La Mer, le Canal & les Pyrénées

[Jacques Vert]

The Grand Bazaar

According to Wikipedia:

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.

Walking through the bazaar is quite interesting except for the pests trying to sell carpet. They just will not leave you alone.














Morning tea time...

 

[Jacques Vert]

The Egyptian/Spice Bazaar

With 85 shops the Egyptian Bazaar is considerably smaller than the Grand Bazaar but is still well worth a visit...

 

[FlyingFiona]

Reminds me of the Jeffrey Archer story "The Steal" in his his book of short stories A Twist in the Tale. It's made me want to visit a Turkish carpet seller ever since.

 

[Jacques Vert]

It's made me want to visit a Turkish carpet seller ever since.

That's sad.

 

[VPS]

Reminds me of the Jeffrey Archer story "The Steal" in his his book of short stories A Twist in the Tale. It's made me want to visit a Turkish carpet seller ever since.

I've still got the Turkish carpet I bought in Istanbul in 1982

 

[FlyingFiona]

That's sad.

I don't recall the story (I was a child when I read it) just that Turkey is the place to go for carpets!

 

[drron]

Reminds me of the Jeffrey Archer story "The Steal" in his his book of short stories A Twist in the Tale. It's made me want to visit a Turkish carpet seller ever since.

You meet all sorts of people in a Turkish carpet shop. As we walked into one in Istanbul Sean Connery was just leaving.

 

[Jacques Vert]

The Bosphorus

The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and divides Europe from Asia. As Istanbul is built on both sides of the Bosphorus it is the only city spread over two continents.

We took a dinner cruise. The meal was surprisingly good and drinks were included so we had a pleasant evening and met two couples: one from France and one from Palestine. It was a bit cold and wet on deck but we still managed to get a couple of good photos:

 

[Jacques Vert]

We also took a day cruise of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn...

 

[RooFlyer]

Gotta say Istanbul is one of my favourite world cities - certainly non western. If TK up their service from Oz (early reports say its a bit ragged ex Oz, which surprised me), I'll be stopping over there regularly, rather than going QR via DOH.

 

[drron]

It is a place neither of us want to go back to. Mrsdrron was groped almost continuously. Ripped off by taxis as well.
We all have different experiences.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Gotta say Istanbul is one of my favourite world cities - certainly non western. If TK up their service from Oz (early reports say its a bit ragged ex Oz, which surprised me), I'll be stopping over there regularly, rather than going QR via DOH.

I found Istanbul very interesting and could certainly spend more time there to explore other parts of the city that we didn't get to during our four days. I did find it quite cold during our visit (around 8 to 10 degrees each day).

I also found restaurants and eateries near our accommodation a bit pricey but then again, prices have gone up everywhere since Covid. I did find a bottle shop (ERTAN TEKEL/ALCOHOL SHOP · Binbirdirek, 51/A, Peykhane Cd., 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye), where you can buy grog at a reasonable price, not far from our accommodation.

We also found this place that has good food and wine/beer at reasonable prices and they don't hassle you as you walk past: Red River Pub

 

[RooFlyer]

We also found this place that has good food and wine/beer at reasonable prices and they don't hassle you as you walk past: Red River Pub

I must have gone past there a dozen times in the tram! This was my favourite hang-out, though.

Home | Cağaloğlu Hamamı

1741 yılında inşa edilen Cağaloğlu Hamamı, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu döneminde uzun bir süre sonra yapılan en son hamamdır.

cagalogluhamami.com.tr

 

[FlyingFiona]

I must have gone past there a dozen times in the tram! This was my favourite hang-out, though.

Home | Cağaloğlu Hamamı

1741 yılında inşa edilen Cağaloğlu Hamamı, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu döneminde uzun bir süre sonra yapılan en son hamamdır.

cagalogluhamami.com.tr

Their gallery of photos is interesting...especially the guy chucking a grape into his mouth!

(And a bubble bath doesn't appear to be in water...you lie there while they pour bubbles on you?)

 

[RooFlyer]

And a bubble bath doesn't appear to be in water...you lie there while they pour bubbles on you?)

(apologies to JV for the minor thread hijack)

It’s basically a sudsy massage as you lie on a marble slab. The most memorable part is the scrub. The glove they used is a bit abrasive and applied vigorously, at least for the guys! Very ritualistic.

 

[FlyingFiona]

The most memorable part is the scrub. The glove they used is a bit abrasive and applied vigorously, at least for the guys! Very ritualistic.

I recall hearing the same from women I was travelling with in Morocco who went to the Hamman baths. Not for those who women value modesty, I was warned!

Back on topic. JV - did Mrs JV venture out in Morocco or Istanbul without you? If so did she feel "safer" in one place over the other?

 

[Jacques Vert]

+1 (@Gem56) went shopping by herself in Marrakech when I wasn't feeling well. She managed to buy herself a Tagine (four person serve); the guy originally quoted her MAD450 but she beat him down to 100 (about $A15). She's a better shopper than I am!

She also went for a look around Marrakech by herself on the first day we were there when I wasn't well. At no stage did she feel unsafe on either occasion although both times were during the day. I don't think she would have been keen to walk around by herself at night but together we did wander around at night along some dark and narrow alleys; no issues at all but I do keep an eye out for any "shady characters".

She didn't wander around Istanbul by herself because I was feeling fine and we generally go everywhere together. She did develop a technique to deal with the pushy touts outside of restaurants: as they approached she would put her hand up like a traffic policeman directing cars to stop and say "don't hassle me or I'll walk away". Worked a treat!

 

[Jacques Vert]

TK Lounge IST

So, it was time to leave Istanbul and fly home. We again took a taxi booked through Uber to get to the airport; this time the cost was $A51.94. I recently read that taxis in Istanbul have been granted a 40% fee increase which would mean that an average taxi fee from IST to the city will be around $A85, or $A170 return (Massive price hike: Here are Istanbul taxi fees for 2025 - Türkiye Today). Add the cost of a visa and a short stopover in Istanbul is becoming quite expensive.

The ride to the airport was interesting: we had one of those drivers who love to text on their phone while driving, only this guy had 4 phones attached to his dashboard! We came ever so close to running over a pedestrian at one stage while he was engrossed in one of the phones. After that I just looked out the side window, but we arrived at the airport without further incident, checked in, etc. and headed for the lounge...
















Lots of food stations but where is the bar? I walked around the lounge at least three times and couldn't find it. Eventually I spotted a British couple drinking champagne, so I asked them where the bar was. They advised there was no bar but there was a trolley with alcohol and pointed me towards one end of the lounge. Another two circuits of the lounge without success so I asked a staff member who pointed towards this pot plant...




On closer inspection I discovered this...




WTF is going on here?



Fifteen bottles of red wine opened all at once, placed on a trolley, then hidden behind a pot plant where hardly anyone can find them, all in a country where the majority of people don't drink (at least not in public)? How many of those bottles are tipped out at the end of the day? Oh well.

 

[RooFlyer]

WTF is going on here?

Sad to say, it’s always been like that in this lounge. I just enjoy the food for some energy because it’s a long walk to the gate.

 

[Jacques Vert]

SQ391 IST - SIN

We had an uneventful flight from Istanbul to Singapore. We left on time and arrived on time and the service was excellent. We ordered our meals from the book the cook menu but I also took some photos of the menus to share on here:














I had the Kung Pao Chicken which I enjoyed: