Tag: Istanbul

The Real Istanbul

Eugene Costello
Travel writer

Istanbul is a city of constancy and contrast – at once historic and cutting-edge contemporary.

It is the world’s only city to straddle two continents: the Thracian side dipping Turkey’s big toe in Europe while the rest of the city, and indeed the country, bathes luxuriously in Asia.

If your time here is short and you have to choose, I’d go for the European side. This is where you’ll find the Old Town – Sultanahmet – whose treasures recall the city’s place at the centre of the Byzantine empire and as a repository of Ottoman power.

It also reflects the modern, secular, republican country envisaged by the father of modern Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal

Ataturk – or Mustafa Kemal to give him his birth name – was a soldier, strategist, thinker, philosopher, ideologue, politician and father figure to a raft of adopted children, as well as figuratively to the entire nation.

It’s hard to think of an equivalent 20th Century political figure who inspires such enduring reverence and adulation among his people, regardless of class, gender or religion.

It is Ataturk’s legacy that in modern-day Turkey, mosques and muezzin rub along harmoniously with cappuccino bars, cocktail lounges and clubs. Old matriarchs in headscarves and hijabs shove up to share tram seats with girls wearing miniskirts and make-up.

The secularist Ataturk is seen by many as an early pioneer of female emancipation and women’s rights. One of his adopted children was Sabiha Gokcen – the world’s first female combat pilot and the first recorded Turkish aviatrix, after whom Istanbul’s second airport is named.

Changing times

Istanbul’s pace of change is astonishing. I first visited the city at the end of a month backpacking around Turkey with a girlfriend in 1988, and my memory is of a city that felt very eastern. We stayed in budget hostels in the Old Town and ate and drank in local bars and restaurants for prices that seemed – even to students, as we were – ludicrously cheap.

The hostels are thinner on the ground now, and cost a fair bit more than they did then, even allowing for inflation. ‘Local’ hangouts in the Old Town have been supplanted by tourist traps, with waiters promising ‘special price’.

That said, hedonists, epicureans and gourmets will find plenty to savour here in the stylish bars and restaurants that have sprung up to cater for Istanbul’s cosmopolitan new breed.

They are shaping a city that competes with anything else you might find throughout Europe, to which Istanbul looks without forgetting its Asian roots. How could it, with muezzin calling the faithful to prayer through loudspeakers several times a day?

Istanbul is a heady, intoxicating brew of the hip and the historic, bewitching and bewildering in equal measure.

I hope that you fall in love with it, just as I have done.

For more Information, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/real_cities/9048443.stm .

April 8, 2011
Going to a Turkish Hammam in Istanbul

For many people, travel is all about experiencing new things – things you wouldn’t have an opportunity to experience at home. That can mean glorious new food discoveries, testing your tongue around the words of a new language, or learning a few local dance steps – and then putting them to practice in a bar. But if that “new experience” involves stripping down to your birthday suit and getting lathered up by a stranger, you might think twice, right?

On a trip to Istanbul, however, you might subject yourself to just such an experience – in the form of a visit to a Turkish hammam.

Turkish hammams, or baths, have been popular throughout different parts of Europe since the mid-1800s, but there’s nothing like visiting one while you’re actually in Turkey. Turkish baths are similar to the Roman baths many people are familiar with from visiting Roman ruins, with rooms set at different temperatures and a sequence through which visitors to the baths would frequent each room. After proceeding through the sequence of progressively hotter rooms, each person then gets scrubbed and massaged by an attendant before going into a cool room to relax at the end of the treatment. In addition to the cleansing, healing, and restorative elements of a visit to a Turkish hammam, there’s the aesthetic element, too – the interiors of the baths are often covered in beautiful tiles.

Of course, those of us for whom getting naked in front of strangers isn’t something we do on a regular basis may not have read past the whole thing about being washed by strangers – and it’s true, this is a potentially embarrassing part of the process. It may help to learn that the attendants are professionals for whom the act of washing and massaging clients is simply a job, but then again it may not.

