I suppose I should have remembered that if a person goes to a popular tourist destination in the height of summer, they should not be surprised when they cannot move for other tourists. The Blue Mosque is a big draw and I queued up to get inside in order to wonder as the magnificence of the ceilings and windows. However when I got in, almost all of it was covered in scaffolding and the only thing you could see is the small section of the mosque where women are permitted to pray.
I decided not to go to see the recently renovated Cistern because the queues for that, even in the early morning before it opened. were around the block. A better option was a walk a few tram stops and have a look at the Grand Bazaar. The crowds were no thinner here but at least it was under cover and therefore away from the searing heat.
I bought my only souvenir of the trip – a silk scarf – and managed to stop myself buying anything else. The restaurants in the tourist areas are the same quality the world over. The care very little for customer service or quality because they know that these customers will never be repeat customers. So I was served up with very mediocre kebab meat in a wrap of which I ate only about 1/4 and left. I refused to pay the 10% service charge and the eventually relented.
The Spice Bazaar was much the same. I had cooked myself so that by the time I had walked there I was mopping up sweat which was pouring off me. The heat on this European tour is much more intense than in Tanzania. I relented in this bazaar and bought some Turkish Delight from large loose boxes. I justified it as I had had such a horrible lunch. I feasted on the sickly treat as compensation!
All around these bazaars barrow streets were packed with shops displaying their wares on the pavements making it almost impossible to walk along them. Boys with loaded carts of cloths heaved them uphill past the tourists, locals and pavement displays shouting warnings as they went.
I walked down by the river and then across the footbridge to the other side – not of the Bosphorus but of the river – to Karakoy. Here the city is much more industrial and less touristy. I had a travel card courtesy of my host and so I used it to catch the metro home. The metro is clean and runs efficiently. There is also a Metro bus which is a metro replacement which runs on a dedicated road at breakneck speed so you have to hang on with all your strength to the overhead handles.
By the time I got back to my little town I was desperate for a cold beer and tried to track one down in the bars which lined the main street but none of them was serving alcohol. Eventually someone told me about a supermarket where I could buy beer to take home and drink in private. I found the shop and paid £2 for a can of Heineken but that’s when I found a new problem. I could not take the beer home because I was staying with Muslim friends who I am sure would be very insulted if took alcohol back there.
And of course it is not the done thing to walk around or sit on a bench if full sight of the public drinking beer. My cold can had been wrapped by the shopkeeper in old newspaper so that nobody could see it was alcohol. It was cold in my hand and I was very hot and keen to get my lips around the beer. I walked and walked and looked around for place to hide away from prying eyes.
I came across a skate park where there were half a dozen young skateboarders and some others longing around the small grassed area. This was as good place as any and I sat on a piece of wood on the grass against a high hedge out of view from the people walking on the other side, and only visible to the skaters who thankfully didn’t seem to care what the foreigner was doing. I felt like an alcoholic! I had never had to drink alcohol furtively before. It made it much less enjoyable. I kept looked around nervously before taking a gulp.
Turkey is very cheap for tourists at the moment because the economy is so weak. On several occasions I thought I had been undercharged but no – it was just very cheap. Istanbul is a great option for a weekend but definitely not in July or August when the crowds and the weather make it less enjoyable.