Istanbul or New York? Walking down Istiklal Cadessi
I’ve been in Cide just over a month now, it’s so strange to think about. The last few days have been quite lonely as many of my fellow students have left for their respective homelands, and the work at Cide has been quite stressful for me as there is so much Byzantine material from the projects last three years for me to record and study. It’s an overwhelming task, and one which I am probably not overly qualified for. However, I can’t think of a better experience for my career should I follow with Byzantine archaeology in the future. That being said I really needed a break, despite the fact that my official vacation begins in just eight more days. Luckily I had plans to attend an archaeological workshop and seminar in Istanbul at the Research Centre for Anatolian Civilizations which lies in the heart of Istanbul’s trendy city area of Beyoglu. This was just the break I needed, and to rejuvenate my interest in my work at Cide.
After saying goodbye to the few left at the Cide Project, I went to the Metro Turizm bus station in Cide to catch my night bus into Istanbul. The bus left around 8:30pm, and after one bus transfer I arrived in Taksim Square, Istanbul around 8am the next morning. Now whenever I travel it’s just about law that something has to go immediately wrong just to get my blood pumping… I handed my Taxi the address to the Aga Hammam Hostel where I would be staying, not knowing it was less than a ten minute walk from Taksim Square, he however took me on a nice long and pricey taxi ride, and when we got to the hostel it seemed entirely vacant. Doors were locked, lights were off. I tried calling the hostel and there was no answer, and so the taxi cab so kindly waited while we figured out what to do (of course this 2Lira ride ending up costing me 20Lira total). Eventually after talking to some locals we realised the place doesn’t open until 10am. Luckily the owner heard us outside and let me in around 9:00. The owner seemed a little out of it, but quickly led me around the still dark hostel. The lower level is a Hammam, which is a Turkish bath house that offers traditional baths and various spa treatments! It was completely dark and looked pretty sketchy at the time. He led me to my room which is a four bed female dorm, I have two French roommates who were fast asleep, but seemed really nice when I met them later in the day. There’s a terrace deck with chairs and tables, a lounge and a communal kitchen, overall the hostel is bare minimal but for such a great location, it’s well worth the whole 14USD a night ;) My initial impressions have worn off, and I must say it looks much nicer in the day light, and everyone seems quite friendly. My friend from the Cide project, Lilith will be joining me later tonight which should be fun!
Despite not sleeping overly well on the bus (crying baby behind me AND a puking neighbour, my favourite!) I couldn’t sleep once arriving, so I showered and headed out by 9am to explore the trendy part of Istanbul! I’ve been quite sick the past few days, all carb diet is catching up on me, and the bus didn’t help so as I walked THE street of Istanbul (the shopping and café and all things fancy street), Istiklal Caddesi, I was basically overwhelmed with joy to see sights such as Pizza Hut, Burger King, and MacDonalds. Now, those who know me well know I almost never eat at fast food places, and I am certainly not the kind who does so on vacations when I could be eating local cuisine, but after a month of Turkish food and with an already upset stomach, something familiar was all I wanted. MacDonald’s breakfast never tasted so good! After my breakfast I settled on my plan for the day, my conference starts tomorrow so this is my only full free day in Beyoglu, Istanbul. I decided to keep all of the Old City attractions for my last few days in Istanbul, and stayed in the “new” city. The first plan of action was to find the research institute that my conference tomorrow would be at, this way I will know where I am going and can sleep in a bit! This actually took a better part of the day, as the street it is on is the busiest and largest street in the area, but I made it into an adventure, stopping to shop and buy sweets along the way. Everywhere I went shop owners had questions for me about my work and travels, one brought me tea and sat with me in his ceramic shop for forty minutes asking about archaeology and the books he had read about it, he also told me my travel plans needed excitement and told me where to go to meet nice boys on the Mediterranean for “the special fun”… as if cave churches and calcium travertine’s aren’t wild enough, jeez! I wandered into a famous side street filled entirely with used vintage instruments, and streets filled with florists and bakeries. I particularly liked this street, as after all the fresh Cide air I am finding it hard to adjust to the smells of such a large city… not pleasant!
Eventually I had made it from one end of Istiklal Caddesi to the other, all the way back to Taksim Square and still no sign of the RCAC. Tourist bureaus had no idea what it was, locals had no idea what it was (although I got asked out on a date by a really old guy in the process who showed me where his office building was)… so I resorted to “ask all white guys wearing an abundance of khaki holding unnatural amounts of camera equipment” … because certainly they must know something about the location of archaeological institutes. It worked. First guy I saw carrying a tripod, Tilly hat, and head to toe khaki said “funny you should ask me that” and gave me directions directly to it. Archaeologist’s wardrobes are so predictable!
Next up was museum and gallery time! Unfortunately the first place on my list was undergoing renovations so I was unable to see the Galata Mevlevihanesi, a whirling dervish hall (traditional Ottoman ceremonial dancers), however, the beautiful Orthodox church nearby made up for it! Absolutely stunning! From there I took the historic tram, a slow little red trolly that goes up the middle of busy metropolitan street, it seems so out of place… but it was a great little ride, and dropped me off right back at Taksim square. From here I took a taxi to the Pera Modern Art Museum which I really enjoyed, they also had a great section of ancient art, mostly ceramics and metal work as well as some funky modern art… the kind I really don’t understand at all, such as a floor of slinkies bouncing up and town on some sort of motar with lights. So deep? By this point I was exhausted and way overheated, so I headed back to the hostel for the evening, unfortunately abandoning my plans for seeing the Istanbul Modern Museum.
That’s all for now, next up will be conference accounts and the remainder of my Istanbul trip! Overall I am really enjoying Beyoglu, so alive and hectic! It’s bizzare to see so many huge stores and brand names like MAC and Guess and Prada all in Turkish, it’s such a unique culture clash. This area of Istanbul is very trendy and high fashion, as well as quite pricey! I love the artsy cafes, but I won’t miss getting jipped on Icecream though, 7Lira for a one scope cone? It’s only 1Lira back in Cide!
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