Turquoise Tales: My Istanbul Journey
My story of getting to know the city through multiple visits and seeing changes both in the city and myself
My very first acquaintance with Istanbul happened back in 2020, the year we were all forced to be locked down. How could that be?
At some point, Türkiye, a country that highly relies on tourism, was one of the pioneers to reopen its borders. Back then, I was an avid traveller whom these restrictions morally hit hard and once I saw the opportunity I grabbed the tickets and couldn’t wait to jump on a plane again to cross the Black Sea.
I arrived late in the hot evening of August 2020 settling in the area most travellers wouldn’t choose — Balat — the neighbourhood of old colourful buildings full of synagogues, Byzantine churches, and local charms. Then, I started to explore such different and attractive parts of the 16 million city jumping from the bus to the ferry or the metro — Karaköy, Taksim, Kadiköy, Dolmabahçe Palace, Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Certainly, visiting a city that has thousands of years of empire history obliges you to discover the main historical spots. At the same time, I always value seeing something behind these curtains, more of real life. And Istanbul could greatly offer me both of these attractions at a high rate.
My first impression of this city was so strong that I returned there a few more times. Now I was interested to see more advanced areas —instead of mainstream Istiklal street, I prefer laid-back Cihangir with its artistic galleries and bohemian shops, rather than Beşiktaş I chose Nişantaşi with its art nouveau architecture, also a glimpse of Arnavutköy and Bebek, Üsküdar and Kuzguncuk with its magnificent panorama through Bosphorus bridge. And if at some point I started to feel tired because of the large number of people around me, I could always take a ferry to one of the Princes’ Islands —a cradle of tranquillity and pine tree forests as long as old wooden maisons.
And here I am, living in 2024, around 2,5-3 years since my last visit to Türkiye, deciding to visit it again. The question that stuck in my head once I booked the trip was —
Would my perception be the same?
Would I feel the same sense of freedom, neverending curiosity, and excitement or this time, it would turn out differently?
I didn’t know the answer but was already on my way again. The only difference this time was that my flight took slightly longer — 3 hours instead of 2 — flying from Paris where I live right now instead of Ukraine where I used to live before.
Merhaba my good old friend
This time I settled in Moda, the district of Kadiköy which is full of decent coffee shops and restaurants. My idea was to discover another new area, this time on the Asian side, from the perspective of the habitant and thus, I chose to stay at a cosy Airbnb. It truly felt like home thanks to the most welcoming host, a lovely and very cheerful lady Zübeyde who treated me like a family member.
On my last evening, we had a wonderful homemade dinner together with my host and her son sharing cultural aspects and observations. It was a great chance for me to ask a few of the questions that have been on my mind:
- Does Türkiye keep moving to a more traditional, religious, patriarchal society? — From my subjective point of view yes, it does.
- Why is there such a contrast between the image of Atatürk, the father of the nation and today’s reality? (again, based on my perspective)
- How different is Istanbul’s culture from other Turkish cities?
I find one of the answers to be very interesting. The revolutionary ideas and reforms brought to Turkish society during Atatürk’s politics — particularly the reform when women started to wear modern clothes instead of traditional ones, the right to vote for women, and the expansion of education for everyone — were brought not by the society who demanded and fought for them (as it was during French Revolution, for instance) but by the progressive vision of one person, Atatürk. Thus, certain people might not see them as the direction and through time, the traditional patriarchal norms keep prevailing in such a society.
Still, Istanbul feels like the most European of all Turkish cities. I came up with this belief in my previous trip when I crossed the whole country visiting 5 more cities with Mardin at the South-East part as the ending point. Also, my hosts born and raised in Istanbul, agreed with this point.
The magic of the ferry trip
The real benefit of the Kadiköy area is that you’ll probably use ferries daily to reach the European side. And to me, this is the best experience you can have in Istanbul.
The fact that crossing the Marmara Sea and Bosphorus on the ferries is just a usual thing for locals truly mesmerises me. During my visits, I saw totally different weather conditions from sunny days to rainy and stormy moods. Once, the ferries were even suspended due to the storm — all of that looks to me like such a poetic theatre setting — “Sorry, I can’t reach you on the other bank, there’s a stormy weather” (still, you can do that, there are bridges and metro but I want to dramatise a bit).
