Turkish Delights : Istanbul

The Sultanahmet Mosque - The Blue Dream

The mild lamps dangling from the sky high ceiling creates a twinkle in your eyes. The poetic blue grandeur of the prayer hall of the Blue Mosque bewitches you. The blue and red tulip patterns on the ceiling are subtle yet magical.

You step into the courtyard of this 400 year old mosque and you are out of a blue dream. The only other distraction: the horn of ship sailing in the blue sea in the backdrop whilst the pleasant evening air tickles your face. 

We were in the historic city of Istanbul, once renowned as Constantinople. An important destination on the Silk Route. The city spread over two continents was once the pearl in the crown of the Roman(later Byzantine) Empire until the Ottoman’s invaded the city.

The Bosporus which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, divides the city into two sides (technically three) i.e. European and Asian. Our love affair with the city began as our jovial young taxi driver took us to our hotel passing the tiny zig zag traffic laden streets at the Old city centre i.e. Sultanahmet. Whilst the lorries ahead of us, off loaded the goods at luxury in middle of the street, we were lip syncing to a Turkish song with the taxi driver. (I hummed a Bollywood version one) We knew we were somewhere close to home.

Being the Research guide for the group, I had mapped a list of places to see and boy , was it long! Dev and Preeti were equally delighted by the familiar vibrant atmosphere of the city. The hawkers, hand carts, loads of people, the usual tourist touts, ugly hoardings of politicians,(they are having elections) it seemed so welcoming. 

It was early evening after we got the first glimpse of what marvels the city held for us. Most of the attractions were closed after we stepped out of the Sultanahmet mosque (Blue Mosque) and brushed up some history lessons at the Hippodrome and Obliex adjacent to it. 

Since there was not much to visit and no particular route in mind, we ventured into our favourite activity. Roaming the city aimlessly on foot and sampling some local cuisine.

There is more to Turkey than the infamous doner kebab. There can be a whole chapter devoted to it. But here are the highlights: Vegetarians take a back seat. You can enjoy some Meze(assorted dips) and bread. There are lots of other interesting Kebabs (Andana, Iskender) although they are primarily Beef and lamb.

Sample Turkish parathas – Gozeme with feta and spinach, mushroom, beef (Only if they made chicken for me…sob sob) and try some clay pot cooked stews. Thanks to the surrounding water bodies, there is fish available in plentiful. Locals in large numbers drop their fishing lines very casually while standing on a bridge well into late evening. Infact, grilled fish with finely chopped parsley, onion, tomatoes and spices wrapped in a bread is a local street food favourite. (try near Galata bridge)The streets are scattered with hand carts selling roasted chestnuts and corn on cob and Turkish sesame pretzel like bread ‘Simit’. 

Did I make your taste buds water? There is more.

The hotel treated us to a hearty breakfast of different cheeses, eggs, fine dryfruits (one of the best I have eaten) and honeycomb every morning along with staple continental fare. The turks take their breakfast seriously. To hell to our London healthy dietary restrictions! Hubby and I muttered as we stuffed ourselves. We actually realised what a good tomato tastes like, the ones we buy even at a premium store in London seem to lack real flavour.

Getting back to the attractions……

We started our action filled next morning, we wanted to knock off major attractions off our list. We joked with vendors on our way as we went around looking at their fare on the streets. They called out, ‘’India’’?, ‘’UK?, sir come here. We will come again, we would say. 

One cheeky chap said, ‘’My grandfather said the same thing.’’ He paused. ‘’Twenty years ago but never came back’’. We found Turkish folks very jovial and friendly. And handsome. (beautiful…wink wink) Yes, all the four of us were shamelessly acknowledging the good looking faces.

Medusa's head at the Cistern

Inside Basiclia Cistern

The remains of the marvellous durable Roman architecture is evident in the city. The Basiclia Cistern , a 6^th century massive underground water storage tank is a fine example. If this wasn’t enough, the Hagia Sophia is a fine example of early architecture brilliance. It does not require a great effort to imagine how the interiors must be in its glory days. (History Gyaan : From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.)

Apologies for the boring historical fact, but Hagia Sofia reflects more than architecture I think it is a fine example that the status of the place is that of a secularized museum at present date.

Hagia Sophia

Although, 90% population in Turkey, is Muslim, the state is strictly secular. The women in Istanbul seemed to embrace modern outfits, no veils and men wore smart suits.

The Topkapi Palace, the primary residence of the Sultans for 400 years is spread over a few acres is adjacent to Hagia Sophia. It is now serves as a museum of possessions of the Sultans and some important relics of the Muslim world. Forget the museum, stroll around the gardens of the palace on a sunny day.

