Last August, D and I went to Turkiye for the first time for a week’s vacation. Our itinerary included the first night at a hotel near the Istanbul Airport, followed by three days in Cappadocia, and then four days in Istanbul.
Initially we booked a hotel at Sultanhamet in Istanbul, hoping to at least have some time exploring the city on the night we arrive from Manila. However, a few days before the trip we changed our plans and opted to book a hotel closer to the airport because we did not want to spend several hours’ travel from and to the Istanbul Airport for our early flight the next day to Cappadocia. This turned out to be a good decision because we were quite exhausted from more than 14 hours’ flight (with a Dubai layover) and true enough hit the sack shortly after checking in the Luxury Airport Hotel. It was only on our second day that we got to check out the hotel and the beautiful big mosque next to it: the YeΕil Cami. It was a very quickly done, though, as our private airport transfer picked us up at 6:30AM for our early flight to Cappadocia. En route to the airport, the sunrise was so pretty I tried to take a video using my phone camera which, unfortunately, failed to capture it well.
When we returned to Istanbul, D and I took the bus to our hotel that was located in Sultanahmet: the Hotel Uyan, which was conveniently located within walking distance from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and the Topkapi Palace. It was a lovely hotel, and the room was spacious, clean and comfortable. We enjoyed our breakfast next to its rooftop terrace which offered a good view of the Blue Mosque and the sea. The hotel was next to famous rooftop restaurants which was circled by seagulls (I think this was their selling point to customers who go there for Instagram photos).
Next to our hotel was a cute cafe called Cafe Rumist. What caught our eye was its colorful lamps, and of course a signage that says they sell ice cream. We enjoyed our ice cream with Turkish pizza.
After our afternoon snack at Cafe Rumist, D and I walked to Gulhane Park. It was a hot day so it was a relief to be walking under the canopy of trees. We enjoyed watching people, birds and the waterworks from the couple of fountains in the park. The colorful flowers planted around the park were pleasing to the eyes. Towards the end of the park was an ancient, small cistern, the GΓΌlhane ParkΔ± SarnΔ±cΔ±. Compared to Basilica Cistern, entrance here was free, and there were no queues nor visitors at the time we visited. It provided a good prelude to the bigger and famous Basilica Cistern.
Following our relaxing stroll through Gulhane Park, D and I walked for about 20 minutes to our next destination: the Grand Bazaar. Some reviews I watched said that we should prepare to spend a longer time in this place, however we ended up taking only less than an hour here. The items from the stalls were vast and interesting, but I found them repetitive. I think what prompted us to walk on to our next destination sooner was there were lots of people were smoking, even though we were indoors.
To cap our first day back in Istanbul, D and I walked onto the Apollon Rooftop Restaurant. The view of the Blue Mosque with the flying birds at the background was quite picturesque, especially at sundown. I was fascinated looking at it as we savored our dinner.
We had an early start the next day, as we decided to do a DIY trip to the Asia part of Istanbul via the ferry. From our hotel, we walked to the Eminonu ferry station, passing through the Egyptian Bazaar first.
Then we bought our ferry tickets for Uskudar. D and I appreciated the Istanbul skyline from the ferry, and I gazed longer at the Galata area, where we would be staying for the next couple of days.
At Uskudar, we hiked up to Kaftan Sokak, a tourist attraction with colorful stairs leading up to it. It offered a vantage point view of Istanbul’s Europe side. Little did I know that this hike up would be the start of many upward steps for the rest of our Istanbul trip. Our next destination was the Seyir Koprusu – it entailed a longer upward workout but rewarded us with more good views of the water and the skyline. Halfway through I was relieved to stumble upon Dilruba Fethipasa where we stopped by for a buffet brunch.
When we got back to Eminonu, we decided to go back to the hotel first to rest and freshen up. I managed to sneak in a bit of shopping on our way to the hotel, and bought crystals for my DIY bracelets, Turkish delights souvenirs, Turkish coffee grounds, love tea, and mixed nuts. I got them from stores close to the Egyptian Bazaar. I relished from the free samples of the Turkish delights when I was purchasing my souvenirs. The store owner also gave us complimentary tea.
At sundown, D and I headed to the Hagia Sofia. We got in pretty quick as the queue was shorter when we went, as compared to what we saw in the morning when we were walking to the ferry. Entrance was free, and I wore a headscarf while we were inside the Hagia Sofia. Shoes were to be taken off, and there were shelves outside the prayer area. I brought shoe sacks with us so we could carry our shoes instead.
When our visit was done, we listened in awe as the prayers from Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque across it were sung.
The next day, we headed to the hotel where we would be staying at the Galata area across the sea: the Galata Nazapart. While we planned on riding the public transportation to go to the hotel, for some reason the kiosk where we were attempting to purchase our Istanbul card from was not working, so we ended up gaining thousands of steps walking, luggage in tow. We crossed the Galata Bridge on foot, and it turned out to be a breeze (literally and metaphorically). The wind was blowing strongly on our face, and there were folks fishing on the Galata Bridge which was nice to watch.
We arrived at our hotel before check in time, so we left our luggage at the hotel lobby and explored the neighborhood. The Galata Tower was nearby, so we headed there first. The Galata Tower is a prominent structure atop a hill (more uphill climb, but very much worth it). The surrounding neighborhood was vibrant, and filled with cute furry cats. I liked the Galata area because this is where we tasted several delicious street food.
We headed down to check out the Salt Galata, a modern art museum. It has a library in it and entrance was free.
Later that day, after we had settled in the hotel, we walked to Istiklal Street, a busy shopping street also filled with restaurants and cafes. The rest of our Istanbul street food adventure continued through the rest of our stay in the Galata area.
That sums up our packed DIY itinerary in Istanbul. I wish someday soon we can go back, and by next time we would definitely find a way to successfully get our Istanbul cards. There’s more ground to cover, and we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless I am thankful for the opportunity for us to go here. This is indeed a highlight of our 2023 travels.
Making Each Day Count 
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