Istanbul - another day.

Tuesday, May 19.

As I write the title of this post, I am inclined to call this place Constantinople because he, Constantine, is the one who really set thing rolling for this city. He was the Roman governor in 330 who gave Rome the big finger and decided to do it his way over here. The rest is very colourful history indeed.

The first night in a new setting and new bed can be quite indifficult, as ours has been. In addition, the gurgling and rushing of the drainage from the floor above is quite noticeable which makes it a light night. Thus, this will have to be a day of recovery. We start with a muesli breakfast in our host’s café. It is good, though not quite like the Swiss make it but then we are in Turkey.

Our host's coffee shop. Our entrance door is on the left.

Our windows are on the first floor above the coffee shop.

It seems the obvious start is to walk down to Galata Bridge, across and back. We make our way downhill, somewhat blind but we are sure to reach the water's edge somewhere. Unexpectedly, the narrow street takes us past general hardware shops which merge into marine supplies of all kinds.

Some streets are a VERY snug fit for service vans.

Once we smell fish, we know we are getting close.

Nearby are numerous 'chefs', competing to prepare your fishy breakfast.

The waterside garden setting is inviting but we are already full. We wish we had known!

We have reached the water's edge and the classic scene reveals itself.

While some things have obviously changed since I did that over 50 years ago, others have not. Hopeful anglers patiently tend their rods over the side. Serious catches are sold nearby. I recall the small fishing boats used to tie up along the bridge. Now the lower deck of the bridge has been turned into and endless string of cafes. It is one of the oldest bridges across the Bosphorus. Leonardo da Vinci was asked to do a design which regrettably was not built. The waters separating the two continents are pretty wide. Years gone by, bridging would have been quite a feat.

We are on the lower part of the bridge - today free of fishing craft.

Watching for the fish to come up.

This classic view is hard to resist sharing.

All traffic on Galata Bridge is heavy - by foot, motor vehicle, tram or water.

The walk is not the easiest because Galata tower is on top of the ridge. It is a steep walk down and an even slower climb up. For our first meal we felt we had to have a Donner but regrettably, instead of Turkish bread, we get a local version of a Baguette. Perhaps this kind of bread is more popular with tourists.

Lois needs a rest while I try to catch up with some blog material. The internet is OK but not as fast as in Riga. Loading images to the blog is taking a lot of time so progress is slow.

It is 6pm and we go for another exploration, this time a little more uphill from here. We reach the very long fully pedestrianised street in this part of Istanbul. It runs all the way to Taksim Square and is about 1km long. The remarkable thing about it is that it is just a plain street, without any special furnishings, embellishments and ‘mall’ trappings. Of course there are buildings which help to stimulate and generate activity and interest but that is all. There are not even any trees. However, it always seems to be busy, even packed. Tonight there is lots of people, seemingly largely tourists but also locals, just ambling along or doing some shopping or feeding. The only diversions are a few buskers and small chestnut seller carts. Apart from special and emergency traffic, there is an occasional vintage tram which runs to Taksim.

Already we conclude that the world seems to come together in Istanbul. Just by observation and listening, there are visitors from all parts of the globe. After all, this is a crossroad, culturally, religiously and politically.

The electioneering is very much 'in your face' - it is the PM looking at you.

Turks are counting down to their parliamentary elections on the 7^th. The ruling party has a sound majority in Parliament. Opposition voices have an enormous challenge. The city seems to be supersaturated with election publicity for the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Bunting and posters are everywhere. The AKP is seeking a bigger majority to be able to change the constitution. That would no doubt mean a more conservative Turkey with tighter controls, especially on freedom of speech and minorities. The President, who is the former AKP Prime Minister is supposed to be apolitical but has made public statements and appearances in support of AKP. While Turkey and Egypt seem to be going in ideologically similar directions, there is no love lost between the two regimes. Turkey has publicly shown sympathy for the former Morsi government.

Dinner is in Galata Square at a restaurant which supposedly serves traditional food, no doubt appropriately adjusted to foreign tastes. It is quite good, costing us a little over 55tl, (about A$30) together with a bottle of beer.

On our return, we chat to our sociable host Yalcin in the café. One thing which is not overabundant here is information centres for things like maps and other guidance. Yalcin gives us a small map which is better than what we have. However, finding your way around the city centre is either following the crowds or your own instinct and reckoning. There are almost no street names which also means that navigating by map is hard. Those streets that might have names displayed are not written up in the map. However, while not especially engaging with foreigners, the Turks generally are helpful. There is nevertheless a sense of local arrogance that it is too bad if you don’t speak Turkish. Although English is the language of international tourism, signs and information in English appear only at the most prominent sites. Most menus are also in English, even if somewhat crippled.

We round the day off with a few purchases at the minimally stocked local super market for a few things for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Rubbish is also collected during the day, almost every day. The small traders are pressed for space to store their refuse.

The area at night is surprisingly quiet, despite the narrow echoing streets. There is the rumble of rubbish being collected almost every night and delivery trucks which squeeze through these tight alleys. Drivers have to be very patient. While one van is unloading, everyone behind has to mark time. Perhaps the relative quiet has something to do with the very local restrictions on consumption of alcohol outside. In the evening, there are queues of young people trying to get into some of the more popular venues. However, coffee and tea kind of socialising takes place outside very informally and almost spontaneously.

The small informal public space around the base of Galata Tower must be one of the most popular in this part of Istanbul. It is lively and active all day. Of course the tower itself has something to do with it. At times there are hundreds of people lining up to get a view from one of the city’s oldest and most prominent landmarks on this side of town. Strangely there are no large mosques around here to add to the skyline. But then the other side of Galata Bridge IS the historic and large monuments area.