November 08, 2004
Istanbul
We spent the weekend in Istanbul. Or on route to-and-from Istanbul as it turned out, but they do say it's the journey that matters! It certainly did this weekend, and hence our time actually IN Istanbul was a tad more limited than we expected.
One of the most enjoyable things about our stay was the Pera Palas hotel, a sort of kitsch-art-nouveau-oriental-architectural-theme-park for adults.
Once a luxury hotel it has achieved just the right level of shabbiness for maximum character effect. It lacks all the bland enhancements of most modern luxury hotels and has accrued its own quirks. No two rooms are the same, either by design or through the passage of time, or the passage of damp. And the place is full of hidden surprises and discoveries.
The other element providing character at the Pera Palas is the staff. Competent enough to provide the services you want (mostly.....) but clumsy and inept enough to ensure that the place never has the feel of a too-well-oiled machine. The best comparison is with my Amsterdam bike, it will always get you where you want to go, it just makes strange noises while doing so.
Having in the end a limited time actually in Istanbul we settled for as many of the obvious tourist destinations that we could reasonably fit into one day via Bugaboo. The Blue Mosque, The Hagia Sophia, The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. All of these were fabulous to see first-hand and we are already planning a return trip to see them again and all the things we DIDN'T have time for.
But Istanbul has another, more exciting side for the thrill-seekers out there. No theme park ride will ever be as exciting or terrifying as finding a way to the other sie of the road armed with only an arm-waving husband and a pusher in Istanbul traffic. "Spot-the-safe-place-to-cross-the-road-with-a-baby" is a game that could obviously go on for days in Istanbul. As could "find-the-route-back-to-your-hotel-where-you-don't-have-to-push-the-pram-and-baby-on-the-road-in-the-traffic". Fortunately the Oriental Bar at the Pera Palas is always waiting there at the end of the return journey (and the top of the Pera Hill) tp provide some badly-needed relaxation and refreshment.
What made our rather-insane-rush-trip enjoyable was the people of Istanbul who were amazingly friendly, alert-in-traffic, helpful and thank God, so obsessed with Jacob, (or Jakop, as he was renamed) that they would do practically anything for us. Well, almost anything. We did have to carry our own luggage after the bell boys had descended on Jacob to carry him aloft to our room. Luckily we got him back.
Some photos are here.
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