İstanbul – Karaköy and Galata
Introduction
My blog deals with music, but this one time I make an exception. Istanbul (officially İstanbul): the greatest city in the world, which I first visited in 1995. I fell deeply in love, took some distance, hated it and embraced it again. Play list included!
İstanbul – August 1995, our first holiday together
Turkey
In 1992 I worked at the Common Administration Office (GAK, now UWV) in Amsterdam and saw Zühâl. I was smitten at first sight. After a period of getting to know each other and preparing our families for the inevitable, we married in July 1994. In 1995 I left for Turkey for the very first time, country of birth of Zühâl’s parents.
Contrary to what was the custom at the time, staying at the family residence for the entire holiday, we left our spot in central Anatolia to discover Turkey together. Besides the coast and some major sights, we had to see İstanbul of course.
We had a hotel in the Fatih district, close to the major tourist attractions of the city. At the time the city wasn’t as packed as it is today and we were underway from 10AM to midnight, almost stumbling over the enormous amount of antiquities and beautiful buildings. So, of course we saw Ayasofya, the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet), Topkapı palace, Yerebatan Sarnıcı, Kapalı Çarşi, and the first visit to Süleymaniye, the most beautiful mosque I have ever witnessed. At the time, İstiklal Caddesi was a hip street, filled with shops and boutiques run by local artists, where they worked and exhibited.
İstanbul – Gülhane/Bosporus 08/21/2018
Turkey?
Up until the year 2000 we went to Turkey every year, with İstanbul being the standard stopover. After our first child was born the frequency decreased. In fact, it lasted 7 years before we returned. We went by train and used our own car to drive around the country. It lasted many years before we would return again. Other priorities kept us away from İstanbul.
2018 marked the year we would return, with both our sons this time. And we went ‘old-school’, so the trip was done by car. Of course we had to go to İstanbul. Luckily, our children have been able to see the Ayasofya before the dreadful plan, turning the museum into a mosque again, was executed. All the grandeur has been wiped out of the enchanting building. What a waste.
But, İstanbul didn’t have that spell over us anymore. It was crowded, very, very crowded, long lines of entry for the main sights. And the districts of Laleli and Fatih hadn’t progressed visually and esthetically. But, it did encourage us to delve into the city more, which helped.
İstanbul – Dolmabahçe Caddesi 08/19/2018
İstanbul
By now we have seen so much more: districts and (sub)neighbourhoods like Fatih, Laleli, Eminönü, Galata, Karaköy, Şişli, Çemberlitaş, Çukurcuma, Kabataş, Beşiktaş, Nişantaşi, Taksim, Arnavutköy, Bebek, Maslak, Sarıyer, Hacıosman, Beyoğlu, Eyüp, Üsküdar, Kadiköy, Moda, İstiniye, Haydarpaşa, etc. But, there’s still so much we haven’t seen yet, the islands included. Hopefully we will go and visit it all. At this time our favorite place to be in the city is Karaköy/Çukurcuma.
Meanwhile, we are able to go on holiday just the two of us again, and it has signaled our real introduction to İstanbul. The last two years we visited İstanbul around Christmas time, with the sole prurpose of discovering new places. Every time we’re enchanted by the people, the buildings, the beauty and the vast variety in neighborhoods, streets, shops, gastronomy and just plain coziness. We have a number of steady addresses (like the exquisite restaurant Antiochia) where we know the people, only emphasizing the feeling of coming home even more. There’s almost no greater feeling than driving into the city on one of the main bridges and then turning towards Dolmabahçe Caddesi, with its trees and flags.
During the 2022 summer holiday we stayed in İstanbul for a few days, just to see Nick Cave play the city. A magical night. Our last summer holiday we spent a total of 7 days in İstanbul. Upon placing the first photo I took on Facebook, I wrote “İstanbul by night… Never knew that you could miss a city this much!” Hopefully we will return many times over.
İstanbul – View of Süleymaniye and Galata
Music
My first real taste of Turkish music was Sezen Aksu, still a favorite of mine. Her album Söylüyor is part of my list of 50 favorite albums of all time. Sezen Aksu is a Turkish national treasure, who had many students/followers. She retired from live shows and I consider myself lucky that I have been able to witness her live at multiple occasions. An absolute enrichment of my musical upbringing.
It doesn’t end there though. By now, I can even enjoy arabesk (music rooted in the Middle-East) and classical Turkish music, which is hard for the untrained (pop/rock music) Western ears at first. I have grown accustomed to artists like Müslüm Gürses, Zeki Müren, Arif Sağ, Ahmet Kaya, Sibel Can, Ferdi Tayfur, Orhan Gencebay and Ibrahim Talıses and I enjoy many of their songs.
Since this is a music blog, I would like to offer a play list to my readers. All songs deal with the greatest city on earth İstanbul or its districts. While compiling the list we noticed that all musical genres, including the modern ones, worship İstanbul. The list is a joint project by Zühâl and me and has become a beautiful musical tribute to İstanbul. Listen and enjoy.
N.B.:
The play list can be found at the bottom of this article.
İstanbul – Ayasofya 08/22/2018
In closing
What’s your take on İstanbul? Let me know!
