Travel recommendations, ideas and observations from two simple travellers

Tag: Turkey

How to see more of Istanbul and try the Turkish Delight

Our first encounter with Turkey was in transit on the return journey home from a three-month road trip in Europe. We were intrigued and decided to return to see the country and try some real Turkish Delight in Istanbul.

One year later, we found ourselves sitting in the back of a taxi stealing anxious looks at each other. Did everyone drive crazily here? Would we make it to our apartment alive? There better be something special about Istanbul!

We had decided to take a small group tour on this first encounter with Turkey. We put aside a few days to explore Istanbul before and after the tour to experience the city independently. Sultanahmet, old town in Istanbul was the perfect starting point.

The taxi driver delivered us to the entrance of a pretty little street and gestured that we’d find our check-in location a little further down. Still early and keen to use our own time wisely, we left out luggage at the office and set out for a walk to beat off the jetlag and get our bearings.

The Hippodrome

The streets were slowly coming to life as we strolled a short distance to The Hippodrome. Surrounded by the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, the Hippodrome also serves as a meeting place for locals. An important historic site, it boasts three famous monuments, the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpentine Column and the Colossus lining the centre of the square.

The Hippodrome is a place of congregation and history

People are crowded around a cart in the square and wander over to see what there is to see. It’s an ice cream truck and everyone is entranced by the vendors creating a show by stretching and manipulating the ice cream. We discover Turkish ice cream is not as we know it. The ice cream is thick and elastic and not ice cream as we know it. Unfortunately, we return home without having tried the Turkish version. We discover so many other delicacies during our stay.

After a short stroll around the Hippodrome, we retrace our steps to check in and refresh before returning to explore further.

The Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque with its domes and minarets is one of Sultanahmet and Istanbul’s most beautiful buildings. A working mosque, we visited in the early evening as worshippers attended evening prayers. The best way to enter the mosque is through the main courtyard. We were fortunate to do so when we visited by ourselves. We could appreciate the serene atmosphere as worshippers prepared to enter the mosque. Once inside, it is the famous blue tiles and the grand prayer area which everyone comes to look up.

We returned later with our tour group, where security checked and guided us into the interior through a dark back entrance. It provided none of the awe that we had experienced a couple of days earlier.

The courtyard entrance to the Blue Mosque at dusk.
The exquisite interior of the Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia stands opposite the Blue Mosque. It is one of the world’s most unique and culturally significant buildings and A UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. The Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century as a Byzantine church. In the 13th century, it became a Catholic Church and was converted into a mosque in 1453. In 1931 the building was closed and converted into a museum following extensive renovations.

A visit inside the Hagia Sophia is an experience unlike any other. The captivating interior displays remnants of both its Christianity and Islam heritage. We are grateful to have visited the building while it was a museum devoted to its Christian and Muslim heritage. In 2020, the Hagia was turned back into a mosque and place of worship.

Look up and be amazed at the beauty of times past inside the Hagia Sophia

Fresh juice and Turkish carpets

Our morning walks along the Caddesi as the stores opened were a delight. There were lots of food outlets and as it was the height of summer, there were many offering freshly pressed orange or pomegranate juice.

After a long walk one morning, we decided to try the pomegranate juice to quench our thirst. It seemed to be the juice of choice in Istanbul. Perched on plastic crates, we watched the vendor hand press pomegranates one after the other to produce one glass of juice. We lost count of how many he had to slice open during the process. Pomegranate juice, we found, is an acquired taste, rather tart!

Once, refreshed we started on the way back to the Hippodrome. A middle-aged man sidled up alongside us as we were halfway along the Caddesi. He chatted away in perfect English and questioned where we came from, how long we were staying and if we were enjoying our visit. He then proceeded to remind us that Turkey was famous for its unique artefacts and beautifully handwoven carpets. We agreed. We had seen some exquisite products in shop windows. Reaching the Hippodrome we stopped to bid him farewell. He looked at us astounded. “But you are coming to my carpet shop!”.

The Grand Bazaar

The charming Grand Bazaar is both an oasis and a trap. A guided tour through the bazaar was on our “Turkish Delights” tour itinerary but we took the opportunity to explore on our own beforehand.

In the heat of summer, the bazaar is a refuge to escape from the bustling Divan Yolu Caddesi outside. On entering, and once you have recovered from the marvellous interior, like us, you will realise you are trapped. Enjoy getting lost in the maze of alleys and discovering all sorts of treasures. The shops sell everything from fake designer wear and Turkish rugs to genuine leather jackets and opulent gold jewellery.

You’ll love wandering among the over 4,000 shops and stalls to find yourself a bargain or two.

