Visiting Istanbul: Wishful Sunbringer

“Wherever I go, I bring the entire changing sky with me,” Old Sean

Farlight Mornings

After two days of exploring Istanbul with my friend Jackie, I was admittedly tired. We had purposefully crammed as many adventures as humanly possible in a matter of moments. But by the third day, both of us were willing to take a half-step back and spend a bit of downtime.

However, that didn’t mean we got to sleep in. Well before the sun had fully lightened the sky, Jackie and I were awake, heading outside.  

After two days of endless mist and drizzles, I was expecting another day of slight rain. But to our surprise, the clouds overhead were breaking apart beautifully. Light from a weak winter sun was sliding thin rays through cracks.

Immediately, we capitalized on the newfound gorgeous weather to seek out breakfast. We found a quiet shop which served spectacular meat-and-egg meals at top speed.

At this point, Jackie and I diverged for the day. Jackie wanted to do some personal shopping for folks back home and browse the wonderfully affordable nail salons of Istanbul. And I was off catching up with an old friend.

Back in university, I had often accompanied a young lady by the name of Nancy on walks around campus following Postcolonial Literature classes. We had studied several of the same subjects. But while I pattered out with a bachelor’s degree, Nancy doggedly completed her PhD.

Though we remained in touch, it had been around nine years since we had last seen one another. Since we had both ended up in Istanbul that Saturday, we set up a meeting at a quiet coffee shop.

Never A Moment For Memories

I arrived first at a cafe called MOC Osmanbey and promptly bought myself an apple pie for nostalgia reasons. I miss pie during the winter and fall holidays when I’m away from the United States. It’s a consistent sickness I’ve never quite managed to shake.

Regardless, Nancy arrived a bit after, clad in a red scarf with her usual charm angling the entire room towards her.

As odd as it might seem, we didn’t spend much time reminiscing about the old days. Nine years is a lot of catch-up effort. So instead of talking about distant years at university, we heard more about the endless trinkets of life that make up a person’s persona.

Nancy spoke of her time in Paris and Prague, her beloved work, the writings she had accomplished and the classes she now taught. She spoke of her family, her kittens, her life during and after COVID and her career. She was intelligent as ever, wildly discerning and deeply introspective of the human condition. Topics ranged wildly and compellingly, touching on moods before death, the build of civilizations, the state of modern students and the corners of human purpose humans could still define for themselves, independent of the divine.

For my part, I rambled as I’m prone to do. I waved my hands as I talked about Mongolian tundras, Alaskan fires, Amazonian tribes, Ecuadorian rituals, Islamic ruins, Gulf Nation insights and a thousand other things that flickered through my thoughts.

Afterwards, Nancy invited me to a bookshop. I told her about my earlier visit to Istanbul’s Museum of Innocence and she offered to get me a copy of the book, as she thoroughly enjoyed it. After browsing the English literature section and getting my gift, we went to a bagel shop and enjoyed a quick meal.

Afterwards, we veered off to separate corners of Istanbul. We had chatted for hours but it wasn’t nearly enough.

The people I’ve befriended over the course of my life are scattered across the entire planet. Even if I had stayed in my hometown for my entire life, this would still be true. There isn’t a place where a majority of the people important to me congregate geographically.

I miss my people.

By Lasting Sunsets

After hanging out with Nancy, I went back to the Journey restaurant, where Jackie was resting. After a couple of days of intense wandering, it was nice to have a few moments of breathing.

We began walking after a while, once again moving around the district. Instead of selecting a specific tourism destination, we sought out views of sunset. The sky had shifted to a riveting orange, great sweeps of thin clouds bright on the horizon. As always, Galata Tower dominated the sky, framed by nearby buildings.

We continued to follow the sunset, moving ever-westward as we moved towards the shoreline. As we walked, we passed rows of artwork, small galleries and tiny shops. Eventually we reached Galata Bridge where lines of fishermen leaned against the railing and a rotating crowd of tourists took their turns photographing the opposite store.

Jackie and I followed the curve of the coast, moving through İBB Karaköy Sahil Parkı. While the park is beautiful and offers stunning views across the water, it comes with three detracting hiccups.

Firstly, there are a lot of people smoking. They walk with clipped steps on narrow paths, like speedy, narrow chimneys, a cloud of nicotine streaming behind them. Secondly, there are the ferries. Often, while simply gazing out at the sunset, the view is powerfully obstructed by a large ship, which artfully maneuvers through the waters, somehow never brushing one another, despite their bulk.

