My trip to Istanbul: what's worth seeing

I've always associated Istanbul with a city where you can visit several worlds in one day.: in the morning, drink Turkish coffee on the European side, swim across the Bosphorus in the afternoon, and look at the lights of the Asian coast in the evening. So when I finally got ready to go there, I decided not to run a marathon around the sights, but just to live in this city for a few days and see what it would surprise me with. However, it became clear at the airport that Istanbul would do everything in its own way, and I would just have to keep up with it.

The first acquaintance with the city

I started the first morning with a walk through the historical center, because this is where Istanbul literally falls on you all at once: mosques, trams, the smell of fresh bread, the noise of the streets and a huge number of people who are walking very confidently somewhere. At first, I also tried to look like a person who knows the city perfectly, although in fact I checked the map every five minutes and pretended that I was just admiring the architecture. At some point, I realized that I had been standing in one place for about ten minutes and trying to figure out why the street I needed on the map was completely different from where it was in reality.

But that's exactly what I liked about Istanbul: I don't want to keep following the route all the time. You can turn into an alley, see a small coffee shop, hear music from an open window, notice a beautiful balcony and completely forget where you were going to go at all. As a result, I realized that sometimes the best way to get to know Istanbul is just to put your phone in your bag and let the city show you the way.

Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque

The first big point of my walk was Hagia Sophia, and I thought in advance that after the photos on the Internet it would be difficult to surprise me with something. It turned out that the photos did not convey the feeling of this place at all: when you stand next to a huge building and see its dome, minarets and facade details with your own eyes, it becomes clear why people from all over the world come here. I just walked around inside for a long time, looking at everything around me, and trying to imagine how many stories these walls had seen.

The Blue Mosque is very close by, and I really liked how these two places, which are completely different in mood, exist literally across the street from each other. It was especially beautiful to look at them in the evening, when the lanterns lit up around them, and the sky gradually turned dark blue. Of course, I also took a million photos, although later it turned out that most of them either had someone walking right in front of the camera, or I was looking at something completely wrong.

Topkapi Palace and a bit of Oriental luxury

After the noisy streets, I wanted some peace, so I went to Topkapi Palace. Here I felt like the heroine of a historical film, only without luxurious outfits and with a phone in my hand, because a modern woman of the 21st century, even in the sultan's palace, has to check how many steps she has already walked in a day.

I was most impressed by the courtyards, ornate rooms and views of the Bosphorus. You can walk around the territory for a long time and always find some new details: tiles, ornaments, carved elements, antique objects. And there are places with such views of the water that you just want to sit down and not go anywhere else.

Grand Bazaar: the place where my budget started to get nervous

Of course, I couldn't come to Istanbul and not visit the Grand Bazaar. I told myself in advance that I would not buy anything, because I came only to see the city and enjoy the atmosphere. After a while, I was already holding in my hands some beautiful thing that I had absolutely no plans to buy, and I convinced myself that this was not a purchase, but a "small memory of Istanbul."

It's easy to lose track of time in the bazaar, because everything happens here at the same time: vendors offer tea, spices are lying around, lamps are lit, carpets are hanging, leather and coffee smell, and from the next row comes another "madam, just look." I went in several times just to look, and each time I came out with the thought that next time I would definitely come with an empty suitcase.

The Bosphorus: The Istanbul I wanted to see.

If I were asked to name the moment of the trip that I remember the most, I would probably choose a walk along the Bosphorus. There is something amazing about sitting on a boat, looking at the water and realizing that Europe is on one side and Asia is on the other. At the same time, the city continues to live a completely ordinary life around you: other ships pass through the water, houses, mosques and modern buildings stand on the shore, and seagulls fly over all this.

I sat on the deck for a long time and photographed literally everything in a row, until I realized that half of the photos would consist of water, sky and my own hand. But at that moment, I didn't care at all, because I just wanted to watch. It was probably on the Bosphorus that I finally understood why Istanbul is called the city of two continents: here it feels not like a beautiful phrase from a guidebook, but as a completely real part of urban life.

