This work was submitted by a participant for Hezarvik Safar (Alibaba travel writing contest-1401) and in Alibaba tourism magazineIt has been published.
Istanbul travelogue
In September of 2016, when I was busy and engaged in work and daily activities, I decided to shake off the dust of an employee for many years, which had covered my entire life, and I made one of the most memorable and biggest decisions of my life! With the encouragement of one of my best colleagues, I suddenly contacted a travel agency and we bought a tour ticket to Istanbul for the end of September.
I have never had the experience of traveling abroad and the fear of facing such an experience scares me. How much it will cost, how to do it, how to communicate with non-Persian speaking people, how to manage possibilities like illness and unforeseen events and thousands of other thoughts and concerns occupied my mind. But in any case, this big decision had been made and I had to throw my heart into the sea.
At 3 in the morning at Imam Khomeini International Airport, we started our 5-day trip with puffy eyes but full of enthusiasm. Although I had bought some foreign currency from the exchange a few days ago, we had to go to the bank inside the airport to receive a specific quota of government currency that was allocated to each passenger. We went through all the administrative affairs and arrived at the waiting room. We were flying to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines (Turkey Airlines) and the type of service and coverage of the flight crew of this company was very attractive to me. Compared to the experience I had from numerous domestic flights, it was noticeably different and satisfying.
Our plane landed in Atatürk Airport after about 3 and a half hours, and when we were leaving the big and slightly confusing halls of the airport, I saw many Iranians holding placards, showing the names of their tour passengers and waiting to find them. We also found our host and finally we were transferred to the hotel in a pre-arranged car.
This was my first encounter with the street and atmosphere of the dream city of Istanbul. Everything seems pleasant and colorful to me, and the reason for this later I found out that the air was clean, the use of modern public transport fleet with minimal pollution and the city surrounded by water and sea, and the pollution there was meaningless.
Our hotel was chosen near Taksim Square and adjacent to Esteghlal Street, and it had excellent access to main routes and various facilities such as metro and taxi stations.
According to the usual standard, hotels check in at 2 pm (passenger reception and room delivery) and we spent a few hours in the hotel lobby. With the delivery of the room, we took advantage of the opportunity and immediately started walking and exploring the streets and alleys around our hotel. The first interesting point for me was the cats that I saw on the street corners and next to shops and people. I couldn’t believe that they live so comfortably and peacefully with people and are so prosperous! I can boldly say that I saw the fattest cats of my life in Istanbul. This was my first experience that the relationship of Turkish people with animals and especially with cats is very good and maybe this is the paradise of cats!
The second point was that the streets around Taksim Square are full of various cafes and restaurants, and this was a unique opportunity for me, who loves to go to cafes.
In Taksim Square, under the beautiful blue sky with its velvety white clouds, the historical statue of the Turkish political figure, Atatürk, and some of his companions stood out, and on the flat ground that is paved around the square, among the crowds of people and tourists, dozens of gray pigeons Now they were jumping and eating seeds that passers-by sprinkled on them. Here, however, you should be aware of the trick of peddlers who come towards you with a pleasant face and a small disposable glass with some coriander and millet in it and encourage you to feed the birds and suddenly after doing this, they charge you a large sum of money. They ask for money! And I didn’t know what kind of trap was open for me!
As the weather got dark, we looked at the shops and small and big shops on Esteghlal Street, and at the end of the night, when we arrived at Taksim Square again, a peddler selling hand-meats on his big tray caught my attention. There, watermelon is sold sliced or riffed, and in the summer season, it is considered a profitable business for that peddler.
On the second day of the women’s trip, we left the hotel and reached the famous Besiktas Stadium, a few minutes away from Taksim Square. The exterior of this stadium is really beautifully designed and big red flags, which symbolize the visual identity of that football team, were placed around this structure.
A little while away from the stadium, at the end of the street, we reached the beach and pier of the Karakoy area. where the cruise ships are busy promoting and selling their tours and entertainment services from the morning. Even Iranians own some of these ships with their own programs such as Iranian food and music and provide services to Iranian tourists.
