Footloose in Istanbul

They say the journey is often more exciting than the destination. I am not so sure, especially if the destination is someplace as exotic and enchanting as Istanbul. But that said, perhaps how much you enjoy a city has a whole lot to do with the way you decide to experience it.

A group tour where you’re pushed at cattle-prod-point from Point A to Point X in the course of a breathless day… um,  I guess that would make you wish you were still
en route.

It helped that I hit it off with a fellow journalist who edits a travel magazine. Soon, we were like two excited college pals, making plans to take off in one of those yellow taxis to a rather fetching street we happened to notice on our way back to the hotel. It turned out to be a good idea! Ortakoy  is charming in its quiet simplicity.

Clothes boutiques galore, with fun, stylish T-shirts and jackets that challenge you to resist (we didn’t even try). But more interestingly, the place has so many little shops selling curios and antiques. Those famous Evil Eyes, aimed at keeping bad intention away, are such handy souvenirs, at  a Turkish Lira a piece.

As for the Turkish people,  you ask for directions to  a store, and surprise — the storekeeper will not onlypoint you to the place, but actually escort you there! This happened to us twice. 

But make no mistake, shopping is only one of the many attractions of this ancient city. Walking down an ordinary street, you’ll suddenly stumble upon a row of bright red-pistachio-purple-painted wooden  villas, or an explosion of colourful blossoms.

Cats in all shapes — okay, mostly round — will stalk the streets as if they own the place, and in a way  they do. The shores of the Bosphorus lined with men trying to hook fresh fish for lunch. The mosques resound with evening prayers, and the vibrant spice market is a delectable sensory overload.

Occasionally, a Turkish word that’s spelt and pronounced exactly as we do stops you in your tracks: ‘Sabun’, for example. Or ‘Dikkat’, (we guessed it meant inconvenience, for the sign was all over the roads where construction work was on).  This, in the truest sense, is what they call  soaking in a place.

And best of all, powered by cups of Starbucks coffee and packets  of roasted chestnuts  hot off the carts, we were able to do our soaking in without being wrung dry! Tollfree No- 1800221100