Karakei and Galata Tower Tour

The next point on my route was the Karakey area, which turned out to be a completely different mood. There are old facades, modern coffee shops, small shops, street art and endless staircases nearby, which at first you walk cheerfully, and then you start to wonder why you decided to walk at all.

From here I went to the Galata Tower. I decided to go up there with complete confidence, because I had not yet known how much my body would protest after several days of walking through hilly Istanbul. But the view from above was worth all the effort: the roofs of the city, the Bosphorus, minarets, bridges and a huge number of houses that go far beyond the horizon.

After that, I decided to have a well-deserved dinner and chose a restaurant where I ordered dishes whose names I almost did not understand. As a result, there was a huge tray of food in front of me, and I looked at it with the expression of a person who had just accidentally ordered dinner for the whole family. But everything was so delicious that that evening I finally decided that calories don't count in Istanbul.

Eminem, fish sandwiches and tea

A special pleasure for me is just walking around the Eminenyu area, especially near the Galata Bridge. Istanbul feels very alive here.: fishermen are standing along the bridge, ships are constantly crossing the bay, people are in a hurry about their business, and there is a smell of fish, spices and fresh pastries. I wanted to try everything, so I decided to start with the fish sandwich, which is often recommended to tourists.

To be honest, I couldn't eat it beautifully at all. At first I tried to keep it neat, then the fish started to fall out, the sauce turned out to be completely different from where I expected, but in the end I just stopped fighting for dignity and ate everything as it turned out.

But after that there was Turkish tea, and now I was drinking it quite calmly, watching the Bosphorus and thinking that such moments are sometimes much more pleasant than perfectly organized excursions.

Balat: colored houses and a completely different Istanbul

Another area that I wanted to see was Balat. The mood here is completely different: colorful houses, narrow streets, old buildings, small cafes and stairs that look like they were specially designed for photographs. I stopped several times simply because I saw a beautiful door or window, and then I discovered that I had walked much more than I had intended.

In Balata, I particularly liked the lack of feeling that I had to get somewhere. You can just walk, look into the yards, drink coffee and look at the houses. However, one day I got so carried away photographing a beautiful building that I almost walked completely in the wrong direction, and then for another twenty minutes I tried to figure out where my street was. Apparently, Istanbul decided to remind me that the navigator was not invented in vain.

Istanbul evening and my favorite moments

In the evening, the city becomes even more beautiful, especially if you find yourself somewhere near the water. Lights are coming on, mosques are illuminated, light from ships is reflected on the Bosphorus, and there are gradually more and more people in cafes. At such moments, I didn't want to take pictures, check the route, or even think about how many sights I'd already seen, but just sit and look at the city.

One day I bought coffee, found an empty place on the embankment and watched what was happening around for almost an hour. Someone was talking nearby, children were feeding seagulls nearby, ships were passing through the water, and the sky was slowly darkening over the city. And I thought that it was probably for the sake of such completely simple evenings that we were traveling.

What I would definitely watch in Istanbul

If I were re-planning my route, I would definitely leave time for Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, Galata Tower, Bosphorus, Karakey, Eminenyu and Balata. But I wouldn't try to see everything in one day, because Istanbul is a city where no less interesting things happen between the sights than inside the sights themselves.

It seems to me that the main mistake is to come here with a huge list of places and turn the trip into a competition with yourself. At some point, I just stopped counting how many points were left and started paying attention to details: the smell of coffee in a small coffee shop, the sound of ferries, the old doors, the seagulls, the conversations at the next table and how the city was changing in the evening.

My Istanbul

Istanbul turned out to be a city for me that it is impossible to see in one visit, because it is too big, too different and too lively. You can come here for the famous mosques and palaces, and fall in love with a completely random street, a small coffee shop or a view of the Bosphorus, which was not planned in the itinerary at all.

I left feeling like I'd seen a lot, but I still gave myself a reason to come back. Because Istanbul is like a good TV series: you seem to have finished one season, but you already realize that you want the next one. And if one day I find myself in this city again, the first thing I will do is just go outside, buy coffee and go wherever my eyes look – now with at least a little understanding of where they can lead me.