Starting the day with a bus ride to Chora Museum
On our third day, we had to get across town to the Chora Museum, one of the last standing churches of the Byzantium Empire. The Chora museum is famous for its large collection of gold mosaic work. As we boarded a packed bus at Galata Bridge, I was a little nervous because crowds and new places do that to me. We also had no clue how we were going to know when to get off. Luckily, the bus was fitted with a small LCD screen that spelled out upcoming stops– well we were not definitely getting lost with that.
Getting around in Istanbul is seriously easy. One can take the train, the funicular, hop into the buses, take the dolmus ( shared taxis) or cross the river in the ferries. While knowing Turkish would help in getting around, it’s not required. Just pointing and remembering the names of the destination works.
A ride through the city was just what we needed to get away from the tourist district and into its heart. It was nice to watch people drive to work, drink chai and eat doners in small eateries on the roadside, or walk leisurely on the cobbled streets without the accompanying maniacal picture clicking. One place that made an impression was Fevzi Paşa Caddesi, the bridal shopping district. We passed rows and rows of shops with extensive displays of bridal dresses. It was one of the most exquisite collections of lace, chiffon, and satin I had ever seen.
Chora Museum
Highlights of Chora Museum
Once we got off at our stop, a good ten-minute walk through an ancient neighborhood led us to the Chora Museum. The air was filled with the smell of burning charcoal and barbecued meat. Cobbled streets wound up and down the hills. The Chora Museum is at the edge of a hill with a fantastic view of the city from the boundary walls.
It took us around an hour to explore the place. Longer than that your neck is going to hurt by all the staring at the ceiling. Most of the beauty lies in the interiors, where larger than life mosaics have been preserved on the walls and domes of the erstwhile monastery. I am no artist myself but I found it easy to appreciate the beauty and complexity of design created from fragments of painted stones and gold. The exteriors structure is like Aya Sofiya, only much smaller in scale. The gardens were overgrown and stray cats weaved in and out of the grass.
Mosaic work on the walls of the Chora Museum
Getting lost in the Bazaars
Shopping in Spice Bazaar
Back at Galata Bridge, the chaos of the Spice Bazaar beckoned us. As we walked towards the Spice Bazaar, a van careened right in front of us and dumped sacks of pistachios on open cane baskets. Before I knew what was happening, a dozen people materialized from nowhere and engaged in a haggling match with the vendor.
Pushing our way through the crowd, we made it under the arched complex of the Bazaar. A heady mix of scents was in the air and our eyes took time to adjust to the colors on display. The Spice Bazaar shops are filled from everyday to exotic spices, unimaginable varieties of tea, Turkish delights and baklavas. Coming from India, I found the spice variety to be just okay but I think loading up on dry fruits made a lot of sense. Figs, pistachios, almonds, raisins – just load up your shopping bags. I highly recommend buying Turkish delight by the pound. This is nothing like the packed stuff that you find in the US – the variety, the taste and the richness of flavor of each piece is heavenly. We ended up buying almost 5 pounds and I still think it was not enough.
Dazzling display in Spice Bazaar
Green tea is also a steal especially since you can get unusual varieties and mix and match your own combinations. I bought myself a combination of green tea with a bit of citrus and lavender thrown in. It had the loveliest scent and flavor. The only way to drink Turkish tea is in those adorable curvy Turkish tea cups. Available in literally every tourist shop, getting the perfect design and perfect price can be a bit of a pain. We did buy a Turkish tea set and later realized that we had at least overpaid by 30%.
While shopping in the bazaars, remember bargaining is the norm. Lowball as much as you can. These guys are experts and there is no way of winning the deal.
From the Spice Bazaar, we climbed uphill to Sulemaniya Mosque. After having been to so many mosques in the last few days, I was a little underwhelmed by the grandeur of this one. The steep uphill walk did nothing to endear the experience. The one thing that I did like was the view of the sea from the mosque.
View of the sea from Sulmaniye Mosque
Our next stop was at Grand Bazaar. I had a general idea of direction and a sketchy map. We were soon lost in the winding streets of the bazaar. It’s always nice to walk the markets where the locals come to shop. We passed streets that only sold scarves, another that just sold cotton bedsheets and bath towels. Then there were the street vendors selling dirt cheap clothes. Had I any spare room in my luggage, I would have definitely bought a dozen scarves, but alas it was just window shopping for me.
Lamps!
The fun of getting lost lasted a while but soon our legs gave way. With a little help from the shopkeepers, we managed to ask our way out of the maze.
The covered Grand Bazaar that often makes into the traveler itinerary is too touristy and tacky. Considering the fact that everyone in Istanbul was lugging around a Louis Vuitton or Burberry purse, it wasn’t a surprise to see knock-offs being sold off by dozens in Grand Bazaar.
Binge eating Baklava
Eating Baklava was high on my list of things to do! When in Istanbul, we were constantly passing sweet stores with dazzling displays of baklavas. One place that really caught my attention was Hafiz Mustafa, a popular restaurant franchise. Not only was it always crowded but its storefront had the most varied display of Baklava and Turkish delights. On top of this were the beautiful displays of rows and rows of multi-colored rice puddings. We rounded her day off with a meal of perfect tasting baklavas at Mustafa’s. For dessert, we ate the Pistachio Rice pudding with the most delicious pastel green color of pistachio.
There could have been no other way to end this perfect day.
For more on our trip to Istanbul, go here
7 comments
oooh you have my head swimming with spices, tea, pudding and so many other treats Vipula!
Thank you for that and for these wonderful travels you are sharing …
my imagination is racing and I am officially hungry and thirst too …
thank you very much 😉
Looking forward to more of your adventures!
oxo
@You know when I was buying tea, I was thinking of you and how much you would have loved it. I did not even understand half the variety they had..some stuff I had never heard of. The colors and the scents were just heavenly. Ever since I have come back I am also on the look out for the perfect Baklava in the US
howdy Vipula!
It was really interesting to know about the Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar. I’m assuming you didn’t have trouble bringing the tea set, turkish and other delighted dry fruits to US 🙂 Can you recommend any specific stores for scarves, tea sets, spices? It would delight readers like meself to no end.
I dont have any recommendations at all..just whatever catches your fancy and if the price is right. But I do recommend the stores on the outer side of spice bazaar because they have better stuff and are cheaper
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Hi Darby
Thanks for stopping by and your lovely comment!