Our choice was the cruise ship dinner and live music program which cost a hundred dollars a person. Generally, the departure of these ships starts in the early hours of the night and you have dinner on the sea, which is an interesting experience. On the deck of the same ship, we passed under the beautiful and memorable Bosphorus Bridge, which is known as the Bridge of Wishes, and local people say that if you have a wish in your heart at the moment of passing under the bridge, it will surely come true. This steel suspension bridge, which is 1150 meters long, was built on the Bosphorus Strait and connects the Asian part of Istanbul with the European part.
On the third day of the trip, by preparing an Istanbul card with the help of Google Maps and the metro line, we visited the spectacular and historical Hagia Sophia Mosque. Istanbul card is a credit card similar to our own cards, with its internal credit you can experience various urban services such as using the public transportation fleet (metro and bus), entering some cultural and entertainment centers such as museums, etc.
The Hagia Sophia Mosque was actually the Eastern Christian Church that was built in 532 AD. More than 100 professors and 10,000 workers worked hard for 5 years to build this extraordinary building. Years later, with the arrival of Islam in the Ottoman land, or present-day Turkey, the king ordered Hagia Sophia to be converted into a mosque so that Muslims could pray inside it. For this reason, the paintings and murals had to be covered and now the effects of this covering are visible on the inner walls of the building.
Some time later, another king ordered minarets to be added to the building to complete the structure of the mosque, and after Atatürk came to power, this building was exposed to tourists as a museum.
When you walk in the large hallways and corridors of this building, you will encounter an interesting combination of Islamic and Christian carvings side by side, which is interesting in its own way. It is as if different historical points have come together in one place and time.
Near Hagia Sophia, there is another mosque called Sultan Ahmed Mosque, which is also known as Blue Mosque and Blue Mosque because of its beautiful blue tiles. This mosque was purposely built in front of Hagia Sophia to show that Ottoman and Muslim architects can be fierce rivals for their own Christian ancestors.
But the most beautiful part of my trip was the day we traveled to Buyukada Island. Istanbul has 5 islands, two of which cannot be visited and are at the disposal of centers such as military centers and prisons, but three islands have a recreational mode, the most famous of which is Buyukada. I am not exaggerating if I say that you will see a piece of paradise when you see this island. Ships depart from Karakoy beach in the morning to early afternoon and arrive at this island after about an hour. On the way, very cool air caresses your face, even in hot summer. The presence and movement of vehicles with fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline is prohibited on the island, and for years only horse-drawn carriages, horses, and bicycles were used. With the advancement of technology, the use of small electric cars has recently been allowed, and naturally, they have zero pollution. Due to these rules, the climate and atmosphere of the island are very pleasant and clean, and you can enjoy watching the magical scenery, trees and plants that cover the walls of houses and villas, and the pristine nature of the island. Most of the buildings are painted with happy colors and you can use the boat to explore the island apart from walking on the paths. A funny memory for me was seeing the bride and groom who had traveled to this island to take more beautiful photos on their wedding day. On the coastal edge of the island, there are many restaurants that serve a variety of seafood, and I tried calamari in one of these restaurants, which was very delicious.
Also, local stores have various handicrafts that are usually attractive to tourists. I bought my big straw hat from this island and I still have it as a souvenir.
Buyukada is one of those pure experiences that I always recommend to others and I think it will be one of the unforgettable memories of your life.
On the fifth and last day of my trip, seeing different areas of the city, people, cafes, buildings, etc. was on my agenda, one of the notable points of which is the mention of traditional ice cream shops in Istanbul. Even if you have not traveled to this city, you have probably heard or seen how the ice cream sellers, with their artistry and skill, turn the process of preparing and delivering ice cream to the customer into a full-fledged show and how much laughter they bring to their customers. How to connect the magic show with their business. This is perhaps the best marketing method of Turkish ice cream shops in the world, which by the way has become an official and serious tourist attraction.
Last but not least, buying souvenirs and especially Turkish baklava was part of our travel plan. You can’t travel to Istanbul and not experience Turkish bagels! Something that has words to say. The sweetness of this baklava is what I wish for all of you along with the sweetness of a hearty journey.
PS: The first decorative photo and other photos were sent by the participant.
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