A Day in Istanbul
December 18th, 2011
We left our boat at Marmaris Yacht Marina for an early morning, 05:40 am, pickup by a shuttle mini bus of www.resorthoppa.com to Dalaman Airport, €48.00 for both of us round trip. It was supposed to be a 2 hour drive from the marina to the airport but only took 1hr and 10 min, so we arrived at the airport very early for our 11:00 am flight. We had a Turkish breakfast and then settled down in a comfortable seat and passed the time reading.
The flight to Istanbul Ataturk airport left on time and arrived about 20 min early. Took a taxi for 6 Turkish Lira (€2.44) to the hotel near the airport, checked in with the very friendly receptionist, placed our luggage in our room and made it in time for the free shuttle to the main Istanbul shopping area. We did not actually know were the shuttle bus was going, all we new was that it was going to Taksim which is an area north of the main tourist attractions such as the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace museum.
When we arrived in Taksim we were disappointed at the site as it didn’t look that impressive except for a Greek Orthodox Church about 500 meters to the south of where we were dropped off. But then on further exploration we found this fantastic area of shops selling anything from delicious lamb, beef or chicken doners, shops selling deserts such as Turkish Delight, Helva, plus all sorts of nuts and of course all the designer boutiques. As we turned the corner all we could see was a sea of people walking up and down this street. We are not fans of large cities and crowds but this was different there was a certain air of good vibes and energy, some peaceful protesters with placards that we did not understand, marched by through the crowded pedestrian-only street. We have been to many other major cities around the globe, our favorite is NY City which we visited several times and love it every time we go there. But this Istanbul has its own style and attractions and a definitive culture. We noticed that not many people where not even window shopping but just strolling up and down the street, meeting friends, holding hands and just enjoying the atmosphere. Every few minutes an old tram similar to the once in San Francisco would pass through the crowd, this gave an even nicer atmosphere to the whole street.
A day here in the shopping hub of Istanbul doesn’t make us experts about Istanbul but the few hours we spent here we fell in love with it and are looking forward for our next one day visit on the way back from Malta, we hope to be able to visit the museum at Hagia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque at that time. We are sure to be back in Istanbul to spend more time in this exotic world class city. Maybe in Spring 2012 !!!
