Where East meets West - Istanbul, August 2009

Relationships are a funny thing.  Sometimes they happen by chance and sometimes they are planned, sometimes they take a while to develop and sometimes there is just such a natural and strong attraction that they root and flourish almost immediately.  This was my experience with Istanbul.  The love affair began almost as soon as I stepped off of the plane.

In August of 2009, a friend from Canada was traveling to Turkey to visit with family.  She had always offered to show me around Istanbul if we were ever in the city at the same time.  Well, fortunately for me, her latest trip just happened to fall over a long weekend here in Switzerland, so the GF and I boarded a plane eastward with the destination of Istanbul.

This is one of the most magical cities on earth.  First, it is massive.  According to Wikipedia it boasts over 13.1M inhabitants which is almost twice the population of Switzerland in one city!  Now, that in itself doesn't make Istanbul special.  The cityscape is peppered with some of the most impressive mosques in the world, there are treasures left over from when Constantinople was the capital of the Roman Empire at almost every turn, there is exquisite, inexpensive dining everywhere and most importantly there is a youthful optimism and energy that permeates through the streets.  Yes, Istanbul is the most positively alive city that I've visited and you can't help but get caught up in it.

One of the walking/shopping streets in the old part of the city.  

This is the shopping street in the newer part of Istanbul.  Every so many minutes a trolley car runs right down the middle as people jump out of the way

This photo is taken beneath the city of Istanbul in the old water reservoirs built by the Romans.  This was one of the most impressive elements of the trip

A photo taken towards the newer part of town.  From the top of the Galata tower you have incredible views of the city

Of course, the religious tensions in the city also add to this contagious dynamic.  Istanbul straddles the two continents of Europe and Asia and it's population and culture are reflective of that.  Turkey is in the process of defining itself as some citizens embrace new freedoms and luxuries whereas others are fighting to instill religious conservatism.  This makes for a truly exciting visit.

Taken from the top of the Galata Tower, this photos shows the sheer number of impressive mosques that pepper the cityscape in Istanbul

This shot was taken from the rooftop patio of our hotel. It gives a good perspective of the size of Istanbul

We spent the first few days exploring the major sites in Istanbul.  We visited the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, went to the Grand Bazaar, walked around the crowded streets of the old town, visited the shopping district, climbed the Galata Tower, strolled through parks and explored the undergrounds Roman water reservoirs.  The plan was to then visit with our friend's family on Princes' Island which is about 1 hour by ferry from Istanbul.  Catching a ferry in Istanbul is an adventure all on it's own.  I'm still in awe that we actually managed to get onto the right one.

The Blue Mosque taken from the Bosphorous straight on our way out of the city to Princes' Island

One of the many mosques that adorn the cityscape in Istanbul.  There is another on the bottom left of the photo

The interior mosaic ceiling of the Blue Mosque.  This was only my second time in a Mosque and by far it was the most impressive

Princes' island is a car free island that is populated primarily by vacation dwellings.  We spent time lounging in the pool before deciding to walk up to the summit of the island.  A short horse and buggy ride to the start of the walk and off we went.  It was a very hot and uncomfortable climb to the top, but once there it was worth every effort.  The views back towards main land and Istanbul were incredible, not to mention the Turkish coffee and food at the top!  That evening, we had an incredible fresh seafood dinner at a local restaurant on the ocean before convincingly solving the world's problems while polishing off bottles of Raki.

A photo taken from our bedroom balcony on Princes' Island looking back towards the mainland.  We had absolutely exquisite weather

What can I say, I'm a sucker for butterfly photos.  Snapped this one while sitting around the swimming pool on Princes Island

Got another good one but of a different butterfly species in the same place.  There were thousands of tropic flowers everywhere

Taken from the summit on Princes' Island after a grueling hike up.  

I've never visited a city with so much energy and optimism like Istanbul.  It is moving quickly to modernize and the youth sense incredible potential in that.  All the while, you are reminded of it's previous rebirths by the historical and culture relics that dot the city.  Feeling such a profound connection to Istanbul, I have no doubt that this relationship will be fueled by many more visits in the future.