Have you ever read about a place back when you were studying world history where you just can’t understand why EVERY SINGLE WORLD POWER at the time just wants to conquer it? There’s Jerusalem which I can understand (religion and religious fanatics – I am looking at you the Catholic church), China (or was it Mongolia at the time?) and then there’s Constantinople.
I procrastinated going to Turkey for a loooong time because of safety reasons. I’ve had people warn me not to go to Turkey and to please not to do a solo trip there. On the other hand, I have met several turkish friends in DC who told me I would love the country (and I did!) and to explore it to my heart’s content. After seeing pictures of Cappadocia, well that sealed the deal for me. Ancient cave dwellings + air balloon rides + Istanbul.. who can resist that?
I combined this trip with Greece (because why not?) but I will save my Greece adventures in another post. This time I traveled with my good friend and rock climbing partner, Rachel. Thank God we are travel compatible too haha!
We arrived really late and after checking in with our Airbnb near the Grand Bazaar, we decided to relax and sit down for a nice dinner, dessert and my first cup of Turkish coffee. I lost count how many turkish coffee I had on this trip. Definitely 3-6 a day.
Let me tell you about my love of coffee. As an asian woman, you know how we love our rice. However, if I have just enough money to buy either rice or coffee, I will get my coffee 100%. I am also very particular about my coffee – mostly black (except when I’m in Starbucks) with no sugar. This way, I can appreciate the full aroma of the beans. That being said, I LOVE TURKISH COFFEE. Maybe next to our very own batangas coffee (“barako”) which I am still planning to import here in the US once we find a reliable supplier.
(Sorry I was sidetracked there for a bit *sips from my own cup of turkish coffee at home*. Back to Turkey!)
The next day, we woke up early to walk around Istanbul. We only have 5 days in Turkey including Goreme (I know its a tight schedule!) so we really wanted to make the most out of our 2 days in Istanbul. We stopped by the cafe beside the Obelisk of Theodosius to grab a quick breakfast and from there, decided to walk a good 10-15 minutes to the historical places in our list – Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern.
All three are basically right beside each other and the Topkapi Palace is not far behind.
The Hagia Sophia is an imposing, 1,480-year-old building in the heart of Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district which has stood for almost 1,000 years as an ornate cathedral. After Mehmed the Conqueror breached the city walls in 1453, it was converted into an imperial mosque, and served as pride of place under Ottoman rule for almost five centuries thereafter. It was very interesting to see a mosque with Byzantine mosaics which portrayed scenes and people from the Gospels which has now faded, if not converted to Muslim symbolism. The architecture of this building fascinates me considering how old it is. The symmetry of the designs, the columns, colors, ceilings — sensory overload for sure.
Afterwards, we crossed the street into the Basilica Cistern. There’s not much to see here frankly but its construction is interesting. It is the largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, and many of the columns were salvaged from ruined temples and feature fine carved capitals. It makes for a great photo though and reminds me of the halls of Moria (Khazad Dum) in Lord of the Rings when they try to outrun the Balrog!
At the time of our trip, the Blue Mosque was closed for renovations so unfortunately, we were only able to take pictures of it from afar. It is still magnificent although personally I prefer the Suleymaniye mosque (I’ll talk about it later).
We took a quick coffee break and then went on to visit the Topkapi Palace. At this point my feet hurts lol (I should’ve have tried to break a shoe smaller than my normal size while walking in cobblestones and in the rain!). I wish I could say we explored all the nooks and buildings of this huge structure but alas… my feet had to take a break.
We grabbed lunch on our way to the Suleymaniye mosque and Grand Bazaar and then stopped by our Airbnb to switch shoes (yay!!).
Suleymaniye mosque is the largest mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is less ornate compared to the other mosques of the time, but its simple decorations gives another atmosphere to this masterpiece and highlights its great architecture. It’s also less crowded so naturally, I prefer this than the more popular Blue mosque.
The Grand Bazaar is called ‘Grand’ for a reason – it is fucking huge! It is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. There are so many alleyways and entrances and a lot of goodies that makes you want to detour. You really can get lost here (or maybe that’s just me and my messed up sense of directions!).
A side note – due to the popularity of lamp posts in Instagram, shop owners refuse to allow you to take photos inside their shop unless you buy something and for good reason!! Instagram models drive away business actually since people who wants to really buy a lamp had to wait until they get their photos! Luckily, I’ve always planned to buy a lamp anyway (and so does Rachel!).
On our second day, a good friend of mine linked me up with his cousin for breakfast at their newly opened hotel. Nomade Hotel is literally behind the Blue Mosque and I wish I found out about Firat’s place sooner! This place is highly recommended in terms or prices, the rooms, the breakfast buffet and the hospitality of Firat!
Afterwards we took the tram right outside the Hagia Sophia to KABATAS and exited at the Galata tower, the first stop right after you crossed the bridge. This area is popular with hip locals and a much younger, savvy crowd. If you have more days in Istanbul that we did, you may want to consider staying in this area instead.
