galatasaray, from €139 for a deluxe suite on a B&B basis. If you prefer the idea of an apartment, studios with The House Apart start from €80 per night and one-bedroom apartments start from €100, including two breakfasts at The House Café on Istiklal Caddesi

June 16, 2012
Turkish Delight

ISTANBUL: MEDUSA’S HEAD IS upside-down, her snake-hair rippling above the water. The savage beauty – whose look could turn you to stone – is floating above a cistern: the universal word for tank which gains something murky in translation to Irish-English because of its very specific use here.

ANCIENT BEAUTY Sultan Ahmed Mosque at night PHOTOGRAPH: THINKSTOCK

ANCIENT BEAUTY Sultan Ahmed Mosque at night PHOTOGRAPH: THINKSTOCK

But this cistern is a magical, cavernous underground cathedral where stone columns – Ionic, Doric and even leafy Corinthian – stand calmly in the still, vast bath. Medusa heads have been carved at the bases of two of the columns: one sideways and one upside down – the reason apparently being to ward off evil spirits (although it could have been practical: supporting the columns better in these positions).

So much is heavily marketed in our world, skewing our expectations (and, if you are disappointed because descriptions have been overblown, too bad: they’ve got your money now), that when something does turn out to be gorgeous, you reap one of life’s sublime surprises.

A waste-water storage facility isn’t as grand a prospect as a mosque or cathedral, but the Basilica Cistern’s proximity to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, in the old part of Istanbul, brings tourists here as an also-ran.

There are taps outside the Blue Mosque (or Sultan Ahmed Mosque), in recesses in the 17th-century stone wall, where worshippers can clean themselves, as they must do before addressing their God, although the evident lack of people using this very public facility suggests that many nowadays undertake the task at home before being called to prayer. The next task is to take off your shoes – having passed the funeral area outside the entrance – then pad around on the carpet within.

The blue is truly wonderful, the azure ceiling like a brilliant mosaic sky. But its full effect is filtered through thousands of wires hanging from the ceiling to support lamps that dangle just above head height. Tourists are held back, behind a wooden barrier, from the worshipping area where a man stands alone on a far platform, bending in prayer.

In Hagia Sophia – across a courtyard – a stray cat sits on a platform at the front of the mosque showing that this vast, majestic building can easily accommodate all-comers, all the while retaining its stature and capacity to delight. Tourists teem through, walking up its sloping stone-floored tunnel to reach the upper level where a fresco of Jesus has eyes that follow you around the room. The idea was that he was always watching you: be good.

The building has seen many visitors in its nearly 2,000 years of existence. It started as a Greek cathedral, later becoming a Roman Catholic church and then a mosque before being secularised in 1931. It is now a museum.

And that’s illustrative of Istanbul, which spills across water, spanning the Bosphorus and Golden Horn waterways. Symbolically cleaved at the conjunction of Europe and Asia, it is the only city in the world on two continents. Crammed with an estimated 13.5 million people, it has a personality that reflects its geographical positioning.

It feels like a city hankering for the perceived benefits of a westernisation – although, is that gloating I sense from the newsreader presenting the troubles of Greece? – while retaining a strong eastern identity. Christian and Muslim traditions rub shoulders, in a country where the Muslim faith is widely followed but not enshrined in law.

This situation offers freedom for various levels of expression, starkly illustrated at a traditional Turkish dancing evening which descended into belly dancing by surgically appended women jiggling their breasts and hips audience-wise to the obvious delight of one local man, who hollered and laughed, and practically dribbled, all the while hugging his wife – who wore a long dress and headscarf.

Globalisation, and the fact that the city is now becoming a weekend-break destination for Europeans (with a Turkish Airlines flight from Dublin in just under four hours), will bring a greater western influence.

Istanbul’s old city offers rich Turkish tradition, to the joy of tourists who take advantage of having the must-sees all within a walk of each other, near Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque is Topkapi Palace, the vast home of Ottoman sultans for 400 years (1465-1856). In that time they acquired vast hauls of jewel-encrusted garb and household goods and constructed a harem building that could hold 300 women. Here you can drink tea by the Bosphorus or, if you visit in the winter, run into the cafe and warm your hands over a bowl of hot coals.

In the Grand Bazaar you can find beautiful carpets, cushions, fabrics and blown glass, as well as soaps and oils of sensuous plants, although there are now also fake handbags (Tod’s and Mulberry) and the main drag of glass-fronted jewellery shops is more Bond Street than traditional market.

Yet there is a real gem, down near the spice market by the Bosphorus. It is a long, thin street running parallel to the river, where locals buy anything they want from guns, frilly gauze to tie on newborns’ cradles, hammers, cheap runners, spades and spices, to handmade steel extractor hoods. There is also coffee, for which there is a huge queue waiting outside a window where young men packing the precious beans at speed.

All these and more can be found dangling from the tops of stalls that are stuffed with goods as well as at waist level on tables and within the small rooms beyond. Anything you want – historically, culturally, religiously, socially and commercially – you can get in Istanbul.

* City breaks to Istanbul are available from wingsabroad.ie, tel: 01-8719444 or a travel agent. A weekend package with Turkish Airlines, Europe’s Best Airline 2011 ( turkishairlines.com), staying at the Seres Hotel costs from €319pps.

June 16, 2012
Outstanding kebab in Istanbul

At 6 PM on a Monday evening the dining room of Adana Ocakbasi was nearly full and the wide grill in the corner was covered with skewers loaded with meat. While most restaurants, worldwide, were closed or waiting for a slow night to start, this neighborhood kebab house was busting through a bumper rush of early birds in for a quick lamb chop or two on the way home. The dinner crowd had not even arrived.

“This place will ruin you,” said our waiter showing us to two stools at the marble counter that circles the grill, the smoking heart of the room. “You wont be able to eat meat anywhere else.”

The usta behind the grill skewered, slapped, turned, shifted, spiced and plated meat with the concentration of a tantric yogi. When he reached a relatively calm moment in his grilling cycle, he gently mixed a bucketful of sumac and raw, chopped onions with his hands – all of it an awesome sight of endurance. If we we’re going to be ruined we might as well enjoy the show.

Along with a bottle of raki, we ordered a couple of starters – an excellent ezme, a relish of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, red peppers and plenty of parsley dressed with olive oil and pomegranate molasses, and kozde patlican, a whole eggplant grilled until the inside has gone meltingly floppy and then peeled. Served with small fresh rounds of tirnakli ekmek, a flatbread ubiquitous in kebab houses, the meze clearly play a supporting role to the meat here, but they were simple and delicious.

We soon moved onto the stars of the show, ordering a couple of skewers of just about everything we’d seen on the grill. Small cubes of lamb liver and cop sis, tiny bits of marinated beef bookended by slivers of fat came out first. There is an entire classification of restaurants in Istanbul devoted specifically to grilled liver and cop sis and not one of them serves liver as tender and succulent as Adana Ocakbasi. It would be well worth a visit for the liver alone, but a crime to leave before the parade of bone-in cuts made their way from the grill.

The lamb chops and ribs, liberally dusted in red pepper and thyme, were so juicy they drenched the thin sheet of lavas beneath, making it all the more palatable. The beyti kebabi – in our favorite rendition, a sis of Urfa wrapped in lavas, cut into slices and drizzled with tomato sauce and yogurt – was nothing more than a sis of Urfa kebab, minimalist for a beyti, but exceptionally tasty.

Already full and hooked on this place, we needed a little something more to tide us over until the next visit. Scanning the grill, we asked about uykuluk, or sweetbreads, a specialty often found on kebab house menus but rarely in stock. Within minutes our usta was sliding a dozen or so small charred orbs onto a plate for us. Springy in texture, this uykuluk carried a characteristic whiff of organ meat, which stood up well against the spice dusting and the char from the grill. These well-prepared sweetbreads, more than the meat even, were our personal ruination.

Paying the modest bill and leaving the room packed with people feasting on prime cuts of lamb, we felt as if we’d just been initiated into a carnivorous club. We imagined one day having two seats at the grill designated as “our usual” spot. If being “ruined” means becoming a regular here, that’s a fate we welcome.

Address: Ergenekon Caddesi, Baysungur Sokak 8, Pangalti

Telephone: +90212 247 0143

(photo by Ansel Mullins)

via Outstanding kebab in Istanbul | Istanbul Eats.

June 16, 2012
Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman takes a turn on catwalk in Turkey

By Associated Press

Posted: 06/13/2012 10:41:05 AM PDT
Updated: 06/13/2012 10:52:31 AM PDT

ANKARA, Turkey — Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman has walked a Turkish catwalk in a long red dress at a fashion show, flanked by two men posing as secret service agents in black suit and sunglasses.

Hikmet Eraslan said Wednesday his Dosso Dossi clothing company donated to Chapman’s charity foundation for children with poor eyesight in Volgograd in return for her appearance last Friday.

The 30-year-old Chapman was deported from the United States in 2010 along with nine other Russian sleeper agents. She appeared on the runway in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, a top Turkish vacation destination.

