Lost in Translation: An Istanbul Story

To be honest I really had no idea I would be going to Istanbul. But hey guess that's one of the great things about living in Europe. Going to Turkey seems like a piece of cake! Or baklava I should say ha ha..

Our trip got off to a bit of a rocky start sprinting through the airport to catch our flight after Evan was politely informed by the woman at the ticket counter that his reservation booked through GoVoyages was in fact illegitimate and he had no seat on the plane. 20 minutes before boarding. Long story short Evan got another ticket just in time and we all somehow luckily made it on the plane! GoVoyages sucks.

We were a little worried getting in to Istanbul so late at night. However, we were pleasantly greeted by our driver arranged by our airbnb host who was a short little smiling turkish man dressed in a suit who kept providing us with endless bottles of water and soda. We wanted to take him with us but thought that kidnapping your cab driver was most likely frowned upon - and probably ironic.

Babel Café: We started out our Saturday at this café recommended to us by our Airbnb host. It was a small restaurant not too far away from our apartment that looked pretty average so we sat down. The breakfast platters and plates of hummus that followed were anything but average. The various salads and vegetables were beautifully arranged on the plates. Our waitress tried to warn us about the amount of hummus we were ordering but we were in Turkey and that’s what we wanted. And none of it went to waste. A typical Turkish breakfast platter we found is composed off cucumber/tomatoes, olives, pita, peppers, hard boiled egg, and a few different spreads that we couldn’t identify. So not what you would think of as breakfast – but it was certainly delicious, and surprisingly filling for not having any meat.

After breakfast we headed over to Sultanamet where pretty much all the touristy sites are conveniently located within a 10 minute walk of one another.

Hagia Sophia: I learned about the Hagia Sophia a lot in Art History 101 so I was pretty excited to see it. Unfortunately, it’s a little difficult to see from right outside because it’s surrounded by a lot of buildings. And on top of that, it was under construction :/ Looking past all the scaffolding this mosque really is impressive. It was built in the 500s and is absolutely huge. I loved all the ornate decorations and the calligraphy on the walls and ceilings. It is also very different from the gothic architecture of Paris so it was very cool to see. Lots of large domes and spaces with pretty murals (in lieu of the lack of stained glass windows) There weren’t any stairs to get to the second level but rather a series of ramps with mismatched stones.

Basilica Cistern: Really loved this. Still not sure what it is. We had no idea what to expect but we knew it was something underground. So the above ground building gave us no clues as to what was underneath. We were shocked to see a beautiful pool of water underground with large arches and dim lighting that reflected beautifully across the water. The photos don’t do it justice but it was an amazing atmosphere. The “medusa heads” are a big part of the basilica cistern but I still don’t really know what the point of them is. We discovered that the Turkish aren’t fans of plaques that actually explain anything useful.

Can't be a tourist without taking selfies

Blue Mosque: The line for this looked out of this world. But thankfully we stuck it out and actually got in very quickly. The mosque is breathtaking. The designs on the ceilings were beautiful and the chandeliers made everything look bright and colorful. Though it did smell kind of bad because everyone had to take off their shoes lol. Mosques really are incredible and different from churches - I like all the colors.

Topkapi Palace: We walked through here quickly as we were running out of time in our day but once again it was beautiful! The courtyard had lots of pretty spaces and flowers. I loved the mosaic tiles on the walls as well. Also not really sure what it is (ugh) but it was cool. Photos also weren't allowed inside but I went a little rogue. Yay tourism!

Grand Bazaar: This place is so overwhelming oh my gosh. But so cool. It's HUGE. There are tons of little vendors with thousands of scarves, lanterns, plates, bags, anything you can really think of. I also discovered that I suck at bartering. I found myself trapped in a room with hundreds of plates with a Turkish man yelling at me about being ridiculous and trying to cheat him out of his money. But despite him guilting me by showing me photos on his iphone of him hand panting these plates I still got a plate for my host mom bartered down from 80 lira to 50. Though he was begging me for 55. Ridiculous for me since the exchange rate is 3 to 1 I was really going for nickels and dimes on this beautiful hand crafted plate - but once you're in the heat of the moment ya just gotta do it. So I left the store exhausted, and bright red in the face. But came away with a great gift for the fam that's now hanging on the wall in our kitchen!

Don't know what this is but it was pretty...!

Simit: I think this means bagel. One of the only Turkish words I learned because they had carts selling these things EVERYWHERE. Got a few simits with nutella throughout the weekend and I gotta say they were pretty good.

360: For dinner we decided to go to another recommendation by our airbnb host since breakfast turned out so well. We weren't really sure what to expect so when we showed up to this SUPER nice bougey af rooftop restaurant with entertainers running around in spandex tuxedo suits climbing on walls we were quite surprised. We were treated like kings and given an awesome table in the middle of the restauarant with a great view of the city. Not to mention I think I had the BEST sea bass of my life. It was served with a tabouleh and some fried potato square things. The fish was cooked so well and it was incredibly flavorful. Arguably best meal abroad AND it ended up being the same price as some pretty average/sucky meals we've had in Paris. So pleased.

Bad picture - great meal

On Saturday we decided to spend the day by the water because it was a GORGEOUS day.

Gram: Started the day off right with what is definitely my best brunch abroad so far. This was the trendiest, coolest brunch place I've been to in a long time and I never thought it would be in Istanbul. We got some traditional Turkish breakfast plates and then amazing scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, fig cinnamon pancakes, and awesome pastries (a chocolate/nutella cookie probably being my favorite). I was so surprised to find out how trendy some parts of Istanbul were.

Galata Tower: Best view of Istanbul by far. It's a random tower that actually isn't very tall, but since it's on a hill you can see everything and it has a spectacular view of the bosphorus. The city is HUGE!

Some strange turkish street candy.. the pretty colors were too much to resist.

Boat Tour: Went on some rando company's boat tour which was a little janky but really cool. It was such a nice day to be on the water and it was a great way to see all the hills and buildings and really get a sense of the whole city. The water is SO blue (unlike the Seine). There was a really annoying man however that bought like 10 packs of crackers to throw at the seagulls following the boat. We almost pushed him overboard.

Mangerie: Again - such a cool and trendy dinner spot. Had an awesome view of the bosphorous and really great salads and desserts. 

Raina: Probably the bougiest night club in Istanbul. Such a cool setting on the bosphorus under a bridge outside with twinkly lights, lots of plants, and multiple levels. However, pretty sure it was just filled with the richest men and Turkey and some women they were bribing to hang out with them. Regardless, still a really cool club.

Eske Beiruit: Left Raina to come to this more college esque club in Taksim. We got there at like 3 in the morning but it was so fun! Didn't get to stay long but it was kind of like the Turkish version of le mix. After leaving we wandered the streets to get kebabs because you can't go to Istanbul without eating kebabs. Even at 430 in the morning Istanbul is HOPPING. I might even go to say it's more lively than New York at night - go figure.

By Sunday morning we were all pretty exhausted. Had an amazing time in Istanbul but ready to get back to France where we actually semi-understood the language and the lobby of our apartment building didn't smell like cat pee. I definitely recommend a visit to Istanbul at least once in your life. Really cool city and unlike anything I've ever seen.