ISTANBUL - Turkey

Cruise Travel, June, 2001 by Theodore W. Scull

At The Crossroads Where Europe Meets Asia

During the night, our ship slid into the Dardanelles, that narrow Turkish strait separating Gallipoli on the European side, where a World War I battle witnessed the virtual massacre of Anzac (Australian and New Zealand) troops, and the ancient Asia Minor city of Troy, where a much earlier, legendary siege took place. The waterway then widens into the Sea of Marmara, and at first light, spiky minarets appear against a dawn sky rising above a walled city that rims one of the world's busiest harbors.

Istanbul sprawls over three distinct land masses. The Asian and European sides are divided by a strait, the Bosphorus; the European side is further split by the Golden Horn, an inlet. Ranging along an Asian hillside is the Selimiye Barracks, a big fortress turned Crimean War hospital, where Florence Nightingale worked. As our ship rounds the headland, Topkapi Palace appears to port, and the long quayside up ahead lies within the shadow of the round, stone Galata Tower, built by Genoese traders.

Even after eight visits between 1969 and 2000, half including hotel stays, I still can never get enough of Istanbul, its energy, virtually endless attractions, incredible street life, and great meals at very reasonable prices. When my feet tire, I simply walk down to a ferry landing on either side of the Galata Bridge, drop a token in the turnstile, and board a graceful steamer from Sirkeci to Uskudar or Karakoy to Haydarpasa and Kadikoy, three destinations on the Asian side. The sailings depart at least every half-hour, cost a pittance, and afford a ringside harbor view en route to thriving districts on another continent.

Istanbul can be seen on an organized tour, perhaps the best way to understand some of the most popular attractions, or on your own if you are a walker and are willing to fathom a bit of useful local transit. Taxis are plentiful, and drivers love the almighty dollar in lieu of the Turkish lira, which at roughly 678,000 TL to US $1, requires Einstein or a calculator to translate.

By using the cruise-ship quay as a starting point, there are three directions in which to go. Walking right along the harborfront, you come to Dolmabahce Palace, a sprawling 19th century European-style complex built by the Ottomans in their declining years and where Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, died in 1938. The interiors, especially the throne room, are magnificent if somber, and all clocks are stopped at 9:05 a.m., the moment the great one breathed his last. Some Dolmabahce guides much prefer Topkapi Palace, because it's thoroughly Turkish and represents the country at its height of power (15th to 17th centuries), and is not a palace of European design completed at a time when the Ottoman Empire was known as "The Sick Man of Europe."

The late 19th and early 20th century business and shopping district are perched above the passenger-ship berths--a very steep climb through a rabbit warren of residential streets. To make life easier, walk left past the handsome Beaux-Arts-style Turkish Maritime Lines' headquarters and the row of fishmongers and restaurants and turn right up towards the Galata Tower. To save steps, use the French-built Tunel (1875), a short underground railway that ascends the slope. At the Galata Tower, take the elevator to the top for a terrific harbor view, from the first Bosphorus suspension bridge to the Princess Islands. Many of the tankers and container vessels seen don't stop here, but pass straight through for the Black or Mediterranean seas.

The neighborhood of small shops is worth poking around in before heading to the fashionable part of the city. Directly outside the Tunel, streetcar tracks carry vintage trams along the city's main pedestrian artery, a most welcome relief from the frantic traffic that attacks your sanity elsewhere. The mile-long street, Istiklal Caddesi, is lined with smart shop-fronts to ogle and leads to Taksim square, where the modern hotel district begins. Halfway along, a covered market slices away to the left--within is a lively produce and fish market, stalls for household goods, tourist souvenirs, and collectibles, plus restaurants. Have a seat if it's lunch time, and choose your fresh fish from the glass case. It will be weighed to determine the price, grilled, and served with side dishes (best chosen by seeing what others are enjoying). Nearby, but hard to find (so ask directions), is the Pera Palas, the first grand hotel of Istanbul, built in the 1890s for railway passengers staying in the city or stopping over on the long overland journey from Northern Europe to the Middle East and beyond.

The best of historic Turkish Istanbul is across the Golden Horn, over a traffic-choked bridge that also serves as a slightly elevated platform for sweeping views of the ferries fanning out for landings in Asia. One of my all-time favorite urban settings is located along the Sirkeci ferry quays where hundreds of passengers are continually boarding and debarking the boats, at rush hours, often tied up side by side. Street peddlers hawk their wares, and at the waters' edge, fishermen turned cooks aboard their bobbing wooden boats grill that day's catch over wood fires to sell to passers-by. Beyond is that wonderful line of ships, bringing passengers from the Black Sea ports in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine, from along the north coast of Turkey, and from the Mediterranean.