If you’re interested in trying out this cultural staple, then be sure to read a guide to Turkish hammams before your trip so you know what to expect.

Have you ever been to a Turkish bath? Would you go? Let us know in the comments.

– by Jessica from BootsnAll

via Going to a Turkish Hammam in Istanbul | mTrip Blog.

April 2, 2011
Just back: A quest for cherries in Istanbul

Mary Whitsell wins this week’s travel writing competition for her account of a tantalising mission to find cherries in Istanbul.

The writer was able to see some of Istanbul’s most impressive sights from the taxi window – but cherries proved tantalisingly elusive Photo: Alamy

By Mary Whitsell 9:57AM BST 01 Apr 2011

Taxis in Istanbul – Just back: A quest for cherries in Istanbul

Taxis in Istanbul – Just back: A quest for cherries in Istanbul

Istanbul made us long for cherries. We were stuck in midday traffic, the sun blazing down on our taxi. When children started darting in and out of the traffic with bottles of water, we were tempted. But when the boy with the cherries showed up, we reached for our wallets and tried to get his attention.

He didn’t see us sitting there, stalled in the traffic. The longer we waited, the better those cherries looked, piled high in a wheelbarrow, glossy and red. The boy pushed them in and out of traffic.

He had stuck small green branches in among the cherries, perhaps to keep them cool. He went past a store with hundreds of brightly coloured scarves and carpets. Women clothed from head to foot in black swished past him.

We watched as the boy negotiated the pavement, dodging other hawkers with their piles of oranges, chunks of watermelon, boxes of apples. The taxi inched another five feet through exhaust-scented air. The boy with the cherries was going faster than we were.

We stared at fruit stalls with pyramids of oranges, wedges of cut watermelon, piles of apples. We passed a shady garden with what looked like crumpled multicoloured cellophane scattered randomly. Then I blinked: the cellophane was flowers, bright as jewels, crimson, gold, purple and blue. There was a flash of silver and red, and the wheelbarrow laden with cherries creaked past us again, the boy straining and sweating behind it.

We caught our breath as we drove past crumbling walls on our right and the Sea of Marmara, a shimmering aquamarine, on our left. The boy with the cherries disappeared into the crowd.

That afternoon, we bought chunks of watermelon from a vendor. We walked through the cooling dusk past sprawling mosques with gold-tipped domes, churches and terraced gardens shaded by grapevines. Violins competed with the call to prayer, and the scent of jasmine and roses filled the air as we strolled along cobblestone streets. But we did not see any more cherries.

The next day, we visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Topkapi Palace. I forgot to collect my backpack from the security check at the palace entrance and spent an uneasy two hours wandering around, waiting to see the sultan’s treasures and the relics of saints, trying not to think about my prescription glasses and the 250 Turkish lira in my wallet.

Just as I’d begun to give up hope of ever seeing my bag again, I remembered where I’d left it. I could have kissed the security guard who handed it back.

Back in our hotel, we listened to the trams trundling past, the hawkers outside screaming: “I make very cheap for you, pretty lady!”

That night, we dreamed of cherries.

The morning we left, we found a boy with a cart piled high with cherries just outside the Spice Market. We feasted on them all the way to the airport.

via Just back: A quest for cherries in Istanbul – Telegraph.

April 2, 2011
Freedom of speech is not free, US academic says in Istanbul

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

New free markets in countries like China and India and new communication technologies are two key forces behind recent changes in press freedom and freedom of expression, according to a leading expert on the issue speaking in Istanbul on Monday.

Lee C. Bollinger, president of Colombia University, gave a speech at Istanbul Technical University about press freedom and freedom of expression in the current day and age. Bollinger is considered an expert in the two fields. He has participated in numerous conferences and published many works.

He said the formation of markets and the development of communication should go hand in hand. “We should link the freedom of the press more with economic development.”

