I have a notebook full of scribbles taken during the visit to Istanbul: here are a few impressions along with some connected pictures —
- Low-cost flights (Condor; SunExpress) go to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport on the Asian side of the Bosporus. It’s a fresh, modern facility being built as an alternative to Atatürk International Airport, but th elocation makes it harder to get into the city. A taxi costs 80 euro and takes 45 minutes; look for the shuttle buses to Taksim Square. They cost 10 euro, run hourly, are just as
fast (despite the taxi driver’s assurances that they take three times as long). - My camera broke on the second day: I priced a replacement, then found the wholesaler upstairs. It was an experience of pure capitalism: I loved it. Runners dashed in and out taking product to vendors, the owner yelled offers into his constantly ringing phone, arm-waving negotiation set goods flowing out the door. And, in the end, I got a better camera for 30% off street price, cash-only, no receipt, apple tea, and a great story.
German football fans are just as loud and drunk when they lose as when they win. The orange-wrapped Ukraine’s, however, are quiet in victory as though they lost.- Istanbul, on the whole, is immaculate. An army of people are sweeping and cleaning, and people take pride in the area around their homes and shops. It makes the streets feel safe and welcoming.
- I do miss the glimpses of home life that the Dutch display: curtains are closed in every Turkish shop and home every evening. And there aren’t two of anything in the windows.
Toilet paper doesn’t go into the toilet; it goes into a nearby basket. It’s not a bad alternative in theory: so often the public toilets are clogged by waste paper. But it takes some getting used to (as do the occasional slit-toilets). - I enjoy waking to the call to prayer from the mosques: it gives an exotic flavor to the visit and puts me into a frame of mind to go exploring. Later, listening to the call at twilight from a rooftop terrace is haunting.
But I don’t understand why they consistently use over-modulated loudspeakers, or how electronic amplification became the religious norm. Even in museums, the cantor uses a microphone to chant into a small room. - Stray cats are everywhere; no stray dogs, though. Tourists pet the feral animals; it’s probably only slightly less dangerous than petting bears in National Parks.
- Merchants and restaurants have amazing consideration and hustle for their customers. Entrepreneurs should take note of Turkish attitudes towards customer service: they stand above the rest.
Tour buses are an absolute plague. I began to suspect it after competing for space with them on Italian coastal roads, and am now firmly convinced after fighting throngs of tourists in Topkapi Palace. In quantity, they block views, spew exhaust, and overwhelm venues with surges of people. There have to be common-sense limits.- Taxis have the right of way over everything else, and are absolutely fearless in rushing into narrow gaps in traffic. Dutch cyclists wouldn’t survive five seconds.
Huge Turkish flags flutter everywhere, driven by national pride, history, culture…? Overt nationalism makes me uncomfortable, whether in Oklahoma or Istanbul: there’s always a faint ‘with us or against us’ implication.
