Istanbul, Turkey - Day 1: A Cross-Continental Behemoth

I had never set my eyes on Turkey before 2020, when it became such a prized jewel for travellers amidst such draconian travel restrictions imposed by governments worldwide.

Unlike its counterparts in both Western and Eastern Europe - and the vast majority of EU nations - Turkey pursued a pretty lax border regime, allowing travellers in irrestricted and irrespective of where they had spent the last fortnight. This of course sounded all too appealing to me, as travel restrictions are something I have been struggling to grapple with, seeing that I split my time between Brazil and the U.K. - two of the worst Covid-19 hit countries in their respective continents - and having to isolate for a fortnight somewhere isn't exactly every traveller's dream.

Once my pending holiday plans to the Baltic states and Finland - with a short stint in St Petersburg in Russia - were put on hold indefinitely amidst rising rates of infection in the region, I decided to ignore them altogether and go off the - this is highly debatable - beaten track and explore regions a tad more exotic, if one can put it that way.

The Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's most iconic landmarks

I have always felt non-EU Europe a distant reality, usually cosied up in my nook of London, dwelling in Britishness and my own Western-Mediterranean privilege, and I could simply not have anticipated my long term plan of visiting the ancient Ottoman Empire, and follow it up with a couple of former communist states, would have come to fruition this soon, and this year of all years.

The journey there

I flew to Istanbul from Heathrow, an airport I and some of you as well are all too familiar with, that was actually quite pleasing to transit through in the Covid Era. Cheers to all airport staff who made it feel so smooth and safe. The outbound ticket cost me about £81.00, and the first thing that dawned on me and made me realise I was going farther away than the usually comfortable UK-central Europe route was my BA flight.

I knew we weren't flying into the EU, but it was still Europe-ish nonetheless, yet it didn't look domestic in the slightest, as I had entertainment on board, top-notch meals - plural indeed - and any other modest luxures you'd expect from a transconstinental flight, albeit still technically a European flight, going on for a mere 4 hours. RyanAir should take notes.

The flight itself was very packed, and I reckon I might have been the only non-Turkish national on board, but luckily there was self distancing and it wasn't filled to capacity.

An unusually deserted Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport

I took a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Istanbul New Airport

My best friend had always been the one to fantasise about visiting Turkey in the first place. Seeing the Sultanahmet mosques, wandering around the Grand Bazaar, food sampling, getting a glimpse of a more liberal Middle Eastern lifestyle, and I would usually find it rather amusing she'd seem so keen in travelling somewhere so alien and far away when there was still so much left to be seen on the Western wings, at least for me.

Yet here I was myself, alone, landing in Turkey in November 2020, at the height of the second wave of a pandemic that was very much rampant across that nation, when a war with neighbouring Greece over maritime rights could easily erupt any second, and long-standing secular museums were being turned back into mosques, being stamped through by a not very amiable border control agent, who seemed to be genuinely uninterested after the shortest of glances at my passport cover, no questions asked as to why I was visiting or what my intentions were.

I guess passport privilege does exist after all.

First impressions

Where I stayed in Beyoğlu

Well, besides being completely ripped off by a Money Exchange Office on my way in - they prey heavily on tourists coming from Britain and other well-off European countries, so be a bit more careful than I was on that - I was massively, and truly overwhelmed by Istanbul's grandeur and size.

Only after realising it would take me over two hours, two coaches (and finally a tram) to get to my AirBnB in Beyoğlu (pronounced Bay-oh-loo) did it occur to me I could need some help in navigating the sprawling metropolis good old ancient Constantinople evolved to be.

Quick background story, to those who aren't familiar with Istanbul's remarkable, and very complex, past it has survived many empires up to this day. Originally built as the strategic Easternmost outpost of the Roman Empire in Ancient Thrace, this city - then known as Byzantium - reached wider and wider, occupying ever larger swathes of land over two millennia and slowly acquiring its very exquisite, bordering on mystical, outline I watched in awe as I descended into the former Ottoman capital that afternoon.

To say it is quite challenging - as it was for me, a newcomer - to get around the city even when it has such comprehensive transportation links, catered by numerous bus lines, tramways stretching as far as the eyes can see, a world class underground system, ascensors, ferries, and so on, is surely not an overstatement.

Narrow alleyways off Taksim Square

A fruit stall in vibrant Beyoğlu

Beyoğlu at night

Since the Ottomans came to power in the early 1400s, upon their seizure of then-Constantinople and expelling of the Byzantine Romans - probably some of my earliest ancestors according to 23andme, but we can come back to that piece of information later in a future post - Istanbul was bound to become a Middle Eastern giant from its very induction.

From being a medieval peninsula secluded to the Southern side of the Golden Horn only, to a cross-continental behemoth straddling two continents, present-day Turkey's largest city and its European asset can easily swallow clueless, google-eyed tourists like yours truly.

Anyways. To cut a long story short as I love a big verbose moment, I checked into my AirBnB later that evening and it turned out better than I hoped it would be. You can check the listing for that here, could simply not recommend it enough. Two balconies, a very large bathroom, a fluffly comfortable bed in one of Istanbul's most unique, colourful and Instagrammable boroughs, although a bit rough around the edges, sitting comfortably between the Southernmost edge of the Northern shore of the Bosphorus, the strip of water dividing the continents, and Taksim Square, Istanbul's own Oxford Street for my fellow Londoners.

All for £64.00.

Overlooking Beyoğlu charming streets

View from the flat's frontal balcony

Did I mention there are stray cats everywhere? Fortunately they're very well looked after apparently.

Street kitty warmed up to me on my way to my BnB

I really mean everywhere.

My host, a lovely ginger-haired Ukrainian lady who seemed to struggle making sense of my rather strong South West London accent, really went out of her way in making me feel comfortable and offering tips on things to do during my five-day stay. And in dragging my very heavy hand luggage across extremely narrow, full-of-character zig-zaggy streets and hills, and still managing to stop for a quick picture or two on the way to the flat, I knew I couldn't wait until the next morning to set off and explore on my own.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes - it was colder than I expected it to be - I decided to have a closer look at Taksim Square and what it had to offer. Now, sauntering around this place it didn't seem too far removed from any central European commercial hub, bar the occasional call to prayer from nearby mosques and the very distinctive smell of Turkish cuisine spicing up the wintry air - something you can't easily get in, say, London or Prague. 

Balik ekmek, a traditional Turkish street snack

I hope I don't sound like a patronising Western git here, as I am simply stating a fact, there were Christmas lights all around as well, and for a split second the thought crossed my mind British Airways had actually taken a U-turn and taken us back to London and this was but a different edge to Leicester Square I hadn't yet been to.

Old tramway in Taksim, Istanbul's commercial quarter

The recently constructed Taksim Mosque, facing The Republic Monument celebrating Ataturk's secularisation of Turkey

Locals shopping in Taksim

Old historical red trams whooshed past me as I savoured some balik ekmek, a grilled mackerel sandwich I probably butchered trying to order out loud.

It cost me about £1.50 - or 16.00 Turkish liras - as their currency is traditionally weaker in comparison to the British pound or the Euro, but it has taken a huge blow this year due to the ongoing crisis. If balik ekmek was anything to go by, I was in for a treat during my holidays. Spoiler... I was absolutely right.

And then it was time to get back home and rest off the soreness of a very busy day. I'm never lucky with Google Maps but I did manage to make it back safe. And tomorrow the true exploring commences...