He also said while the exchange of information has gained global status, so has censorship. Bollinger noted that he could be prosecuted in some countries for an article he wrote for an American publication thanks to the Internet. “Censorship anywhere becomes censorship everywhere,” he said, adding this is a rarely discussed angle of developments in communication technologies.

“Free speech and freedom of the press do not come free,” Bollinger said, adding that the price to pay is sometimes misinformation or hateful speech. However, the price is worth it, he argued, saying it protects a strong, open system with free speech. “Freedom and free speech and free press are used not simply to get more information and ideas but also to create the character of societies.”

Journalism is a different profession because others are “liable for bad products they produce while journalism is not.” The Columbia president said the profession provides the informative process the people would be unable to receive otherwise.

via Freedom of speech is not free, US academic says in Istanbul – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

March 23, 2011
Istanbul’s First International Shopping Festival to Celebrate 40 Days of Shopping

Aims to stimulate retail sales during the festival period to reach USD10 billion by the centennial of Turkey founding in 2023.

Under the patronage of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Istanbul Governor’s Office and numerous other agencies, Istanbul’s first International Shopping Festival (ISF) will take place March between 18 and April 26.

The announcement came during a press conference in Dubai with the presence of ISF brand ambassador, popular Turkish actor, Kivanc Tatlitug.

The forty-day long shopping event is expected to attract millions of bargain hunters from across the globe who will win all kind of prizes, including a brand new car every day during the festival. Tourists will enjoy tax-free shopping as well as heavy discounts on a wide range of items, including jewelry, perfumes, textiles, handicrafts and electronics items as shops and malls try to outdo each other in sales. The İSF is also known for its colorful events ranging from music to street performances offering wholesome family entertainment.

Mr. Sedat Gönüllüoğlu, The Turkish Cultural & Tourism Attaché, said: “Istanbul is gearing to have yet another mega tourist event and for 40 days and 40 nights, the first annual Istanbul Shopping Fest will transform the cosmopolitan city into a shopping heaven. The campaign for the annual Shopping Festival is kick-started today by the Turkish tourism minister, governor and the mayor of Istanbul and the leaders of major business organizations. The event is set to attract millions of shoppers from surrounding countries who can visit Turkey without a visa.”

“Istanbul attracts more than 700 thousand tourists from the Gulf countries at this time every year and we hope to attract more than 1.2 million tourists from the region during this year’s festival. Our aim is to stimulate retail sales during the festival period to reach USD10 billion by the centennial of Turkey founding in 2023”, said Mr. Gönüllüoğlu.

“Organizers have been planning for the İSF for a long time to ensure its success. Our objective is to increase shopping lovers every year, making the Istanbul Shopping Festival a premium shopping event worldwide. The 2011 Istanbul Shopping Festival is expected to give much needed boost to Istanbul tourism industry and the retail sector,” he added.

Istanbul has rapidly emerged as the tourist capital of the world and a very busy shopping destination for the surrounding countries. With a population of 14 million people, Istanbul has over 90 brand new shopping centers and many street venues. Topping all that, the city has the world’s biggest and oldest shopping center, The Grand Bazaar, infamous for its jewellery, hand-painted ceramics, carpets, embroideries, spices and antique shops.

During İSF, shopping outlets will be open until 11 pm with special discounts, up to 50 per cent, offered after 10 pm, as well as price reductions and activities at some of Istanbul’s most famous markets, including Taksim, Nisantasi, Bakirkoy, Fatih, Bahariye, and the iconic Spice Bazaar.

Besides the shopping, a number of entertaining and colorful events, for children and adults, will take place at İSF. Visitors can participate with their families in all kind of shows, arranged by the city and its people. Dining is also a major attraction of İSF visitors, where gourmet food can satisfy their taste buds from delicious Turkish cuisine and from all corners of the world.

Turkish Airlines is a major supporter of İSF and will offer visitors special fares and will consider increasing travelers’ baggage allowance during the festival.