Changes
The biggest takeaway I’ve got from visiting the same city is that I changed. During the break of roughly 3 years since my last visit, there happened a war in my country, Ukraine and I started to live in a different country, France. These two things might have brought a significant change in my perception of reality — while I still tend to see the beauty around me, my eyesight has become more critical, demanding, and realistic.
My war reality
The war is what has altered my reality once and for all — I can’t tolerate hearing “but russians are also the victims of this conflict”. No, you can’t put “victims” on the people whose silence and taxes sponsor their bloody terrorist state to send missiles to Ukraine every day to kill Ukrainians.
I perfectly understand that people who never experienced war in their homeland can’t see what it is. But I also can’t stand Türkiye’s position of being nice to everyone, both Ukrainians and russians. Even more, their interest in russian money is very strong both in tourism and business given its proximity and historical liaisons. This is where Türkiye is losing my sympathy and it’s very different from what I used to feel towards this country before.
Sense of freedom
Previously, the visits to Istanbul brought me a sense of freedom. How come?
Besides the fact that once I literally escaped from Nepal with its’ ridiculous COVID regulations and arrived in Istanbul, I also used to admire its neverending territories and the possibility of discovering new districts — I simply loved the energy of the big city which was different from my hometown. And the sense of being in a travel mode back then just drove me crazy — I loved it and I hardly wanted to come back home.
Now, things have changed and I no longer have an urge to escape my life, I love and really appreciate it as it is. I also travelled so much that probably I nourished my appetites to the full extent. At least, for now.
Elevated inflation
I subtly remember the price range I used to pay for cup of coffee or tea in Turkish lira before and these days, I was surprised each time since the numbers looked… tripled? So many times I opened the app to convert the currency and see the equivalent in Euro. Some other moments I even got a clear idea I was scammed, the prices looked ridiculously high. In the end, I just googled this and found that annual consumer inflation rate rose to almost 70% in April ’24.
Certainly, coming from one of the most expensive European cities Paris I might not be in trouble since most of the prices are still cheaper but I can’t imagine how locals deal with this since the level of salaries in Türkiye is significantly lower than in Western Europe. This is probably the reason why so many times I saw empty cafes or permanently closed ones where in the previous years they were full of people.
The beauty of visiting Türkiye
On the other side, there are strong points that can easily make you consider this country as your next destination to go.
Hospitality
Turkish people are open and heartfelt. It feels like hospitality is in their genes and you can’t even imagine how different it is from Parisian attitude. 10 Points To Gryffindor.
Incredibly tasty food
Turkish cuisine is undeniably rich and I’m not even sure it’s possible to taste everything in one visit! Some good names of dishes to remember and try:
- Pide;
- Kahvalti / Traditional Turkish breakfast (first pic);
- Trabzon Peynirli Pide (second pic);
- Menemen / Turkish Omelette (third pic);
- Simit (fourth pic);
- Gözleme;
- And of course, çay / Turkish tea and Türk kahvesi / Turkish coffee!
As a kind friendly advice, grab some oversized clothes with you when travelling to Türkiye. On your way back they will be no longer oversized ;)
Cats, cats are everywhere
Istanbul is known as the City of Cats. And that comes for a reason.
Cats are the real proud owners of this city, they are everywhere — on the streets, in the markets, in any shop, and once you’re having your breakfast in a cafe you should expect to see many of them right next to you, patiently waiting for their share of food.
It adds a lot to the charms of Istanbul.
Revisiting Istanbul after few years brought to me some melancholy like in Lana Del Rey songs — I can’t turn back the time and jump in the same state I had back then. But at the same time, it helped me to see my personal changes and I really appreciate that.
Istanbul is a unique city full of rich flavours, history, and culture. If you’re lucky and haven’t been there yet, you should definitively add it to your list and come to discover it. Check the well known attractions but also, walk in the hidden districts to perceive the real daily life.
And please, don’t forget to take a ferry at least few times — this is by far the best way to admire the beauty of this city.
