A recent trip to Istanbul part 2

It is now Saturday, and the first of our boat trips. We headed over to Galata Bridge and located the Eyup terminal - the last terminal apparently and through a car park, interesting! We had 30 mins before the boat was due to leave so we went back to the fish sandwich sellers and I bought one for 6 lira (about £2). It was really tasty, no bones and there was lemon juice (& salt) on the small tables surrounding the marquees. The boats were parked behind the marquees so the sandwiches could easily be passed over by the cooks. 

We headed over to our boat to get a good spot, the boat took us to Ayvansaray and we then walked up the hill to Chora Museum. It was very tranquil around the Chora's grounds, not as many tourists come up this far so it was also quite empty inside. We had Kemal Pasa (sugary doughnut type things) and apple tea afterwards at Kariye Pembe Kosk and then decided to climb up to a viewing point on the Byzantium city walls. There was an almost vertical rung of steps up to the first flat bit, which I was worried about going up - partly because going down is always harder - a local egged me on so I obediently climbed. The next set of steps had a handrail and were less steep so my heart slowed slightly. Until we reached the top that is and there was a big hole in the middle of the viewing platform with only some railings intact to stop people falling in. Health and Safety was not in full effect here. There were great views of the city though, the Chora is quite far north in the Old Town so much to see around. On our way back down, I started to get scared about the super steep bit, so had to sit for a few moments to calm myself. Sam climbed down first, I passed him the bags and then I went. And once I had both legs on the steps, it was fine, it's just looking down that is the scary part. Some bemused tourists who had watched us negotiate the descent then asked ask how scary it was up there. 

We presumed we'd be able to get a bus down the main road to Sultanahmet but apparently not so we walked for ages to Findikzade to get the tram home. I felt a little uncomfortable walking in this area as it was more religious and my cullottes showed some knee. Finally however we made it to the hotel, I had some quiet time whilst Sam went for a drink and then we headed across the bridge and up the funicular for dinner again. We arrived for the funicular as it arrived so I got a seat, but just before we left, the station was stormed by lots of protestors jumping the turnstiles. The guard tried to blow his whistle and create order, but it wasn't happening. This was a sign of the night to come. 

Nevertheless we headed to Balik Pazar (fish market) for dinner, neither of us eat very adventurous fish so we bypassed the main strip and ate on a terrace on Nevizade Sokak. At certain points throughout our meal - finally got to order the tomato and aubergine meze, very tasty - our noses and eyes stung. We noticed a few other people holding tissues to their noses at the same time so thought it might be tear gas in the air but we couldn't work out if we were been paranoid. There were protestors sitting nearby so every so often whistles would go off, and cutlery and glasses were banged in support. People kept on looking over the balcony but no one left so we thought it was all ok. However, when we came downstairs to find all the tables packed up and the shutter half down, we got a little worried. Most restaurants on the street had done the same and there were lots of protestors  wearing gas masks and hard hats. One of the restaurant waiters was trying to show a group of people to a good path out so we followed in that direction. We ended up on Tarlabaşı Bul as it seemed Istikal Cad was closed off. This road was also closed and opposite us was a tank and lots of police. The tear gas in the air became very strong here, luckily I had a few tissues for my nose, unfortunately nothing for eyes, which quickly began weeping. (It felt like someone had rubbed chillies all over my face.) We walked all the way down to Karakoy - the air cleared up on the way down, and unfortunately missed the last tram at that point so walked home form there. It was meant to be our big Saturday night out. 

The next morning we decided to aim for the noon ferry, so had a quick brekkie and headed to our seemingly favourite spot, the Galata Bridge. We managed to get seats on the outside on the right for our ferry up the Bosphorus, so our view was of the Asian side. We took in the sights and when the boat stopped in Kanlica - one of the crew picked up loads of yoghurt - the area is famous for it - to sell on board. I ran inside to buy some, the yoghurt came with powdered sugar which we added halfway, both tasted good.  As we approached Sariyer, the call to prayer sounded out and there was a scattering of what looked like protest boats - apparently they were in support of the president.  Shortly after, we arrived at Anadolu Kavagi and made our way up the steep path to Yoros Kalesi. Some lovely views of the Black Sea, the castle itself is more ruins now and not that large. We made our way back down, grabbed an ice cream and tried for a spot  on the right side of the boat again. It was already full so we sat inside for a bit waiting for the boat to leave and then managed to secure a spot on the floor by the railings. Cruise took in Fortress of Europe, Dolmabahçe Palace and Istanbul Modern. We then started to see lots of the president's supporters arriving by boat and shouting. We made our way home and had a drink on our roof terrace. I went for a hamman at Cemberlitas Hamman - it was definitely a touristy one but designed by Sinan and we hadn't visited many of his buildings yet. The dome where you relaxed on the hot stone had holes in so the sunlight came through. That part and the wash wasn't too relaxing, but I relaxed in the hot bath. I rejoined Sam and we had dinner in the hotel restaurant (the terrace), we tried the red lentil kofte which was very good. 

A recent trip to Istanbul part 1

Whenever I go away, UK or somewhere more exotic, I write up notes in  journal. I never can shake off the awkwardness of looking back at old diaries and cringing at your musings, but I feel writing up my travels will help me remember later in life and as you're generally doing lots of activities, your FEELINGS aren't really at the fore. 

I thought I would start putting these notes on here, probably not in full, we'll see. Some might be quite post-dated but last week I returned from Istanbul so I shall start there. 

My and my boyfriend can be pretty shocking at time keeping, so managed to arrive at T5 allowing us 45 minutes to drop off bags, collect currency, go through security before our flight left, mmm stressful. We actually did a similar thing on the way back as well, you think we'd learn. 