And finally, the smell of fish is so potent, it’s nearly step-stopping.

But if one can endure or ignore this, the sights are wonderful. There are lines of brightly colored buildings with strings of lights besides them, giving the entire shoreline a pseudo-tropical shantytown vibe. Seafood markets gleam with the scales of fresh caught fish, heaps of ice white against walls. Dogs frolic on grassy areas beneath statues and cats lightly tiptoe, seeking out stay fish which fishermen might have dropped. The Atatürk Bridge stretched into the distance, its edged lit up against the dying light.

Beat-Breath

After our little walk, Jackie and I stopped at a nail salon where Jackie finally found an expert willing to work at a good price. I thumbed through legions of Istanbul photos while I waited, marking down notes about our day. Once finished, we headed to another chocolate shop called Hane Çikolata & Kahve Karaköy. There, a cheesecake slathered in chocolate sauce was laid in front of us and promptly destroyed.

Getting back to Airbnb proved to be a small challenge. I was unwilling to walk up the hill towards Galata, but my data had tapped out, preventing us from getting an Uber. We ended up borrowing some WIFI from a Turkish Delight and Dessert shop called Köşkeroğlu Baklava Tophane.

When we finally arrived at home, we quickly slumbered, planning on using our last day to explore the outer fringes of Istanbul.

Heaping Breakfast

The following day was our last in the city with an evening flight at 9:15 PM. In anticipation of a long day for walking, Jackie and I left our luggage at our Airbnb while we went on our last exploration.

Originally, we delved into the city to look for breakfast. I had been highly recommended New York Bagel & Coffee by Nancy, but I’d forgotten it was Monday, Turkey’s de-facto weekend. The shop was completely closed and all we had to show for the walk was a few nice photos of sunrise.

Jackie and I kept roving, following maps to a breakfast venue called Van Kahvalti Evi with a whopping 3,900 reviews and 4.5 stars on Google Maps. We made a beeline for the restaurant, amazed we hadn’t heard about it before, considering its immense popularity.

But the reason for the lack of fame became apparent. Van Kahvalit Evi isn’t spectacular. The service is a bit abrupt and sporadic. The food, while good, isn’t exceptional. The expensive spread offers a huge variety of spices, sauces and toppings, but not enough base foods to put them on. And our order was mixed up a couple of times.

It wasn’t bad by any means. But certainly not worth the rave reviews online.

The reason for the discrepancy became apparent after the meal. A woman came up with a QR Code for me to scan, asking if I would leave a positive review. She was polite about it, but I despise when people inflate their companies artificially like this. And I don’t like being asked to contribute to a business I haven’t personally decided to support.

I told her no, she insisted and we left.

Overall, Van Kahvalit Evi is an interesting place to eat. The food is good and there’s a lot of diversity in the meal. The restaurant is well-appointed and the staff, while a little brusque, is competent and swift. But its online ratings are somewhat elevated due to their pandering practice.

In Memory of Tulips

After breakfast, Jackie and I took an Uber out of the city center. The vast majority of my time spent in Istanbul is usually in the core of the city or upon the various islands nearby. This time, again at the recommendation of Nancy, Jackie and I would be heading north.

We slowly drove past Dolmabahçe Palace and the various city tunnels until reaching Emirgan Park, which sits overlooking the Bosphorus. The park is famously attended in the springtime due to the lines of bright tulips and the Tulip Museum within the boundaries. However, in December, there are no flowers.

Despite this, the park was lovely. There were broad trees with defiantly yellow leaves fluttering in the wind or slick upon a sun-breathed ground. Green rolls of grass soothed their way up hills and squirrels twitched and sprinted amongst trees. Narrow, artificial waterfalls patterned over rocks and elaborate mansions stood on cliffs. A few trees kept stray autumn blossoms of white and pink, backlit by a rising sun and white clouds.  Beautiful views gazing upon the Bosphorus are available everywhere within the park and the nearby cafes make the area especially quaint.

Our little hike concluded by reaching the shores below, where we walked around Emirgan Sahil. Buying slightly-watery coffee from a local stand, we wandered along the coast, enjoying the sight of dozens of fishermen pulling up chains of wiggling fish on singular rods. Cats paced behind them, meowing plaintively for handouts while the anglers placed their prices in water-filled containers for freshness.
 
To the south, I could see the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, a superhighway which rose over the water to dizzying heights. To my surprise, Galata Tower was framed by the bridge; a hazy, unmistakable spire in the mythic distance.

