A Place Both Wonderful and Strange – Tash & Ricki's Career Break Travels

While we were sad to be leaving our canine companion and the beautiful Austrian countryside behind, we were also glad to get on the road again and back to our travels.

Our near month-long tour through the Stans was just round the corner, and to be honest we were wishing we could just head straight there.

Instead, we had a couple of days to fill first. Perhaps it was fitting that as we were now crossing over from Europe to Asia, we were spending those days in the very city that does exactly that – Istanbul.

As soon as we had got ourselves checked in and out to dinner at a rooftop terrace, any doubts about our quick stopover were forgotten. As the sun began to set behind the minarets of the mosque, and the imams’ calls to prayers rang out across the city, it felt like such a magical setting.

With only a day and a half to sightsee, we had to make like the Turkish whirling dervishes and get spinning round the city.

Having visited a fair few churches and cathedrals this year, we were very excited to enjoy some Islamic culture.

We marvelled at both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. It feels like such a privilege to have visitor spaces available, even while the prayers are ongoing. 

The Blue Mosque

Hagia Sofia

Much of the remainder of our only full day was spent at the Topkapi Palace, a vast complex encompassing courtyards, the imperial harem, chambers and pavilions.

I personally didn’t know much about the Ottoman empire prior to our visit, so there were lots of interesting things to see. I’ve decided that if I can ever be reincarnated in any era, perhaps the Ottoman empire would be the one I choose. I particularly enjoyed learning about their love of sweet things and fragrances!

In the evening we took a stroll over a bridge crossing the Bosphorus, in order to reach the neighbourhood of Karaköy. While we ate dinner at a hotel restaurant, Ricki, always the better celeb-spotter than me, realised Mansour Bahrami, an entertaining pro tennis player, was dining with companions a few tables away. Although a bit more subtle off-court, I’m pretty sure I heard “Federer’s number” being mentioned.

All we managed to make time for our on our final day was another trip down to the Bosphorus and a ferry across to Besiktas – it is a much more cost effective option than one of the tourist boats.¹

To my disappointment, we didn’t actually make it to the Asian side of Istanbul. But at least I could comfort myself knowing we had plenty of Asian experiences ahead of us.

Tash’s Treats

After spending most of this year in countries where lamb isn’t widely farmed, it was a treat indeed to arrive in Istanbul and enjoy lamb shish.

Another popular dish, pide, which is a flat bread folded in at the edges to contain a meat, cheese or vegetable filling, made an excellent choice to sustain us until our late evening flights.

And for an afternoon break, I was also pleased to enjoy some Turkish delight in its home country, as well as Turkish coffee.

1. To be honest, in comparison with other places we have visited this year, Istanbul ranks very highly on the cost index. Our wallets were probably quite glad it was a short visit. ↩︎