This travel journal of my trip to Istanbul is brought to you by numerous pamphlets pilfered from various destinations, the Eyewitness Travel Guide: Istanbul (which I highly recommend to anyone), and my husband's patience while I stopped every ten feet in order to take the over one thousand photographs during our week in Istanbul.
Parts of this journal are direct excerpts from the journal I kept during our Istanbul tour; parts of it were written after the fact.
The Story
5 Jan 2005, 3:40am
So far, Turkish Air is quite nice. They gave us slippers, and headsets, and toothbrushes, and we're in economy.
I was exhausted at home, waiting for the driver from the embassy to show up. And I seriously thought about taking a nap on the way to the airport. But as soon as we pulled to the curb I was awake and fine. Part of this might have been the appearance of the "bellmen" - only, at 1am, there were only four or five, instead of the thirty when I arrived in August. Before we'd even gotten out of the car, they stood at the ready with empty carts, calling out to us in Russian: "We can help! Let me take your bags!"
"Nyet, nyet," said Bill, and together we blocked the men from grabbing the bags right from our hands. We thanked our driver (the ever-so-dependable regular driver Igor being on vacation), and headed into the airport.
The airport in B - Manas Airport, named for the local Paul Bunyon of sorts - is set up far differently than airports in the States. In fact, I would venture to say that it's far safer and more secure. First, we had to register for an exit visa (normally $10 for the privilege of leaving the country, but as diplomats we don't pay anything). Next, we moved through a checkpoint where our passports were compared to our tickets - flimsy, carbon-paper things. Then we sent all of our baggage through the X-ray machine, and filled out declaration forms, and only then were we actually allowed to check in to our flight.
Here's the thing I love about this country: it's 1am, and there are maybe fifteen people waiting to check in, and do you know how many counters were open? Ten. Yay for cheap labor!
Next came passport control, then another x-ray machine. "I have to get used to flying naked," said Bill before being dragged into a vibrant conversation with the security agent who wanted to know how difficult it was to get a visa to the States. (This is a prime topic of conversation for most people here, once they learn you're American. One gentleman we ran into on our vacation told us that he regularly gets junk mail about how if he sends $25 to a certain post office box, he'll get a visa for the States. We confirmed that it was junk, and told him that we get spam about million dollar payoffs in Africa. I wonder what the Africans get?)
It was a mad rush to board the plane - what, go according to seat assignment? What are you, logical? Once aboard, we were lauded with the aforementioned goodies - plus, once we'd taken off, food. Before that, however, we had to be de-iced, and it took a while. Bill fell asleep, and in the meantime the plane began following a little Lada Niva out to the runway. (For a comparison of our plane and the Niva, think watermelon v. peanut.) We sat again - waiting for who knows what, maybe the wings to ice over again - and on either side of us were snow-covered fields. It was very dark.
Bill woke up.
Bill - Have we taken off yet?
Me - Yes, dear. See that lit-up sign out the window, saying we're on lane two? It's floating on the clouds.
Bill - Cool. (goes back to sleep)
Seeing how it's way early in the morning (or way late at night, depending on destination or departure), I sort of figured they'd turn out the lights and let us sleep. But no, they had to feed us. A non-pork product, according to the slip of paper on the tray. (Makes sense, as we're in a Muslim part of the world.) And a hot roll to boot! How many American airlines give you hot rolls?
Love, love, love for this airline. (But not their bathrooms. Uber-stinky.)
We're going to be almost seven days in Istanbul - we arrive at six-thirty in the morning on Wednesday, and will leave mid-afternoon on the following Tuesday. Bill and I both think this will be plenty of time, particularly as our hotel is smack in the middle of the old city.
If your browser refuses to load the map, or it is otherwise causing your computer headaches, there's also a plain, boring text version you can use.
The main part of Istanbul is divided into four areas: Sultanahmet, Seraglio Point, the Bazaar Quarter, and Beyoğlu. Sultanahmet is where you'll find the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia (also known as St. Sophia, but more on that later). Our hotel was located halfway between the two landmarks, no more than a few moments walk away. There was plenty there to keep us quite busy.
