After finding our slightly grungy but very cheap hotel in the tourist district of Sultanahmet, we headed down to the cafe below and grabbed a quick bite to eat, before having a shower and quick nap back in our room to recover from our journey. A couple of hours later we were refreshed and ready to head out to explore an already darkening Istanbul. First stop was a quick look at the blue mosque by night and a walk along the famous Divan Yolu boulevard. Deciding that as it was Saturday night we should join the crowds heading to the other side of the city where all the decent bars and restraurants are. Istanbul is divided between two continents, so there is an 'Asian side' and a 'European side' which are separated by the Borphorus straight. Crossing the Galata bridge by tram and then catching the funicular railway up to Beyoglu we spent the night at a bar drinking Efes (Turkish beer), nibbling on meze and ejoying our first nargile (fruit water pipe) of the trip. Several beers later we were quite merry and took a scenic walk back to our hotel with views of the beautiful Galata tower and the waterfront, passing the scores of hopeful fishermen lining the bridge.
The next morning we were feeling slightly worse for wear meaning a slow start to the day. After our sleep in we set out in search of some breakfast as it was not included with our hotel room. We managed to find a neat little shop selling borek, layers of thin pastry filled with cheese and meat, washed down with freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, the perfect handover cure. Then it was onwards to explore a few of the tourirst hotspots, starting by donning a head scarf to visit the amazing blue mosque, built in 1603. The building's exterior is pretty impressive, but the tiling on the inside is something else altogether, such a majestic space.
Outside the blue mosque we stopped for a bit to watch a few runners crossing the finish line of the Istanbul marathon, an inspiring sight considering the hilly course and warm day. We also saw Aya Sofya, Church of the Devine Wisdom, Istanbul's most famous monument. Then it was a walk up to Topkapi Palace, which we decided to skip after seeing the steep price of the entrance fees and the queues. As it was such a beautiful afternoon we decided to jump on board one of the local ferries and head over to Kadikoy on the Asian side of the city. Before that though we couldn't resist grabbing a quick fish sandwhich from one of the waterfront stalls, so cheap and tasty and a real Istanbul institution. The ferry ride across the Bosphorus was scenic and we sat on the top deck to take it all in, watching the waiters skilfully balance trays laden with tiny cups of cay (black tea - pronounced 'chai'), which theTurkish are addicted to!
Over in Kadikoy we wandered around, watching a very chilled out and cheerful protest taking place, before finding a cool hang out full of young people sitting around drinking numerous cups of cay, smoking nargile and playing backgammon. It was easy to while away an hour or so doing the same, whilst listening to a band play outside - a perfect Sunday afternoon really.
On the way back towards the European side we were lucky to have lots of photo opportunites of the city as the sun set. Wandering back towards our hotel we stumbled across the fish market, a colourful and noisy spot where we were captivaed by the freshness and variety of the sea food on display. As Rick Stein always says, the place to find the best and freshest fish is always the restaurants nearest to the fish market. Sure enough, down past the stalls we discovered a few neat little outdoor restaurants with kitchens run out of tents right on the waterfront. Deciding this was a good sign of a place for dinner we had the most delicious dinner of fresh fish, calamari, salad and bread, with a few friendly cats for company. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a beautiful Turkish Delight shop to sample a few varieties washed down by a very strong and thick Turkish coffee, whilst entertained by the family who owned the shop.
The next morning we were up early to get to our the cooking school that we had booked for the day. Cooking Alaturca is run by a Dutch born, Cordon Bleu trained woman named Eveline who has lived in Turkey for the past eight years. We spent a fun morning preparing various dishes, along with the good humoured Turkish assistant chef and Eveline's interesting commentary. On the menu was a red lentil soup, followed by an entre of runner beans and zucchini patties. The main course was an amazing lamb stew in tomato sauce served on smoky eggplant purée, the name of which translates in English as 'Sultan's Delight'. Dessert was a simple dish of walnut-stuffed figs cooked in syrup, followed by Turkish coffee and of course Turkish delight. There were only four of us on the course altogether, us and a lovely Canadian couple who were on their honeymoon, so it was a great way to spend the day, we learnt lots and of course enjoyed the most delicious meal which we had all helped to prepare.
After our morning cooking and eating we had just enough time to have a quick look around the bazaar which we had missed the previous day as it had been closed. Catering mainly to the tourist market the stalls in the bazaars were full of all sorts of jewellery, ceramics, trinkets and of course the obligatory carpet shops. Cutest of all though was the contented cat fast asleep amongst the shoes, I don't think he was for sale though!
Later that afternoon we were due to catch an overnight train towards Cappadocia so we caught the ferry across to Haydarpasa, possibly the worlds most scenic train station. Luckily we arrived early enough to figure out that the 18 hour train we were about to catch had no restaurant car or even a cafe, so we had time to grab a few supplies for our journey. Train travel in Turkey (despite being incredibly slow as we were to discover) was really cheap and comfortable, our double sleeper compartment had it's own sink, fridge complete with complimentary snacks, lots of room for our luggage and seats which converted into two cosy beds. Cracking open a bottle of wine and enjoying the scenery made for an enjoyable evening, there's something so relaxing about sleeping on a train.
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