48 hours in Istanbul

It was Friday morning, I settled into my seat and heard the pilot announce that it would be just a 3 hours 20 flight down to Turkey. With that kind of flight time, it reminded me that Istanbul is a perfectly do-able weekend away.

I’d only been to Istanbul once before, for a very short 36 hours. That previous visit had been grey and damp and if I’m honest, a little underwhelming. This time, it was blazing sunshine and the city shone in full technicolour, and was all the better for it.

Friday:

We arrived at the Marmara Pera hotel about 5pm on Friday night. Not a very pretty hotel from the outside (and to note, pretty weird bathrooms with floor to ceiling mirrors. No-one needs to see themselves from every angle on the loo). But, it’s a historically interesting building, located in the heart of the Pera district, with epic views across to old Constantinople. The rooms are nicely done out, the breakfast delicious, and there is a nice rooftop bar and pool to top it off.

We arrived in time to have an evening stroll down one of the main shopping streets (Istiklal Cd.) and arrived at the Flower passage (Çiçek Pasajı) for dinner at Sevic restaurant. A perfect way to start our Turkish experience, there was plenty of mezze, chicken kebabs and a delightful accordion player mingling and entertaining us. The only disappointment was the lack of baklava as we had a severe airborne nut allergy within our group to consider.

We wandered back and stopped to have late night drinks in a vibey side street with the locals. There was Turkish music playing, plenty of shisha smoking, and given the two hour time difference for us, time to keep the evening going, and enjoy a wonderful start to our weekend away.

Saturday:

We packed it in! We took a minibus from our hotel to the heart of historic Istanbul, the Hippodrome of Constantinople. We gently meandered around Sultanahmet Square to soak in the sights of the Blue mosque and Hagia Sophia. We queued for around 30 minutes in the full sun to go inside the Grand Mosque, which was originally a Roman Catholic Church completed in 537 AD. It was well worth the wait to see the magnificence, and there were plenty of street vendors on hand to sell refreshments. Do note that you do need to take your shoes off to go inside. It does smell a little bit of feet as a result.

Whilst the grandeur of the Hagia Sophia was simply wow, it was the Basilica Cistern that I loved the most. This huge cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns (water storage sites) that lie beneath the city of Istanbul. Just 52 steps down, and with its cathedral-eque columns, I was mezmorised. Lit beautifully with a peppering of sculptures and installation, I couldn’t help but wonder, who has the vision to turn a roman reservoir into a modern art gallery? Simply incredible.

After the cistern, it was time to mooch around the Grand Bazaar. A maze of colour and sound, one of the largest covered markets in the world, with over 4000 different shops and stores. Carpets, spices, jewelry, Turkish delight, fake designer goods – you name it, you can probably find it. I walked away with a Whirling Dervish and a Turkish eye pendant (traditionally held to ward off evil and negativity), before taking the load off for a lunch time bottle of Efes.

We nipped back to the hotel for forty winks before heading back out for a sunset cruise on the Bosphurous. Sundown tunes and cocktails made for a very special golden hour.

Istanbul famously sits on two continents and after an hour on the boat, we casually docked on the Asian side of the city at Uskumru restaurant. Sitting directly under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge with bifold doors completely open we watched the sunset from the restaurant as we ate some of the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted. I’m not sure I’ll ever eat a tastier piece of seabass.

There were 50 of us on this Istanbul trip and by about 10:30 some of the group were ready to head back to bed. Once we were back at the hotel, a few of us weren’t ready to be done yet and took the lift up to the roof bar where the DJ was playing great 90s dance anthems. Whilst the gins were very pricey, the awesome views across the city were clearly part of the cost.

Sunday:

Sunday was a gentle day. We had no fixed plans, we just had time for wandering. While others chose to hit the shops and the Grand Bazaar again, we chose to head to Karakoy for the colourful umbrellas and laid back street café vibe. On our way we found the most traditional of Turkish delight shops and between five of us, spent enough to let them all pack up and go home for the afternoon. We headed to Ali Ocakbaşı for lunch, more mezze, chicken kebabs, and spectacular views across the Bosphurous. It was tricky to find, mind. We had to ask the locals and even the police. When we did find it, it felt like we were going into someone’s private house, and it had a very tiny and frankly, dubious lift.

We walked back to the hotel in time to catch our transfer back to the airport. On our steep climb back, we passed Galata Kulesi, a restored 14th century tower and former prison. As we walked off our lunch, it was interesting to see that many streets was cornered off with heavy police presence, as the city was anticipating a Pride march.

Back to the airport, we sat spotting all of the chaps who had flown out to Turkey for the weekend to have hair transplants. There were a few obvious nose surgeries that had been done too. Fascinating to sit and people watch! A short flight later, we landed back into Heathrow at around 10:30.

Personally, I found Istanbul to be more vibey than beautiful, although there are some very beautiful individual things to see. In the heat of the summer sun, the famous sights shone and the street cafes and restaurants were full of life. I’m glad I got to see it in the summer. All in all, a Friday-Sunday weekend trip was perfect. It was a thoroughly do-able mini-break and a very enjoyable way to spend a weekend away.

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