Chapman has been keeping a high profile since her deportation to Russia, modeling, editing a magazine, giving lectures and running the foundation.

via Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman takes a turn on catwalk in Turkey – San Jose Mercury News.

June 14, 2012
Lufthansa Flyer – Istanbul, Turkey – The Basilica Cistern

The next chapter of my Trip Report covers our visit to the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.

Here is the updated index to other posts as part of the overall Trip Report:

Lufthansa First Class Services from Chicago to Frankfurt

Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Frankfurt

Istanbul – Sultan Ahmed (Sultanahmet) Mosque.

Istanbul – The Basilica Cistern.

Istanbul – Spice Market and Grand Bazaar.

Istanbul – Park Hyatt Macka Palas.

Istanbul – Our Day with Ihsan (besttaxidriver.com).

Istanbul – Hagia Sophia.

Istanbul – Other Mosques and Churches.

Istanbul – I find out what Zultanite is….

Istanbul – The Food We Found.

Istanbul – Turkish Airlines’ International CIP Lounge.

London – Hyatt Andaz Liverpool Street.

London – Opening of Parliament – Great pictures of the Queen and procession to Parliament.

London – ‘The Sunshine Boys’ at the Savoy Theater (Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths)…..BRILLIANT, MUST SEE!

London – Spitalfield’s Antique Market – And the lesson I learned.

London – Churchill War Rooms and Churchill Museum.

London – Photos from around town.

London – Dinner at Petrus

London – St. James Park. Very friendly squirrels and ducks.

London – Covent Gardens.

London – All the other things that I can’t think of at the moment….

Pluckley – They said it was haunted……

ISTANBUL: THE BASILICA CISTERN

One of the more impressive sights that we took in during our trip to Istanbul actually was underground. Built in the 6th Century, it is one of the largest Cisterns in Istanbul (hundreds of other cisterns exist beneath the city). During it’s functional years it had supplied water to the First Hill area of Istanbul which includes Topkapi Palace and the Grand Palace of Constantinople. The Cistern had functionally provided water well into the days of the Ottoman Empire and beyond.

After paying a 10 Lira admission fee and descending 52 steps to reach the Cistern the initial challenge was adjusting to the extremely low light conditions but after a minute or two, our eyes adjusted and what we saw was impressive. This mammoth Cistern lays beneath the streets above and has withstood 1500 years of war, conquest, fires, riots and growth of the city and really speaks to the engineering and construction skills of the time. To give you an idea of the scope of the Cistern, here are a few key statistics (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Square Footage: 105,000 sq. ft. (9800 sq. meters)

Capacity: 2,800,000 cu. ft. of water (80,000 cubic meters)

Columns: 336 (marble) / each 9 feet high arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns

Today there is only a little bit of water left, perhaps only a foot or so in depth. What surprised me at first glance into the water is the sheer amount of fish that patrol the Cistern.

The fish were a surprise…..

The architecture of the columns and the dome ceilings demonstrate the efforts put into the construction. The columns are believed to have been recycled from other ruins from Istanbul and surrounding areas. You’ll notice in some of the photos that the columns are not all identical. It is thought that 7,000 slaves were used to build the Cistern.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Cistern are the two marble blocks with the carving of Medusa’s head that were converted into bases for the columns. As part of the superstition that exists with Medusa and her ability to turn gazers into stone, one blocks were was upside and the other was turned onto it’s side in an attempt to prevent direct eye contact:

Medusa “Pedestal” block supporting a column

Another Medusa base (turned upside down to prevent “gaze”)

Taking decent photographs in near-zero light conditions was a bit challenging. Don’t use a flash, and images can be a bit blurry, use a flash, and you risk washing out the photo. I’ve picked the ones that I think do the best job of illustrating the Cistern and its beauty. Pay close attention to the variety of column designs that were used.

One of the initial views

What hundreds of years of water does to Marble….

Water’s influence on a column

The following picture is of a column thought specifically to have been carved as a memorial to the slaves who built the Cistern. The teardrops are thought to represent the pain and suffering endured by the slaves.

The Basilica Cistern can get very busy and lines can become long especially when tourist groups visit the area. The entrance to the Cistern is only steps away from the Hagia Sophia and Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque) and can easily be added to an itinerary that includes visiting these 2 sites. I would suggest planning to spend about an hour in the Cistern (not counting the time it may take to get inside) in order to fully appreciate it.

via Lufthansa Flyer – Istanbul, Turkey – The Basilica Cistern – USATODAY.com.

June 13, 2012