The magical city on the Bosphorus has beckoned Russians since the days of the legendary Prince Oleg. Today, however, compatriots coming to Istanbul leave not shields, but the contents of their wallets - but, it must be admitted, with much more practical results of their visit. Most tourists perceive Istanbul as a huge open-air museum - not without reason, of course. The former capital of two empires, the largest city in Turkey and the eighth most populous in the world can offer curiosities for every taste - and this is not only included in the "obligatory program" Aya Sofia, Cisterna Basilica, Grand Bazaar and Topkapi Palace. In ancient Tsar Grad there are a lot of places worth visiting - to touch the history, and to feel the modernity, and just to walk around. "Izvestia" flew to the Bosphorus to check everything out on the spot.
Re-visit
The trip started with an adventure: unforeseen circumstances inevitably creep into the best plans, and it became clear that we might not make the flight. We had to use Domodedovo's paid service for late passengers. At the entrance to the airport we were picked up by a polite young man who helped us to pass all the obstacles on the way to the gate, from baggage drop-off to the final security check, in a record 24 minutes. As a result, we were safely loaded on board Ural Airlines and in a little over four hours we set foot on Turkish soil at the gigantic (third largest terminal area and fifth largest in the world) new Istanbul International Airport.
How to get there
Regular flights to Istanbul fly from Moscow's Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports. The flights are operated by Ural Airlines, Aeroflot, Pobeda, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines and S7.
Russians are increasingly keen to visit Istanbul again and the city continues to gain popularity as a sightseeing destination, tourism industry representatives say.
"Tourists travel here throughout the year to slow down, admire the architectural aesthetics, walk along the Bosphorus and sit in atmospheric restaurants. With the advent of new hotels where you can combine active vacations with relaxing time on the coast, Istanbul will become even more sought after in the summertime. And tourists will be happy to stay here for a week or more", - said the press service of tour operator Fun&Sun.
According to Oksana Akyol, director of Breezes Tour, "repeat trips are becoming the norm, and it's not surprising: Istanbul is a city of contrasts, where you can always discover new neighborhoods, objects and attractions".
Closer to the sky
After strolling along the bustling pedestrian street Istiklal from Taksim Square to the Galata Tower and making the inevitable ritual visit to Aya Sofia, it's time to think about what to do next. Unfortunately, many tourists limit themselves to the "necessary minimum" within the Sultanahmet district (all of the above plus the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome Square, Cistern Basilica) and a boat ride on the Bosphorus. But even if you limit the circle of interests to historical monuments, you can stay in Istanbul for a week, no less.
Thus, in the neighboring and no less ancient district of Vefa is located Suleymaniye Mosque, built by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, familiar to Russians if not from history books, then from the TV series "The Magnificent Century". On the territory of the mosque, in a graceful, without heavy "imperialism" tomb and he is buried, next door to his favorite wife Hürrem (Roksolana). And don't be surprised by the well-fed cat on duty in the mausoleum of the Sultan - cats in Istanbul are numerous and respected (remember that the Prophet Mohammed himself loved this animal and bequeathed to the faithful to treat cats with love and care).
The mosque decorated with four minarets for 5 thousand believers was built by the famous Ottoman architect Hodja Sinan in 1550-1557. The number of minarets symbolizes that Suleiman was the fourth padishah after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. By the way, by the number of minarets you can easily determine by whom this or that mosque was erected: more than one was allowed to build only members of the sultan's family.
Suleymaniye is truly magnificent and, as the Sultan himself wished, resembles Aya Sofia. With all the associated buildings (madrasah, observatory, hammam, library, hospital, hospice) the complex occupies an area comparable to a medieval city quarter. Inside the mosque you should pay attention to the luxurious stained glass windows, and in the Suleiman Mausoleum - to the amazing beauty of wall tiles.
In the rest of its part, Vefa is probably not the most beautiful neighborhood of Istanbul, but still interesting and moderately exotic. By the way, it was here that we tasted a traditional winter treat for this part of Turkey - boza. It is a viscous sweetish drink made of a mixture of cereals on yeast leaven, with consistency reminiscent of sour cream (it is usually sprinkled with cinnamon on top and eaten with a spoon). Boza can be bought in supermarkets and even from peddlers in the markets, but in Vefa, as the locals assure, the best one is served in an establishment that has specialized in this delicacy since 1876.
Another magnificent monument of Ottoman architecture is the Ortaköy Mosque, or Medjidiye, erected under Sultan Abdul-Mejid I in the middle of the XIX century. This light and airy building already has a Western influence, as the famous architects of Armenian origin, father and son Balyan, chose the neo-Baroque style.
In the same style, but not without an admixture of rococo (clearly inappropriate in a religious building) is kept and the summer palace of the sultans of Beylerbeyi, on the other side of the Bosphorus, on the Asian side of the city. This little Versailles on the shore of the strait once so charmed the French Empress Eugenie (she stopped there on her way to the grand opening of the Suez Canal in 1869) that she ordered the window in her bedroom at the Tuileries Palace in Paris to be remodeled after the Beylerbeyi guest room.
Unfortunately, photography is forbidden inside the palace - and what is the Pearl Drawing Room or the ornate fountain in the Reception Hall alone! The palace was only used in the summer, in the heat of the day, so there is no heating, which is the saddest page in Beylerbeyi's history. It was here that Abdul-Gamid II, one of the last Ottoman sultans, ended his days under house arrest. The deposed monarch simply could not bear the winter cold in the beautiful palace.