The gardens are lined with lovely, heavenly smelling flowers, you cannot resist but smell them. In fact they can been seen on major motorways at Istanbul.

The Dome of Hagia Sophia

So much for the main attractions, there are several other mosques adorning the hills of the Golden Horn area, a natural harbour , Chora Church, the walls of city from Roman times, the modern Taksim square lined with modern shops and cafes, the Galata tower and you could understand why a technically 3 day trip did not seem enough.

The Bosporus cruise at sunset time seemed like a perfect thing to do to view the beautiful city skyline. Sahlep, a thickly brewed warm drink of orchid powder, wheat, honey and milk topped with cinnamon(heaven) kept us company while enjoying the slightly cold air on the strait. Istanbul has a good network of water transport which locals use heavily apart from trams and newly built metro. Yes, we tried it all!! The most annoying part if any at Istanbul was the metro. Imagine walking down three to four flights of escalators to reach the underground!

“Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.”

These are words of Rumi, a Persian poet and Islamic jurist.

Watching a performance of the whirling dervish, made me realise what perhaps Rumi must have meant. Afterall, the Mevlevi Order, Sufi order are supposed to be his followers. Admit I watched him perform at a touristy café but nonetheless it was brilliant. It was a lovely musical evening with some soothing Turkish music and nargile. (sheesha) and the stunningly lit blue mosque in the backdrop.

Different types of Baklava

Have I missed the desserts? Move over Turkish delights aka Lokum….there is more baklava than you can eat. There are confectionary shops with a colourful array of sweets displayed everywhere. The cafes serve a variety of sweets with tea and coffee open till midnight. One such Café was Hafiz Mustafa, their Menu card was a fat laminated magazine itself !! The sweets were laden with dryfruits no kanjusi here. A must try is Kunufe, a sweet cheese pastry served hot in a pan.

What will you buy at Istanbul? Rather ask what you will not buy at Istanbul. Carpets, Ceramics, Spices, leather,Tea and Coffee. P and D spent half a day at Grand Bazar, one of world’s oldest mall to buy a carpet for their new home. I had fun haggling after a long time.

Fancy some exotic tea?

Half a day at Grand Bazar meant we were left with limited time to pursue the Prince Islands, a small cluster and weekend getaway for Istanbul locals. We reached one of the Islands, a vehicle free place much like apla Matheran (with concrete roads) around dusk and strolled around admiring the white washed mansions. After eating hurriedly some amazing grilled fish at a restaurant overlooking the sea, it was time to catch the last ferry.

White washed mansions at Prince Islands

‘’Mosafir?’’, asked an elderly gentleman on the ferry boat to hubby and we got into a small talk with him. He had been to the islands for a couple of hours on the weekend with his buddies. ‘’You have come from Hindustan? That is quite far from here.’’

Well, only around four hours away from home. In fact both homes which lie on either side of this beautiful city as I witnessed the borders of the two continents from the Galata Tower.

  

The Netherlands - Windmills, Cheese and the Dark Swan

The Reason

The glimpse of vast green fields lined with canal streams and windmills of all sizes greeted me from the tiny plane window as I landed the Schipol Airport and the drive to Leiden to meet Suruchi tai added to the eagerness of exploring a foreign land. Such is the beauty of the online world, that it gives you opportunities to meet a seemingly stranger over a few pleasant exchanges. Tai is Aditya’s cousin and we know each other only through facebook!

The Dutch styled home felt so welcoming thanks to the hospitality of the hosts! My humble rented apartment at wimbeldon seemed like a pigeon hole compared to their spacious home. Chatter with tai gathered momentum over garam garam polis and experiences we had while staying abroad. We spoke as if we knew each other for a long time. 

RijkMusuem - Next time !

The next noon, I took a train to Amsterdam to continue the rest of my trip to meet my dear friend Hrishi and his new wife Sonal who were coming from Mumbai via Germany. The plan was to spend a weekend at Amsterdam with our spouses. However hubby couldn’t join and I decided to go ahead. The last time I met Hrishi was the day when I left India for London and I was really looking forward for this trip. I might add that our friendship has lasted over years now as also across continents! 

(In Mumbai we have been breakfast buddies as both of us are early risers. Rather, the Shaadi ka side effect is that I don’t get up early anymore on weekends) 

The Country of Windmills and Cheese

As a self-proclaimed city guide, we decided to visit the Anne Frank museum only to be disappointed with the long queue. So we skipped it and instead passed every single street in this lovely canal striped city. The city’s by lanes are filled with cafes, restaurants, boutiques, quirky shops and the window displays are very alive and inviting. (Or was it that I was in a familiar company of a friend after ages and we were eating away random stuff happily?) 

