Istanbul 1

It really wasn't my first day in Istanbul, just the first of my last 3 days. I had allocated 6 days total to Istanbul, half at each end.

I had started getting up early again to accustom myself to the impending timezone jump. That morning I managed 0500. It was noisy outside when I opened the balcony door, mostly sea birds crying. There was even one that sounded like a dog waffing. The sun was out though there were clouds. I went to the hotel terrace and sat for a half hour watching the jetty. I saw lone commuters hurrying to catch the 0600 ferry, and saw one ferry leave for Heybeliada, the second largest island of the group. Then I went for breakfast.

This clock tower is just outside the hotel and one of the first points of reference after disembarking from the ferry.

I left my bag with reception and walked to the monastery of Ayios Nikolaos. It's a reminder that more Greeks lived here in the past. It showed no sign of current use. There were flies everywhere due to the horse shit. They even followed me down the hill.

Büyükada has many stately mansions due to rich people setting up holiday homes here.

I had a walk through the island's markets. Many shops had advertisements in Hebrew, perhaps due to Israeli visitors, and perhaps history as Jews have been in Turkey for centuries. There is even a synagogue on the island.

This is the island's central "taxi" rank.

The trip back to Sirkeci was breezy. Istanbul was crowded and noisy as always. I checked in at the youth hostel, then went for a walk in the markets. I like looking at the colour of produce.

A stall selling flours and pulses. A tourist like me taking pictures always got curious looks from the subjects, especially as my eyelid was still swollen.

This is the Orient Hostel, another hostel in the same neighbourhood of Sultanahmet, where I had decided I would catch a shuttle to the airport on departure day.

In the evening after dinner, I caught a ferry to Üsküdar, on the Asian shore. It was a cool place, in both senses. The lights of the European shore were magical to watch. On regaining the European shore, I found a cafe serving Turkish coffee but it was disappointing. If you like it, then you like coffee with the flavour boiled out of it and sludge at the bottom of the cup.

Büyükada

You're probably thinking this entry will start off the usual way, with me writing about how I enjoyed my sleep, or not, and what breakfast was like. When I got onto the train I thought, in 11 years time, after blogs are invented, I will just write about a normal night train journey. Just kidding. But it was not to be. As I was returning to my compartment from checking out the buffet car for a nightcap, a piece of aluminium trim above the door detached itself and hit me above my left eyelid. Fortunately my eyesight was not affected but my eyelid swelled up, looking like I had got a black eye in a fight. The conductor was solicitous, but really there was nothing to be done but to give time for the swelling to recede. I stuck a bandaid over it, not because it helped any, but because it made the injury look plausible to onlookers. Oh, and there was nothing that I liked in the buffet car and it was full of smokers so I bought nothing.

In the morning, the train skirted the Asian coast of the Sea of Marmara for a long time. There were ugly high rises visible from the line. Our progress was slowed by the suburban trains of Istanbul, but it was all taken into account in the schedule. Here we have arrived at Haydarpaşa.

The architecture of this station bears witness to a more elegant age. This is the first station in Asia coming from Europe. There was no restaurant serving food as the guide claimed; it only served drinks. So after taking photos I hopped onto the ferry crossing the Bosphorus for Karakoy. There was no feasible breakfast place there either so I walked across the Galata Bridge to Sirkeci. The next ferry to Büyükada was at 1015, so I had breakfast at a restaurant on a back street, my injury attracting curious glances from the clientele. What I need, I thought, is a cheap pair of large sunglasses. But I didn't find any for sale.

The crossing took about 90 minutes. It was an overcast day with cool breezes. I stayed outside because of the ubiquitous smokers. I hated them with a passion. At Büyükada, which means nothing more exotic than Big Island, as it's the largest of the Princes Islands, I checked into the Princess Hotel (what else?) slept until 1330, then went out for lunch. I was set upon by hordes of restaurant owners so business must have been slow. Nobody seemed to have enough small change. A had told me that the government was trying to control inflation by restricting the supply of money!

I took a walk along the promenade, passing the historical but slightly dilapidated Hotel Splendid. Büyükada is a resort island, a handy getaway destination for Istanbul residents. Motorised vehicles, except for service vehicles, are prohibited, so life moves at a slower pace. To get around you walk, ride a bike or take a horse-drawn buggy. Here you don't have to watch out for homicidal cars; you can hear the buggies coming in good time. Alas, the smell of car exhaust fumes has been replaced by the stench of horse shit. Progress is seldom unalloyed.

The best views were unfortunately from private houses along the shore. You can only partly see this swimming pool belonging to one of the hotels. At the end of my walk was a campground which required an entrance fee, so I turned back.

For dinner I had an excellent meal of Inegöl köfte which was more expensive than on the mainland. Then I savoured the cool evening until bedtime.