Istanbul was founded in 667 BC as Byzantion, and was one of the successful city-states of the Ancient Greek empire. However, it did undergo many different ruling empires (the Persian and Macedonian empires being two of the more notable) before become part of the Roman Empire in 64 BC. The city was completely destroyed by Septimius Severus in AD 195, but he was good about it and rebuilt the city, laying out the Hippodrome (a large oval arena which sort of half remains today.
(Did anyone else get an image of Alan Rickman in a toga during that sentence? Or was it just me?)
In AD 324, Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the renamed "Constantinople". (He wasn't being entirely narcissistic about the name, either - he'd wanted it called "New Rome" but that doesn't fit so well in funny songs.)
It was Justinian who developed Constantinople into a thriving city in the 6th century. He extended its rule from Spain to Asia Minor, and it was under his influence that Constantinople had its greatest ruling power. However, he didn't have much control over his wife, Theodora, who convinced him to use mercenaries to control a mob in the Hippodrome, resulting in the deaths of more than 30,000 people. But on the bright side, he also built Haghia Sophia, so I guess it all evens out.
The Byzantines never really retained the glory they had under Justinian's rule - but they never fell into the Dark Ages, either. While Europe was crawling around in the mud trying to avoid the Black Plague, Constantinople was regarded as the beacon of law, scholarship, and culture. The city considered itself to be the center of Christianity, and sent emissaries to Russia and other Slavic lands to convert to local heathens. The Byzantine empire came to a crashing halt in the 11th century when the Seljuk Turks managed to do what the Slavs, Arabs, Persians and Russians had not, and for the next two centuries, the city bounced back and forth under Byzantine rule and just about everyone else.
But I know what you really want to know: when did the harems kick in?
The Ottomans got their start in 1301, but they didn't reach Constantinople (by then reduced to a city-state with a few minor outposts) until May 29, 1453, when Sultan Mehmet II pretty much destroyed the city during a 54-day siege. He rebuilt the city, including Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. After a wee bit of convincing, people began to move to the newly named "Istanbul", and the city was a mix of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
(And he had a very nice harem, too.)
The Ottoman Empire remained in place until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it steadily lost territory to Russia, Austria, Greece and Bulgaria. Despite the victory at Gallipoli in World War I, Turkey was on the wrong side of the war and after its conclusion found itself occupied by French and British troops. This led to discontent among the people and eventually resulted in the expulsion of the sultan (who apparently was exiled to England, where he was not allowed to have his harem, poor man).
A man named Mustafa Kemal Paşa ("ş" is said "sh") dominated the Turkish power structure during this time frame. Also known as "Ataturk", he is credited with establishing the current political framework of Turkey, as well as replacing the Arabic alphabet with Roman script, allowing women great political and social rights, and requiring all Turks to adopt surnames. While semi-European dress had been in style since the early 18th century by Sultan Mahmut II, Ataturk took this a step further and banned the fez (which has not ceased to make it a popular tourist souvenir).
In 1923, the capital of Turkey was moved from Istanbul to Ankara, but that hasn't hurt the city one iota. Bill said, upon our arrival, that Istanbul is the New York of the Middle East, and he's not wrong. In fact, many of the Turks we met asked us how the city compared to New York, and it's actually a good comparison. Both are the largest cities in their countries, neither are the capitals, both have untold amounts of history (albeit one more so than the other), both are located on the water and span either side, both feature a plethora of cultures within their borders.
The biggest thing on anyone's minds, of course, is Turkey's eventual admission into the European Union. Though negotiations have only just begun (and though several Europeans we met harbored doubts over whether or not they should be admitted), Turkey is not only hopeful, but is thoroughly convinced that it will be admitted to the exclusive club, and soon. Soon is doubtful - but for a city which is a perfect blend of European and Muslim, it could not be more deserving.
To explore Istanbul, go back up to the map and click on an area.