Housing issue
Istanbul architecture in general disposes to slow, in the oriental manner of studying, in leisurely walks. If in Pera, once a district of foreigners, you feel almost like in Paris, then in colorful and noisy Balat you get into the Mediterranean bustle, something reminiscent of the spirit of Jaffa or Tel Aviv. And for good reason - Balat was once the Jewish quarter of the city. Today, it is a mix of different ethnicities, and the colorful houses are occupied by local bohemians.
And in the Arnavutkei neighborhood there are stiff Victorian mansions on the waterfront and funny wooden houses with carvings - almost like in Vologda - in the back. The Arnauts, natives of Albania, once settled here, and the characteristic style of architecture of their homeland is evident in many of the buildings that have survived from Ottoman times.
Housing in Istanbul is not cheap at all, especially the so-called "yalas" - houses with private access to the Bosphorus - are valued. Local connoisseurs will not fail to draw the attention of guests to a five-story Victorian mansion in the Sarıyer district, almost under the bridge of Sultan Mehmed Fatih. This house was built in 1899 by Field Marshal Zeke Pasha for himself. According to historians, Sultan Abdul-Gamid II forbade him to move into the mansion, as he considered the construction of such a palace as a personal challenge. The field marshal eventually begged for the right to spend one night in the ill-fated palace. After the overthrow of the monarchy, the building was purchased by a family of wealthy tobacco merchants who owned it until the present century. The mansion with four reception rooms, 19 bedrooms and an extensive (though somewhat neglected) garden has changed owners several times this century and is now back up for auction for $125 million, making it the most expensive property in Istanbul.
Guests are expensive
Istanbul hotels are a topic of a separate conversation. There are many of them (6274 according to the data for 2024, to be exact, it is almost 3.5% of the total hotel stock of the world), for every taste and purse. There are some real sights among them - like the famous Four Seasons Sultanahmet, located in the building of the former Ottoman prison, where state criminals were once kept. Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus (the first hotel of the chain opened outside America) remembers Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Terence Young and the entire crew of "From Russia with Love", which was filmed in Istanbul, as well as two later Bond films, "And the Whole World Is Not Enough" and "Coordinates: Skyfall".
One of Istanbul's newest hotel attractions is the recently opened five-star Rixos Tersane Istanbul, located right on the banks of the Golden Horn. The hotel is built on the site of a former shipyard that has been in operation for over six centuries. The nautical theme is reflected in the interiors: mooring bollards are built into the walls and real rowing boats are suspended from the ceiling. The building itself resembles a ship or a covered boathouse, and in the surrounding space you can still see old cranes and other elements of the shipbuilding industry. However, as the hotel representatives emphasize, this is only the first step in a large-scale transformation of the 242,000-square-meter area.
Where to stay
Many tourists still choose small budget hotels in the Sultanahmet area, but for those looking for more comfortable accommodation, Istanbul has many high-class hotels offering rooms in the middle price segment. For example, the Rixos Pera Istanbul occupies a historic building overlooking the Golden Horn, just a short walk from the lively Istiklal Street. And for those who prefer a secluded vacation, Six Senses Kocatas Mansions Istanbul offers accommodation in two 19th century mansions on the shores of the Bosphorus. However, it is worth considering that it takes about an hour by car or boat to reach the city center.
The hotel in Tersane is part of the Tersane Istanbul complex, which will include shopping and restaurant areas, museums, children's amusement park, residential apartments, as well as two additional luxury hotels designed for the most demanding guests. The scale of the project is impressive - only the future SPA-center will occupy 4.5 thousand sq. m.
By the way, not far from Tersane is another "unobvious" attraction of Istanbul - a private museum of technology, created by businessman and philanthropist Rahmi M. Koç. Two historical buildings house a solid collection of various technical curiosities. There are ancient scientific instruments, luxury cars of the last century and the first jet fighters, unique toys and household appliances of great-grandfather's times, locomotives and Istanbul horse-drawn carriage of the late XIX century. And also a unique car in which Sultan Abdul-Aziz traveled to Paris for the World Exhibition of 1867, with a mannequin of the monarch himself inside for greater authenticity.
Looking at the TV
Younger people, however, are not looking for historical sites in Istanbul. The popularity of Turkish TV series in Russia is still great, and the city on the Bosphorus is the filming location for many of them. So fans and especially fans of multi-part heartwarming dramas about the lives of rich handsome men and charming cinderellas with the appearance of photomodels (the harsh realism of Turkish television is no more in honor than that of ours) stock up their maps and hurry to touch the "places of power".
Among the most famous places of pilgrimage - places associated with the series "Knock on my door. The house where the main character, Eda Yildiz, lived with her aunt is located in the Saryer district on a fairly steep hill - by the way, those who want to buy it, the last announced price was some $35 million. As they say, in the past, the owners sometimes for a small fee let those who wanted to go inside. But the place of work of Aunt Eda is open to all, it is the most ordinary flower store with a cafe in the Asian part of the city.
But in the place where scenes were filmed in the office of the main handsome "Knock on my door", so just do not get. Firstly, the elite residential complex in the Maslak district is located in a guarded area, and secondly, for the right to pass behind the coveted door, the owners of the premises require from the sufferers €50. When I tried to simply photograph the entrance to the office, a stern concierge jumped out from behind the door and demanded a 600 lira baksheesh.
But fans of the TV series "Cranberry Sorbet" can photograph the Unal family house in the beautiful (and expensive) district of Bebek as much as they want - except that it is not so easy to get to this pretty mansion hidden among the hills above the Bosphorus.
During a three-day visit, as it turned out, it is impossible to cover even a small fraction of what is interesting in Istanbul. Apparently, we will have to return to this city again and again. "Istanbul is a city you want to come back to again and again. There is always something to see here, regardless of age, interests and budget," says Oksana Akyol. And it is hard to disagree with this opinion.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
