A stop over in Istanbul
April 8, 2018 Wale Okediran Features
We
descended into Istanbul a few minutes after daylight just as the early morning
sunset the eastern horizon ablaze with a golden haze. From the air, high rise
buildings, spikes and minarets of mosques and cathedrals bathed in the early
morning sun appeared as grey silhouettes against the fast approaching smudge of
land. Then suddenly, we were under the clouds and beneath us laid an
enormous sea as it stirred in the early morning sun with colourful boats,
yachts and merchant ships bobbing on its smooth blue surface. This colourful
flotilla was followed by a landscape pimpled by clusters of tall buildings
interspersed with rivers, wide boulevards and the shoreline of the sea of
Marmara on to a serpentine road network that slithered between residential and
commercial buildings like snakes in search of preys.
Welcome
to Istanbul, Turkey’s economic, cultural and historic centre as well as the
bridge between Europe and Asia. Despite the sunshine that seeped through the
aircraft windows, we were informed that the outside temperature was 12 degrees
Celsius.
As
the Turkish Airlines Flight TK 624 from Abuja to London en route Istanbul
finally taxied to a halt at the arrival hall of the Ataturk International
Airport, I mused over the fact that I had a five-hour wait in Turkey before my
departure to London. Fortunately, I was informed that with a modest fee, I will
be issued with a Visa which will give me the opportunity to enter Istanbul.
With another fee, I was able to hire the services of a taxi with a tourist
guide for a three-hour sight-seeing of the Turkish commercial city.
Istanbul
has been a city for over twenty-seven centuries. Historically known
as Constantinople and Byzantium, it is the most populous city in
what is modern-day Turkey. It is also a transcontinental city
in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait (which separates Europe and Asia)
between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and
historical centre lies on the European side and about a third of its
population lives on the Asian side. With a population of 15 million
people, Istanbul is one of the world›s most populous cities and
ranks as the world›s 7th-largest city proper and the largest European
city. A major cosmopolitan city, Istanbul has over the ages welcomed all
and sundry from writers to vagrants, musicians and rebels. TS Eliot, James
Joyce, Paul Theroux among other famous writers have all preceded me to the
historic city. In his famous book; The Great Railway Bazaar, Paul Theroux, the
well-known travel writer put the matter beyond any doubt when he observed thus;
‘’Istanbul is a total slut- it doesn’t turn anybody away’’.
As
I threaded my way out of the arrival hall with the usual hustle and bustle of
arriving passengers, customs and immigration officials as well as a throng of
relatives and friends, I was welcomed into Istanbul by the brilliant sunshine
of a spring morning. On sighting a dollar note visible from my front shirt
pocket, my Tourist Guide, Atilla asked me to tuck it in apparently to forestall
being a victim of pickpockets. Moments later, as Atilla drove me into
Istanbul City, we ran into a heavy traffic which slowed our journey. ‘’Rush
hour traffic’’ noted my guide before pointing out the Marina side of the
Marmara sea with all its glittering high rise apartments which he said cost
millions of dollars to buy. More modern buildings followed including hotels
among which were the Sea Pearl Atakov Hotel, the Hyatt Regency and the Galleria
Mall among others. All these edifices and other corporate offices I was told,
belonged to the ‘new city’. Before long, we chanced upon the Old City Wall with
its historic buildings such as the Blue Mosque, and the Topkayi Sarayi.
According to Attila, ‘’Old Istanbul begins as you pass the City wall at the
Golden Gate, the Arch of Triumph of Theodosius (built in 380).” At the Old
Castle, we turned off the main road to narrow paved roads with outdoor Cafes
and Bars including the Sultanahmet where I found myself in the midst of a
colony of other tourists mostly elderly Asians snapping away with their
expensive looking cameras. It was here at the Arasta Bazaar that I bought some
exotic Turkish Spices and Tea with some souvenirs. Ahmed, the shop owner went
out of his way to introduce me to his wares. As he put it; ‘’We have all types
of teas from Jasmine to Diet Tea and Slimming tea. We also have teas for
treating all types of diseases such as Cholera, TB, Asthma and Diabetes.” Then
with a wink in his eyes, he brought out a brownish package; “This is for real
action. We call it the Viagra Tea.”
My first encounter with Istanbul was
through the Turkish novelist and Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk’s 2004 fictionalized
memoir, Istanbul: Memories of a City where I was introduced to Istanbul’s
unique culture and tradition. It was Pamuk who also introduced me to Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, widely regarded as the father of the Turk nation. And apart from
the airport which was named after him, everywhere one goes in Turkey, one sees
photographs, portraits and statues all in his name. He is on Billboards, Stamps
and Coins while his name is given to streets and plazas. Ataturk who came to
power in 1923 declared Turkey a Republic, closed down all religious schools and
introduced the Latin alphabetic. He died in 1938. It is said that modernization
stopped in Turkey at the death of Ataturk.
Some
of the major attractions in Istanbul are the city’s numerous shopping
centres, from the historic to the modern. One of them, The Grand Bazaar,
in operation since 1461, is among the world›s oldest and largest covered
markets. On my arrival at the Grand Bazaar, I was offered a glass of
delicious tea, an important part of Turkish culture which is a sign of the
hospitality of the Turkish people. It was also at the Bazzar that I was
introduced to another Turkish delight, the Baklava a very sweet dessert
favoured by Turks and Tourists alike. ‘’We Turks have a very sweet tooth’’ was
Attila’s response when I complained about the high sugar contents of the tea
and Baklava. He also informed me that the Grand Bazaar which is as old as 500
years, has 3000 shops and 61 cobbled streets and is visited by an average of
250,000 people every day. Apart from the Baklava, another popular snack
in Istanbul is boiled corn which is sold from push carts inside which electric
cookers have been installed. When I wanted to try the snack, my guide
discouraged me saying that boiled corn was only eaten by poor people!!