Allow yourself to get lost wandering around the Grand Bazaar
Go shopping for gold jewellery in the Grand Bazaar

Topkapi Palace

The grand Topkapi Palace sits on a small hill overlooking the Bosphorus River and Golden Horn. The palace was the political centre of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries before being replaced by the Dolmabahce Palace sitting on the waterfront across the strait.

Originally a city within a city, and now a museum, wander through the halls, courtyards and vast gardens from where the Ottoman sultans ruled their vast empire.

Turkish Delight in Istanbul

Every day we walked through a quiet shopping village on our way to explore the busy Divan Yolu Caddesi area. The stores and small eating places were closed in the mornings but they were open for business when we passed through in the evenings.

One store caught our eye on our first evening. It specialised in lokum (Turkish Delight) and many varieties of the sweet were piled in pyramids around the store. “Which would you like to sample?”, the owner asked. So it was as we walked past every evening he beckoned us inside to us a new product to sample. Each item melted in our mouths. There was no obligation to purchase.

Every evening we told him we would be back to purchase some of his delightful delicacies. He smiled graciously as if it was a story he had heard before and offered us more Turkish Delight.

We kept our promise returning two weeks later to purchase Turkish Delights to take home for gifts.

In case you missed it

If you enjoyed this post and want to read more about Turkey, click here to learn about our day on Gallipoli.

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Lest We Forget – A day in Gallipoli

On a sunny August morning, our group of 16 boarded the bus in Canakkale for the final day of our tour of Turkey. We were returning to Istanbul and eager to go back to explore more of this captivating city for a few days before we flew home. We are enjoying our visit to Turkey more than we had anticipated.

There was one last visit to make on our “Turkish Delights” tour.

The bus boarded the ferry to cross the Dardanelles, a narrow strait which separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey, and the boundary between Europe from Asia. We were on our way to the Gallipoli Peninsula, the scene of the World War I campaign by troops to create a new war front gaining control of the Strait in order to invade Turkey and attack Germany’s other main ally Hungary.

The atmosphere on the ferry was jovial; elderly Turkish men sat in groups alongside other groups of young school children. We were all headed for the same destination. Both groups kept us entertained with their renditions of patriotic songs and laughter as the ferry swept along in tranquil waters.

The Gallipoli campaign failed with large numbers of allied troops killed or wounded when Turkish troops fought back fiercely to maintain control of their land. About 27,000 French and 115,000 British allied soldiers were killed or wounded.

Our small group consisted mainly of Australians and our guide, Murat directed the driver to take us to ANZAC Cove, the scene of a bloody battle between the ANZAC’s (Australian and New Zealand contingent) and the Turkish defenders.

The ANZAC campaign commenced with the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at dawn on 25 April 1915 at ANZAC Cove and ended eight months later when the troops were withdrawn and evacuated after suffering heavy losses. Under fire from the Turkish soldiers almost as soon as they landed, the troops were faced with steep cliffs covered in gorse-like prickly scrub and bush which they had to traverse in order to capture further territory.

The site was calm and peaceful for our arrival. The water lapped gently on the shores of the Cove while we spent time wandering among the gravesites reflecting on what had been, while Murat provided a commentary on the events of that fateful day. Gazing up at the mountainside, we could only look and wonder at the formidable task the soldiers had been confronted with.

The memorial at ANZAC Cove displaying the heart-felt words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

We paused for some time to read the famous words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a commander at Gallipoli during the 1915 campaign and the founder of modern-day Turkey who in 1934 wrote a heartfelt tribute to the ANZACs killed at Gallipoli:

“Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

The bus took the easier route up to the summit to the Lone Pine Cemetery, the scene of the heavy battle between Australian and Turkish troops which the Australians eventually captured.

Lone Pine cemetery at Gallipoli
Lone Pine cemetery at Gallipoli

Here we were at the memorial to over 4,000 Australians missing in the ANZAC area of Gallipoli who have no known graves and the cemetery where 652 Australians are buried. Wandering along the lines of graves reading the gravestones was a sobering experience.

Gravestone at Lone Pine Cemetery
Gravestone at Lone Pine Cemetery

Back on the bus, we passed the New Zealand memorial at Chunuk Bair and further on to the Turkish memorial and cemetery. The Turks paid a heavy price for their victory at Gallipoli with an estimated 250,000 soldiers either wounded or killed during the campaign.

Turkish cemetery and memorial at Gallipoli
Turkish cemetery and memorial at Gallipoli

The Gallipoli campaign, one of the worst decisions made by the allied forces and one that lead to the unnecessary demise of thousands of young men. Deaths that could have been avoided.

Lest we forget.

ANZAC Cove
Time for reflection at ANZAC Cove

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