I took a low quality photo for my amusement, editing it to look more like a painted picture rather than a grainy snapshot later on.

Quiet As It Gets

After eating chocolate on the banks of the influential waterway, Jackie and I took a slow walk toward the nearby village district of İstinye. Located in a small bay surrounded by bobbing boats and far larger ferries, the small community is a quaint stopping point for visitors on tours through the Bosphorus.

While the village isn’t exceptional or compelling, it is nice. There are some tiny little shops, easy walking roads, quaint views of the bay and numerous, loving cats. Jackie and I visited a few small shops, including a spice market, but ultimately decided to depart the town.

It was a nice little detour on a day consisting of detours.

Stall for the Drop

Jackie and I returned to our waterway walk, passing billboards and sweeps of coastline until we found a better coffee shop to the south of Emirgan Park. On a brightly colored street with shady trees and a humble mosque, we stopped for lemonade, caramel cake and an odd cinnamon tea drink. Known as Mackbear Coffee Emirgan, The rooftop was entirely open, allowing us to linger while enjoying winter-esqu sunlight.

At this point, it was time to head back to the Airbnb to complete the 3 PM checkout. We found an Uber to return us to our luggage, packed up the last of our things, did our best to clean up any stray towels and headed out.

The next portion of our day was a bit of a hike. Luggage filling hands, we trundled down Istanbul’s streets to revisit the restaurant Journey, which would serve as our resting base for the remainder of our visit. There, we took turns munching on salads, pristine coffees and hearty sandwiches. Each of us would sometimes leave to go run nearby errands for souvenirs while the other would stay and keep a vigil over our luggage. 

Uber Woes

When it was finally time to go, I summoned an Uber. However, I got hit with a scammer.

Uber has an unfortunate cancellation policy which pays drivers when riders cancel a ride. This is somewhat understandable, as it prevents drivers from racing across town for a zero-pickup situation. Sometimes, clever people will accept a ride and stall, hoping the other person will cancel the ride. I make a point of never canceling a ride, preferring to waste inordinate amounts of time while using a second phone to summon an actual vehicle. 

But Istanbul doesn’t actually use Uber, not in the way Americans might understand it. The app is basically just a ride-summoning program for taxi drivers who hold a monopoly on rides through the city. And Istanbul has a taxi-honesty problem, which means that it has a skeevy driver problem no matter where visitors go.

I loathe taxi drivers. I’ve written that before and I’ll write it for years to come. There is no group of people more dishonest and prone towards cheating others out of their money and time. I’ve written entire articles on all the scams taxi drivers use, from deviating loops to jumping meters to false dealings and counterfeit bills. 

While Uber’s security measures makes some of these actions untenable, the issue remains; taxi drivers, as a group, have a larger-than-average number of dishonest people in their ranks.

So when my Uber driver rambled and stalled for twenty minutes and refused to cancel the ride from his end, I stewed while ordering a second vehicle. Sadly, the delay, along with increasing rush-hour traffic, was substantial enough to make us borderline-late for our flight back home. 

Audacious Chauffeur

Luckily, the young man who eventually picked us up has a curated disregard for speed limits and traffic laws. He revved down dark highways, wheeled onto the shoulder of the road, passed everything on two and four wheels and plunged into tunnels like arrows down a rabbit’s hole. 

That’s not to say he was a good Uber driver. The gentleman smoked at high speeds, letting nicotine brush over his passengers. He stopped at one point to get himself a water bottle. Long minutes were spent video calling others. And he took an insanely large loop all the way up to the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge to avoid gridlocked traffic to the south. When considering the toll charges and extra distance, his payment at the end was undoubtedly immense for a swift ride to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. 

However, I will say this; we made it on time to the airport when I was quite certain we wouldn’t. So there’s something to be said for expediency. 

Jackie and I lounged around the airport awaiting our respective flights. There’s not much to say about a short walk around an airline terminal, so I’ll end the story here. 

For a lightning vacation, Istanbul proved to be an exciting and active destination. In a matter of four days, I managed to catch up with old friends, visit national icons, stroll the Bosphorus, pet plenty of cats, stuff myself silly on all sorts of food and enjoy showing Jackie around one of my favorite cities in the world.

So ends another adventure. I return to Riyadh to handle the concerning amount of work that has undoubtedly formed in my absence. I’ll need at least a couple of days to myself before haring off again.

So until the next time,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean 

Written December 11th, 2023

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