The entrance to Galata Tower itself is overpriced in my opinion since you only spend maybe 10-15 minutes at the most inside anyway. It’s definitely a must-see though. Go up and maybe just hang out at the balcony for a bit to soak in the most breathtaking views of Istanbul. From here, you see the panoramic views of Old Istanbul, Golden Horn and Seraglio point.
It was here where I think I understood why everyone wanted to conquer Constantinople – it is the city of cities at the time and from this view, it is definitely majestic (…and also strategic as the main hub of silk route and Mediterranean route).
After another coffee stop (I mean, are you surprised at this point with how many coffee stops I took?), we walked around the street arts of Karakoy to enjoy some graffiti artwork this area is known for. There are so many fun artwork in every alley and corner I could do a photoshoot here all day!
For more information about Karakoy, I found this great article about it.
Now it’s time to relax and chill before our flight to Goreme and what better way to relax than to take a hamam bath? We went to Kilic Ali Pasa and I highly recommend you experience hamam bath there too! Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamam was built by famous architect Mimar Sinan who also built my favorite Süleymaniye Mosque, and many other monuments throughout the Ottoman Empire during the sixteenth century. From the time you enter the hamam until afterwards when you’re just chilling in the internal courtyard surrounding a fountain and being served tea (or coffee for me!), the experience really felt luxurious and definitely worth the price!
Since we were already packed, after our bath we stopped by the Grand Bazaar again to get more lamps and then head back to our Airbnb to take a cab to the airport.
Before I move on to Goreme can I just say that next to coffee, baklava was my “meal” while in Istanbul? It’s absolutely delicious, I am hooked!
The next couple of days were spent in Cappadocia, the haven of instagrammers posting in one of those hot air balloon rides or having mock breakfast in one of the hotel rooftops with the hot air balloons in the background. I admit I wanted to take those photos as well but with the weather, I knew I was lucky to experience at least one of them.
We decided to indulge here and book a room in the Sultan Caves Suite – the very hotel whose balcony graced tons of instagram pics (lol). For an affordable price, we upgraded to the master suite right below that balcony. I told them the room location is ideal because I was planning to block every single guest access to the rooftop until I get my perfect photo shot haha!
The hotel staff picked us up the airport (for an additional fee) and that night, we resolved to book the balloon tours and the excursion around Goreme through the hotel. You may also book with other air balloon tour operators of course. It was just more convenient for us to do it through the hotel. The flight costs $125 each for us because it was low season and including our hotel discount. It can go upwards of up to $300 depending on the size and capacity of the balloon and how long the flight is.
The next morning it was cold and dreary and I feared the air balloon would be cancelled. We were told it was cancelled 6 out of the last 7 days. After registering and having a quick breakfast provided by the tour, they finally said we were clear (whoohoo!). As usual, I underestimated how cold it was up there so I was freezing the whole time!
For this experience alone, this whole Turkey trip was worth it. If you decided to just ride a hot air balloon ONCE in your life, THIS IS WHERE YOU SHOULD DO IT.
High up in the air with views of Goreme’s impressive topography, you will be flying along with 500+ more balloons above fairy chimneys and rocky landscape. It felt like I was in a dream..
By noon, we were back to our hotel. After a quick nap, we headed to Goreme National Park which was a reasonable walk from most of the hotels in Goreme.
The park is famous for its unusual rock formations (the fairy chimneys) and its rich history. The former inhabitants of the area hewed homes, convents etc. into the landscape. This meant Rachel and I had tons of nooks and holes we were able to squeeze ourselves into like crazy children let loose (lol).
The next day was our “green” tour. There were 2 tours offered here – the red and the green. If you are based in Goreme, it makes sense to book the “green” tour like we did because the stops are further out and required transportation whereas the “red” tour is one you can walk on your own if you have time.
This tour costs about $35 (because its low season) and stops at Pigeon Valley for photo ops, a hike to Ihlara valley with lunch right beside a quiet stream that flows through the valley, exploring the Selime monastery (another fun rock castle to explore!!) and one of the infamous underground cave cities of Cappadocia – Kaymakli or Derinkuyu. We went to Kaymakli which while not as deep as Derinkuyu, is wider. It is fascinating to see how well they designed and built this city 8 floors below the ground where they store grain, wine, use as hideout when armies pass their cities and even bring animals with them down!
By the time we returned to our hotel, we were properly exhausted. Since we were flying early in the morning to Athens the next day, we decided to just stay in the hotel, indulge in some great wine and heavenly dinner (and coffee!) and call it a night.
In the morning as we waited for our flight that would bring us back to Istanbul on our way to Greece, I thought about why I waited so long to visit Turkey and how I am so grateful I pushed through the trip. I took a lot of beautiful pics of Turkey and whenever I look at them, I remember the sense of wonder I felt when I saw them in person… the pictures don’t do them justice.
The Travelling Accountant 