A Weekend in Istanbul

We land at Ataturk airport at 12. Finally Istanbul. I've wanted to visit this city for a long time, considered the gateway to the East and which also represents for me my first contact with the East and the Islamic world. We take a taxi and reach the accommodation we chose, right below the Galata Tower. Already while driving through the streets I love the city to death... We go out immediately and visit the Galata Tower, continue towards Tunel and walk the whole of Istiklal Caddesi up to Taksim Square. The long avenue immediately conveys the emotion of being in a vibrant city where radically different traditions coexist at their best: young people in miniskirts and boots walking alongside women in niqab. From Taksim we take the funicular and get off at Kabatas. Strolling along the Bosphorus we admire the Bezmi Alem Valide mosque and the Dolmabahce palace.

We take a taxi and reach Ortakoy. This quiet corner of Istanbul is wonderful. The small mosque on the Bosphorus with the bridge connecting Europe and Asia behind it is truly a postcard. We taste the famous Kumpir, a baked potato stuffed with a bit of everything (the Turkish version of Moscow's Kartoska!) and we bask in the sun admiring the Asian shore and the ferries cutting across the Bosphorus. We go back to the center by taxi and have ourselves dropped off at the Galata Bridge. It's sunset and the bridge is full of fishermen. You can smell the sea and fish and spices. On the side of the bridge we take a stroll around the small fish market and have an aperitif in one of the many bars under the bridge. I'm enthusiastic about this first day, about the city and above all struck by the people.

Turks prove to be indeed very easygoing and interested in talking, helping you and making themselves known. Language is not a problem at all, and despite knowing little English they manage perfectly to make themselves understood.

I'm woken by the call of the Muezzin at dawn. In the total silence it's rather striking. Today the old city. After crossing the bridge we have breakfast with Turkish coffee (a good substitute for our espresso) and stuffed savory pastries and start our tour. The New Mosque and the Spice Bazaar. Here the smells and the stalls are truly indescribable, I like it more and more. We continue with the Basilica Cistern (magical atmosphere), with the Blue Mosque (magnificent) and Hagia Sophia. We also visit the Topkapi palace which with all its gardens in bloom and full of tulips is truly a spectacle. Lunch with the typical doner kebab which I'll now find hard to eat anywhere else! We continue through the streets of Sultanahmet and reach one of the many entrances of the Grand Bazaar.

Entering here, getting lost among the alleys, admiring every corner, looking at the goods cleverly displayed is worth a trip to Istanbul on its own. Needless to say I can't get out..but I postpone the purchases and continue to Beyazit Square, the university and the Mosque of Suleiman. It's evening and we're exhausted.

Today the weather isn't the best, so I don't miss the chance to plunge back into the Grand Bazaar. Crossing the spice bazaar again, we walk the maze of alleys of the old city breathing in a quite particular atmosphere. Back at the Bazaar we devote ourselves to shopping and the art of negotiation. Never pay more than half of what is initially asked! Here too the people prove incredibly friendly, not just to sell you their things. They love to strike up a conversation over a glass of tea and drag it out at length. Today there's no hurry, we've exhausted the must-see attractions and we take their pace. We keep walking and don't pass up the tasting of the famous sesame rings, of the corn roasted on the street and of the delicious Kokorec! We have dinner based on fish in one of the little restaurants on the Galata Bridge (Too touristy, but at least the menu is in English!).

After dinner we go to say goodbye to this wonderful city from one of the cafes around Galata. It's on a terrace with a breathtaking view over the city and the tower itself. At the time of the last prayer, the music in the place lowers and leaves room only for silence and the voices of the muezzins chasing each other from one mosque to another echoing over the Golden Horn. It's like this and with this memory that I say goodbye to Istanbul, but choosing to return to Turkey to spend the summer holidays.