In the time honoured holiday tradition, today was spent
taking in the sights via one of the local tourist bus tours. We chose the blue route as this was one of
the longer rides, taking us across the Bosphorus Bridge into Asia.
First stop, the Dolmabahce Palace on the shores of the
Bosphorus. Described as an ‘exercise in
ostentation’ in one of my guide books, the Palace was every bit as sumptuous as
depicted having enough excess ‘frills’ to give Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary
apoplexy. Cornices dripping in gold, more tassels than
a stripper on every pelmet and weighty chandeliers that defied the laws of
physics. The queues also defied the laws
of politeness. It seems that coach tours
take preference to paying punters and everyone else that’s patiently waiting in
line has to put up with impatient locals who feel the need to push in. Unless you have all day, the Palace is
probably best viewed by cyber tour whilst sipping a nice cold Efes.
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| Dolmabahce Palace |
The outside of the Palace was just as grand, surrounded by
manicured gardens and fountains befitting a sultan and his entourage of wives,
children, mistresses and mother. Flowers
feature a great deal in Turkish design and in their gardens. I loved the swathes of begonias and roses
used to bring colour to gardens and city spaces. Here you can see them in the Palace gardens.
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| Palace gardens |
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| Pink begonias |
Next stop Taksim Square, the heart of modern Istanbul and of
recent austerity riot fame. It’s a
bustling expanse thronging with people from all walks of life. From here you can walk down the famous
Istiklal Caddesi street with its many shops, cafes and old fashioned trams.
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| Taksim Square |
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| Trams on Istiklal Caddesi |
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| The world's largest kebab! |
The bottom of Istiklal Caddesi takes you to the Tunel, a
short metro line that links the top of the hill pretty much to the Galata
Bridge. Lazy, I know but 4 TL is a small
price to pay to climb up a very steep hill!
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| View of the Galata Tower |
Fishing on the Galata Bridge is a popular afternoon pastime judging
by the number of would be fishermen lining the sides. Father would have been in his element here
and I was more than tempted to ask if I could have a cast. You could see large shoals of small sea bass
devouring the bread bait used by the fishermen but most were smart enough not
to get caught.
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| You're gonna need a bigger bridge |
After the fishiness of the bridge, our senses were attacked
by the pungent odours of the Spice Market, an old Egyptian bazaar filled with
spices and other trinkets – an Aladdin’s cave of colour and noise.
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| Spice stall in the market |
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| Inside the Spice Bazaar |
Finally, the chance to rest for a few minutes in the cool
stillness of the New Mosque. No photos
allowed inside but from beneath my headscarf, I felt small and humble under the
lofty, fabulously tiled domes. Tourists
are able to visit these places of worship but must stay in a special fenced off
‘pen’ so as not to disturb those who are praying. It was unlike any church I’ve ever visited.
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| New Mosque in Eminonu |
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| Suleymaniye Mosque |
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| Mosque by night |
In hindsight, spending a 100 TL (£35) on a one day tourist
bus ticket seemed like a good idea but not really a value for money option in
Istanbul considering the few times we hopped on and off it. We could have taken the metro or local trams
and done the same trip at a fraction of the cost.
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