A TURKISH DELIGHT - DAY 4 – 13 NOVEMBER 2021 – In Istanbul

Breakfast at the hotel was almost the same every day. But, it was nutritious, healthy and filling, which is more important. This day there was a homemade chocolate cake too. Once the breakfast was done with and over a couple of pieces of cake and a big glass of sour cherry juice I booked the car for the Record Drive starting the day after from the IST Airport. I got a decent deal of Euro 212 for a 14 day rental of SEAT Ibiza car, most bases covered. I hoped that I would not be surprised when I went to pick up the car at the airport! I used the CarJet portal for the booking and was promptly sent the reservation coupon. I also made arrangements with the hotel reception to drop us to the airport on 15th morning.

The Galata Tower was where we were headed to first up. By now we had become familiar with the tram system. We took the T1 tram from Cemberlitas to Karakoy and crossed the road to begin the trudge up the steep roads that lead to the Galata Tower. Business activity was everywhere. Shops selling electrical and mechanical appliances, fencing of a million types, lights, fans and much, much more line the main street and the narrow streets that run off from the main street. We walked and puffed, huffed and walked all the way up. Even though the Tower was less than a kilometer from the tram station the out of shape bodies found it an uphill task, pun intended. From about a 150 meters away we caught the first glimpse of the Tower and tears of relief involuntarily welled in our eyes!

The entrance fee to the Tower is 100 TL apiece. At that time of the day there were not many visitors around. At the entrance we were asked to show our registration on the Turkey Health portal, before the ticket was scanned and led to the lift which took us to the 6th floor of the Tower. From there we went up three floors over a spiral metallic staircase to the 9th floor where the 360 degree viewing deck was. I was not prepared for the feast that lay before my eyes. Mercifully, it was a clear day and the views from the deck were nothing short of marvellous. 

The historical Galata Tower, built in 1348, can be seen from anywhere in Istanbul. The 200 feet mediaeval stone tower sits atop a hill and commands stunning views of the Golden Horn and the city as a whole. Telescopes are placed at vantage points to pick out important landmarks of the sprawling city. The views are magnificent and the whole of Istanbul can be taken in one slow sweep of the deck that go all around the Tower. The number of visitors and their penchant for selfies could be a dampener. The confluence of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus Straits, Galata Bridge, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Besiktas, et al can be picked out on a clear day such as it was that day.

One has to be resolute to leave the Tower because I felt as if I was communing with the divine. After almost an hour on the 9th floor we started the slow climb down to the base of the Tower. The Café and Restaurant on the floors have been converted to a museum. The 8th floor has a few artefacts of the Neolithic period from the region and a few stone panels of a bygone era on the 7th. On the 6th floor is a simulation deck which digitally gives a feel of the winged flight of Hazafen Ahmed Calebi in 1638 from the Tower across the Bosphorus to the Asian district of Uskudar. Even though it is mentioned in a few writings of the day the winged flight was considered impossible at the time. At least it did impress the Sultan of the day, so much so that the frightened ruler exiled Calebi! Naturally, the exit from the Tower is through an overpriced gift shop.

We took a taxi to go to the Dolmabahce Palace after spending a lot of time on foot futilely trying to take a bus there. Anyway, the taxi dropped us in front of the Palace in quick time for 20 TL. Directly opposite the Palace is the Vodafone Park multipurpose stadium. It is one of the largest stadiums in the whole of Turkey. The stadium is the home ground of Besiktas JK, the local football club. With a seating capacity of 42,500, the stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. It is considered a ‘Smart’ stadium where fans enjoy interactive TV experience and high speed WiFi.

The impressive Dolmabahce Mosque is not very large. It was commissioned by the Queen mother but was thrown open for prayers by the ruler in 1855. Next to the Mosque is the visitors’ car park of the Palace, which was almost full and gave us an indication of the crowd that was visiting the Palace at the time. The queues were humongous to get into the grounds. In these times, being an Indian is an advantage. We have our own queue beating techniques, don’t we? I used it a couple of times and then found a cash queue that was almost empty to buy two entrance tickets for Euro 25. The Clock Tower before the entrance to the Palace dates back to 1890 and is 90 feet tall. The clocks were the handiwork of renowned French clock makers.

The Dolmabahce Palace was the brainchild of the 31st Ottoman Sultan who decided that the Topkapi Palace was not modern and contemporary enough and ordered its construction in 1848. Six Ottoman Sultans lived in the 285 room baroque extravaganza overlooking the Bosphorus. It is little wonder that the construction of the Palace impoverished the State and led to Turkey earning the dubious sobriquet of ‘Sick Man of Europe’. The Republic took over the Palace in 1923 and it is here that Kamal Ataturk breathed his last on 10 November 1938. Stunning chandeliers, cavernous rooms, monogrammed cutlery, crockery, humongous handwoven carpets, stately furniture, period paintings are all part of the grand tour of the Palace. A pity that photography is prohibited within the Palace. 

After spending more than two hours exploring and marvelling at the treasures of the Palace we decided to walk to the Ciragan Palace. It was a fairly long walk through Besiktas, which is a district of Istanbul on the European side. It directly overlooks Uskudar on the Asian side across the bridge. It has a boisterous fish market and is a busy boat terminal for passage to Asian and other parts of Europe Istanbul. Facing the ferry port is a monument to the memory of Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Naval Fleet Commander of the Ottomans who secured considerable success for the Empire in the Mediterranean during the 16th century. His fleet used this point for assembly and embarkation. In close proximity to the monument is the hero’s tomb and the Naval Museum. 

The Ciragan Palace was built between 1863 and 1867 overlooking the Bosphorus. It had, by then, become a custom for Sultans to build their own palaces, choosing not to live in their ancestor’s. This is another profligacy that quickened the decay of the Ottoman Empire. The occupants of the palace did not do so for very long and the magnificent palace was totally destroyed by fire in 1910. The ruins were bought by a Japanese Corporation in 1987 and restored into a hotel. The Palace is now part of the Kempinski chain of luxury hotels, where the Sultan’s room is rumoured to be tariffed at over $35,000 a night! Celebrities, performers and important people from all over the world patronise the hotel which has rooms ranging from $3,500 to $10,000 a night. Knowing that we cannot afford even a cup of coffee in the restaurant of this famed Palace hotel we asked the hotel staff if we could use the restrooms of the hotel, which, surprisingly, they agreed to. We walked around, mouth agape, for some time before using the restrooms and exiting the hotel.

By this time our legs and knees had started to wobble. We took a bus from the hotel to the tram station in Eminonu. By this time the crowds on the streets had swelled and the public transport was choc-a-bloc. We wondered how it is that Corona had not resurfaced here. Anyway, we were mighty careful with face mask and liberal use of sanitiser. After resting for a while in the hotel we decided to go to the Ortaklor restaurant once again for dinner. I ordered a plate of Adana Kebab and Hetal had Lentil Soup with Pide and Ezme. My appetite had been stimulated by a can of EFES Malt Beer, a popular local brand.