Istanbul – First Impressions
After a pretty pleasant flight (the Seattle to Chicago segment was a bit of a circus, but Chicago to Istanbul more than made up for it and the hassles were quickly forgotten), we arrived in Istanbul around 5:00 in the evening, cleared customs, and hopped in a car to the hotel. For no particularly good reason other than they both are in the same general region, I had visions of Cairo in my head, so was prepared for all kinds of traffic, noise, and dirt. Given that, it was a bit of a surprise to find things much more similar to cities in Europe. Although the airport was a very long way from the hotel, traffic moved quickly, and with very few exceptions, the neighborhoods we passed through were all clean and well-kept.
Our hotel is located a short walk from Taksim Square, close to the center of the city. I think some of the more uppity places are not that far away right next to the Bosphorus, but we are on a bit of a hill so have a good view. It turns out we are also right next to a Metro stop which should come in handy as we start to explore the city.
It is definitely on the cool side here, which we knew coming in, but nevertheless didn’t really hit home until we headed out for a stroll around the area and were quickly forced back to the hotel to get jackets. The forecast is for high 50s here all week, so I don’t think I’ll be busting out the Speedo and mesh tanktop until we get further south. However, given where we just came from, as long as it doesn’t rain we’ll consider that a win.
A short walk from where we are staying is Istiklal Avenue, which we stumbled upon while looking for some street food. It is the major pedestrian street in Istanbul, lined with shops and outdoor restaurants, and even on a Monday evening is crowded with people. We make a few stops along the way to sample some different foods with mixed success. The corn in a cup gets a thumbs up (brings back memories of Thailand), and the container served dual duty as a place to yack up the roasted chestnuts that were like eating sand. We also took our first stab at a doner which was so-so, but something we are going to keep working on to find the right way to order it.
I get the sense from all the different bars and tea shops that things can go pretty late in Istanbul, but that will have to wait for another day, as after the long flight, we’re getting pretty sluggish by 9:00. We have absolutely no idea what out plans are for tomorrow, but knowing what a morning person Angela is, I’m sure she’ll be up before sunrise making up a list of destinations.