We arrived into Sultanahmet around 6pm and managed to find our hotel relatively easily. After a quick unpacking on my part (I always unpack, regardless of how short the stay), we headed out to dinner. We  found a nice route around the back of Aya Sofya through Gulhane Park - we tended to go this way for the rest of our trip, the park was always nice and relaxed plus generally full of locals  hanging out with their families which is always pleasant to see.

Our first stop was Galata Bridge as we thought it would look pretty special at sunset although as it was cloudy, we didn't get that desired photo moment.  However, it's still a great place to people watch from the bobbing boats selling fish sandwiches, the carts hawking hot corn and chestnuts to the countless locals fishing from the bridge. We could see Galata Tower in the distance and the shores of the Asian side of Istanbul. 

We had dinner at Hamdi Restaurant near the New Mosque, its signage clear from several feet away.  Hamdi has some history, the owner started out with just a cart in the 60s and expanded it to the 5 storey restaurant where we ate our meal that night. The food (mainly kepabs) was good, and after dinner we walked back another way, taking us through İbni Kemal Caddesi which was bustling with restaurants. We detoured to the Blue Mosque before hitting our hotel, there was many people sitting on the benches outside taking a moment and talking with friends. Our hotel backed on to Akbiyik Caddesi which again was heaving, but was much more touristy and we spotted the first of many stray cats. 

The next morning we awoke to rain and thunderstorms so we decided to switch our itinerary around and do indoor things instead (I  had wanted to space out our numerous boat trips but oh well). Breakfast was lovely, they had honey that looked straight form the hive and tasted amazing, coming from someone who doesn't like honey.

We had prebooked tickets for Aya Sofya (you didn't have to date your ticket which was a great help), so the queue was much shorter to get in. We wandered through the Imperial Door into the central dome, there was some construction work (apparently there always is, but then it was built in 537). The dome was still a spectacular sight and I loved the chandeliers - the glass almost looked like bell jars - and the calligraphic roundels. We didn't stop to stick our fingers in the weeping column (there was a queue), and headed to the upper gallery to check out the mosaics. 

After a couple of hours, we left and headed to the Basilica Cistern which was built around the time of the Aya and was the Istanbullis way of bringing water into the city. It was very calming underground, with lots of carp swimming in the water and quite beautiful too. We checked out the Medusa statues before walking over to the Grand Bazaar area for some falafel and my first aryan yoghurt drink. I felt the Bazaar's interior was a lot better than the actual wares on sale - these tended to be repetitive and leaning towards tat in places, however, I did keep on spotting lovely ceramic bowls. We left the Grand Bazaar via the Old Book Bazaar which had a charming courtyard and walked alongside the University before roughly meeting the Spice Bazaar. A man called 'Hi ginger' at mine, but generally I felt the sellers in Istanbul weren't very pushy - which was a refreshing change. After some lovely teas and spices, we started recognising things from the Grand Bazaar stalls so poked our heads outside when we heard the New Mosque's Call to the Prayer resounding in the sun. 

We took the train from Cankurtan to Servici not realising it just went 1 stop and then terminated. So we walked over the Galata Bridge and into the Tunel funicular. From there, we strolled up Istikal Cad to Taksim Square just before it started to get dark. There was lots of people around, not just at the camp, kids were selling swimming goggles and painting masks. We didn't think it was appropriate to go into the camp so after taking it all in we headed down the strip to dinner. On the way down, lots of locals were heading in the opposite direction chanting and cheering. We meandered around side streets, before coming across Sofyali 9 - I had chicken shish with some lovely meze. We'd missed the last funicular so walked down the steep route by Galata Tower before jumping on a tram. After noticing a lot of sea gulls circling the blue mosque, we got onto what makes albatrosses so special, apparently they are so big, i'm unconvinced there is not more to them. 

Weasel face

On Monday night, I went to see 'Behind the Candelabra', I'd heard good things about the film but wasn't actually that familiar with Liberace before. 

Michael Douglas was incredible, so different to how I've seen him before and just got everything right in his subtleties - even if it the character itself wasn't very subtle. 

Enjoyed Matt Damon's performance too but wasn't as blown away, Rob Lowe makes a hilarious plastic surgeon who is suffering from the hedonist ways of that era. 

Recommended!

Polymath weekend

So last weekend was slightly James Franco themed, whilst in town for an eye test (my first in about 12 years and yes, I need glasses now), I popped into his Pace Gallery exhibition 'Psycho Nacirema'. 

It was inspired by Psycho - he recreates the Bates motel - and the 20s scandal surrounding Fatty Arbuckle - which I wasn't familiar with previously. 

I found the whole exhibition a little pointless however and the excessive red paint was a little GCSE Art. 

The next day, I had tickets to see him introduce Hitchcock's Psycho at the BFI - as part of their Screen Epiphanies series. He spoke for longer than anyone else I've seen there and it was mostly him talking as opposed to a Q&A. Listening him to talk did make me think better of the exhibition slightly, he seems to be a  fan of art as a concept than as content. 

Franco explained that when Gus Van Sant remade Psycho, he wanted to re-create it frame for frame - focus on the shots opposed to the dialogue - and the film would have worked a lot better if Hollywood hadn't spent so much money on it and it remained more of an art house project than an entertainment project. Psycho was made after the critical and commercial success of Good Will Hunting, so Van Sant was allowed to do anything. I haven't seen the film myself, but I do feel that re-making a movie by frames would lend itself a lot better to a piece of art than a film (not that films aren't art, but you know what I mean!) as you're potentially not bringing enough to the table to justify a remake. 

Anyways, Hitchcock's Psycho was great!