Another
important Turkish Landmark I got from Orhan Pamuk’s novel was the Bosporus
River. So enchanting was Pamuk’s description of the famous river that I was
determined to visit the famous landmark. Because of the limited time at my
disposal for the sightseeing, Attila suggested that we use the Tram for our
trip to the river in order to avoid the heavy traffic around at that time of
the day. My last encounter with the Tram was in the late 70s when I travelled
to Alexandria, Egypt for a Medical students Conference. It was therefore with a
lot of nostalgia as I accompanied Attila to the Tram station. I was expecting
to be asked to buy a ticket but was surprised when Attila used his pass for our
access. His explanation was that Tourist Guides are allowed to use their
official pass for tourists. As we waited for the Tram’s arrival at the Tram
station, I noticed that most of the instructions at the station were in English
and Turkish. It was a five coach tightly packed tram that we boarded five
minutes later at Gulhane Station. I also noticed that I was the only black in
my coach with many of the Turkish women wearing western dresses without the
traditional veils expected as is the practice in many Muslim countries. From
Gulhane, the Tram passed through Sirkeci station and on to the Metro Bridge
where we disembarked.
I
was expecting a small river with visible banks and shallow waters. However,
what I saw as the Bosporus River was way beyond my imagination. It was like an
ocean and for the first few seconds, I remained transfixed with awe at what
befell my eyes. I was told that the Bosporus River which unites the Black sea
and the sea of Marmara and separates the continents of Europe and Asia is 19
miles (30km) long with a width of 2.3 miles (3.7km) As the only sea route
between the oil-rich Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosphorus is one of
the busiest waterways in the world. More than 200 million tonnes of
oil pass through the strait each year, and the traffic on the Bosphorus is said
to be three times that on the Suez Canal.
Even
though it was still about ten in the morning, the River, calm and full was
already busy with activities. At the riverside, tourists and their guides
could be seen all over the place enjoying the scenery as well as the riverside
restaurants, bars and cafes. High above, a leisurely group of the young and the
old leant over the bridge barriers with their long fishing rods as they tried
to catch some fishes from the river below. Startled by an approaching sound of
loud music, I looked up to see gaily decorated Tourist boats with music blaring
from their cavernous interiors cruising on the river with their gargles of
passengers clicking away with their cameras. Far beyond the horizon could be
seen small fishing boats side by side cargo freighters with rusty hulls as they
floated away in the glittering water.
As
I took in the whole beautiful spectacle, I felt at peace with myself but was
worried in case I overstayed and miss my flight to London. However, Atilla my
guide reassured me. ‘’We still have some more time’’ he said as we sipped the
ubiquitous sweet Turkish tea from one of the numerous sea side cafes where we
sat under an umbrella. ‘’Istanbul has many wonderful places to visit,
unfortunately, you don’t have enough time to see them’’ my guide lamented.
‘’For example, you need to see the Asian and European parts of the city which
the Bosporous has evenly divided into two. On the right side of the River is
also the Selimiye barracks where Florence Nightingale attended to wounded
soldiers during the Crimean war. Towards our left, Austria is just about an
hour away by boat. Then at night, the river comes alive with music and dancing.
You know that Istanbul is famous for its nightlife with plenty of taverns, pubs
and cafes playing live music’’ Then turning to me with a boyish grin, he said;
‘’Why don’t you stay the night. I can help you to postpone your flight till
tomorrow. London is cold and miserable. I understand it is snowing there now.
But here, Istanbul is warm and lively. Stay the night. I will make sure that you
enjoy yourself’’ he said.
When
I told Attila that I won’t be able to stay back because of some very urgent
issues awaiting me in London, he said; ‘’in that case, you need to come again,
this time with your family, maybe for about three weeks or more. You can’t
really do justice to Istanbul in three hours’’
After
a quick snack and another cup of tea which cost 5 Turkish Lira (3.1 lira is
equal to 1 USD), at the Galata situated in the Sultanhnet, we headed back to
the airport. In order to avoid the heavy traffic, Attila decided to drive
through the back roads where I saw the other side of Istanbul. Far different
from the glittering high rise buildings and posh hotels by the water side, I
saw run down and in some parts, dilapidating residential buildings in front of
which some elderly men whiled away the time. With just a few kilometres to the
airport, we ran into a youthful crowd of placard carrying men and women.
‘’Are
they demonstrating against the government?’’ I asked Attila.
‘’No,
not against the government’’ Attila replied. “They are angry with the US over
her interference with the war in Syria.”
When
I mentioned that some people are not happy with the way President Erdoga seemed
to have turned Turkey from a progressive, secular and democratic republic as
engineered by Ataturk into an almost hard-line Islamic State, Attila would have
none of it. “Erdoga is doing very well. We all love him. You can see by
yourself how peaceful and beautiful Istanbul is. It is like that all over
Turkey’’ was his response.
From
Erdogan, I shifted my attention back to Attila who had now increased the speed
of his car as we headed back to the airport. Thankfully, the traffic was light
and we made our destination on time. Moments later, the Turkish Airlines Flight
TK 1985 to London Heathrow took off from the airport’s Terminal 1.
From
the aircraft, I looked out the window at the fast receding Istanbul’s sunny
skyline as my thoughts went to cold, freezing London where I was told the
temperature was below 5 degrees Celsius. Suddenly, I wished I had taken
Attila’s advice and stayed for the night in the land of the minarets, spices,
sweet tea and the elegant Bosporus river.
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