“The İSF is set to be a celebration for shopping lovers to visit Istanbul– a city that has been a top choice for shoppers for more than 1,500 years. From hip boutiques in trendy neighborhoods and colorful bazaars and markets to over 90 modern malls featuring top designers, travelers and locals can expect a diverse shopping experience when perusing Istanbul’s wares. Famous for its handmade rugs, clothing, antiques, spices, sweets, footwear and accessories, visitors to Istanbul rarely walk away empty-handed,” concluded Mr. Gönüllüoğlu.

Kippreport

February 21, 2011
How to Spend 24 Hours in Istanbul

February 15th, 2011 Poonam Chopra

Istanbul is a tale of two cities. Straddling Europe and Asia and divided by the strait of Bosporus, the former capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires is the only metropolitan city that has its foot on two continents, with the old city sprawled over European territory and the modern, residential areas established on the Asian side. Considering its massive size, a timeframe of 24 hours can hardly do any of the city’s gems any justice at all, but it is sufficient to scratch the surface and instill a curiosity for more. It is an enchanting city, fusing the history of several cultures, languages, religions, and eras together and establishing itself as Turkey’s economic and cultural epicenter.

Formerly known as Constantinople, Istanbul is a city of contrasts, and not just in a geographical sense. Discover a synagogue, an orthodox church, and a mosque all erected in the same vicinity. Witness a man atop a horse, pulling a cart, and weaving in and out of traffic while a sea of luxury imported cars zoom by. Watch retired old men sitting and playing cards in quaint tea houses, while modern business women strut by in short skirts and suits, sipping their Starbucks coffee. Shop around in vast stylish, glass-fronted shopping malls or haggle at one of the old beautiful underground bazaars.

Have your camera on hand and be ready to shoot because everything will be picture-worthy.

1) Start your day with a traditional Turkish breakfast at one of the many waterfront cafes before introducing yourself to contemporary Turkey at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art a few steps away.

2) Stroll through the expansive Grand Bazaar and buy a wide array of spices, jewelry, hand-made crafts, carpets, and other trinkets.

3) Marvel at the regal splendor of the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque) and soak up the magnificence of Islamic architecture andTurkish history. Discover other historical landmarks around the Sultanahmet Square like the Basilica Cistern and the Egyptian Obelisk.

4) Saunter through the quaint alleyways of historic Old Istanbul (Stamboul) and witness the restrained mystique of the East blended beautifully with the pronounced boldness of the West.

5) Pay homage to the former Sultans of the Ottoman Empire by visiting the Topkapi Palace and walking through the former corridors of power.

6) Pick up a döner kebab for a quick tasty lunch on the go from a roadside vendor.

7) A trip to Istanbul is incomplete without stopping by at one of the many pudding and sweet shops along the way and sampling mouthwatering Turkish desserts like baklava or Sutlac (Turkish rice pudding).

8 ) Whisk over to the other continent by ferry and admire the beautiful skyline along the Bosphorus.

9) Take a late-evening break before dinner to wash off the grime from the day at atraditional Turkish bath, or hamam. Complete your session with a cup of strong Turkish coffee and a real Turkish delight.

10) Visit the stunning Ortaköy Mosque at night and watch the mosque come alive with a dazzling light show and serene evening prayers. For the best views of the mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge, make a trip to the Banyan Restaurant, an open-air rooftop restaurant that overlooks the Bosphorus strait.

11) Polish off the night with cocktails and other jet-setters on the rooftop terraces of Vogue or 360° Sky Lounge. Enjoy beautiful panoramic views of the city, dance to the latest electronic tunes, and mingle with the city’s glamorous denizens.

12) Head to the buzzing areas of Taksim or Beyoğlu, the nightlife hubs of Istanbul for late-night drinks and dancing. You may even be able to find venues that showcase the cultural Turkish dance of belly dancing, or göbek dans.

İyi eğlenceler (have fun)!

Venere

February 16, 2011