We ate possibly anything and everything which came our way. The yummiest street food – Crayfish sandwich, something which I did not sample and feel guilty about. Even Sonal who is really a veggie at heart loved it. Lots of shops offer cheeses to sample and the huge cheese slabs put an instant smile on your face. Many cafes offer ‘Pancakes’, a Dutch favourite. (rather touristy)  So we sampled some huge and delicious ones at The Pancake bakery and were stuffed to the core. They offer sweet and savoury pancakes – atleast 30 varieties. However, we failed to sample some authentic Dutch cuisine!

(The above paragraph is truly dedicated to my food loving husband who missed it !)

Amsterdam has a variety of restaurants catering to all budgets. It is also a home to Heineken brewery. But we decided to skip that and instead went to a brewery at Eastern docklands which was situated in a cute Windmill to sample some beers! 

The rest of the beer sampling was done in our cosy houseboat! It is a country of canals isn’t, it?

View from the Houseboat

Kitchen Spot

Our Houseboat

The cycling commuters in the city are friendly too and you could explore the city on cycle yourself with the number of ‘Rent a Bike’shops. There is a casual, light hearted air in the streets of Amsterdam and the large windows of Dutch houses added to the charm of the city otherwise notorious for its immoral activities.  

Yes, you could smell weed at every nook and corner and the cobbled streets are dotted with cigarette butts! Yet we never experienced any trouble from anyone or perhaps we rather stayed clear of seedy lanes especially at night. 

To escape the regular city break, we travelled to a nearby village ‘Zaanse Schaans’. 

Just a short walk from the railway station and our footsteps followed the directions to the Village of Windmills set on a river and vast fields.

Within a seconds, I jumped with joy at the sight of the pretty village and exclaimed , ‘’Aye mala chocolate cha masta vaas yetoy’’. 

Village of Zaanse Schaans

The three of us went berserk !! It was probably everyone’s dream as a child to be in a village with some ‘chocolate element’’ in it….. forget the streets of Amsterdam filled with weed, we were in heaven. The village has maintained the dark green houses with wide windows and little bridges over rivulets.  Ducks, geese and swans made cute poses for us.

Each house or a windmill represents a traditional cottage industry viz., cheese, saw mill, oil mill, wooden shoes etc. Although, the concept was a bit touristy, we made the most of the sunny day sampling and of course buying cheeses, the traditional blue ceramics and not to forget a chocolate making demonstration.

The Blue Pottery

Whose shoes do you fit in?

Cheese is so native to Dutch diet: It is also consumed with beer !

 The secret of the chocolate smell titillating our olfactory senses? The chocolate factory on the opposite side of the village. 

The Dark Swans

The question was to be or not to be.  We were in the city of sin of Europe and how could we not escape the lure of drugs or sex?  Well, sorry Weed you did not seem tempting enough!! Firstly, none of us knew how to use or right places to buy and secondly we were too absorbed and happy. Meeting friends after a long time is a big high! 

As for sex tourism and live sex shows well to each one is own!! Personally, I find it gruesome and repulsive. Moreover, I find it shallow enjoyment for the moves would be artificial and choreographed!  

At 15, I have cried and touched by the concept of ‘prostitution’ itself. At 26 my heart did not move with the concept of ‘touring the district’. 

Prostitutes have been a subject of debate and is so often discussed in cinema and art. Today, legislation in many countries does not legalise the trade. Some claim that even the legalised industry in Amsterdam does not resolve the problem of ‘forced trade’ (Human Trafficking is a serious issue in Eastern Europe) itself. 

Nevertheless we decided to go for the recommended walk at the De Wallen-the Red Light District and we were not alone. There were several like us who were walking past the red neon light coloured ‘Display windows’. Some ‘stag’ night revellers were the potential clients however, it was such an irony; it was hard to spot the other ‘clients’ in the crowd. 

The women were very obvious, very plastic, the perfect make-up, the thin arched eyebrows, the ample cleavage oozing out, making gestures to the passerbys. There were no different from the prostitutes one sees at grant road or the ladyboys of Bangkok. The only difference could be the costume, the ones on grant road could be in a sari with a garish make-up, the ladyboys with their straight falling hair in short dresses and these women were in lingerie. 

They were the seductress, the temptresses, perhaps saviours for someone (as fancied in art/movies)or a casual one of thing for the other. They were the dark swans.

Amidst the thoughts and the crowd, I could not help but notice something unusual which wasn’t seen in the canals of the other lanes. The canal adjacent to the red light district street was filled with ducks, geese and swans, very unlikely at that hour. 

Although they seemed alright, I was worried, were they trapped?