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Istanbul: Highlights from Afar.com { 6 images } Created 7 Dec 2013

Visit Afar.com and search for Mary Ramos to view highlights from Istanbul, Turkey.
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  • We turned to Istanbulite. The challenge: find local guides who could match wits with an enthusiastic 87-year-old history buff, with a walker nicknamed Intrepid, and a mission to put Byzantine, Ottoman and modern history in physical context on two continents in three days. Oh, yes, and to eat as much lamb as possible. Chatting with locals would come naturally.<br />
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Our days focused on: 1) major sites (Sultanahmet, Aya Sofya, Grand Bazaar); 2) history (the Byzantine Chora church, the Ottoman Rüstem Pașa Mosque, and the orientalist Dolmabahҁe Palace) plus a stop at the Spice Bazaar; and 3) West meets East meets Bosphorus chic, (a ferry ride to Kadikoy’s outdoor markets and restaurants on the Asian side, followed by a ferry and taxis to the Western neighborhoods of Bebek, Arnavutkoy, and Ortakoy). Along the way: eat, drink, shop.<br />
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Whether the topic was history, shatoosh, current news, or rooftop views, for local knowledge, Istanbulite was worth the investment.<br />
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Accessibility <br />
Our guides were sensitive to the pace of a senior with a walker who wanted to see it all. Clear itineraries with flexibility based on what we’d be willing to miss offered time to experience each place.<br />
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Knowledge that made a difference: <br />
o Major sites with official handicap access and the most feasible way there; <br />
o Manageable entrances to sites without handicap access; and <br />
o How to get there. We prefer public transportation, so a reality check about time and distance made our history day possible.<br />
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Links:<br />
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www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos <br />
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www.istanbulite.com for guide services in Istanbul.
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  • Rooftop views abound in Istanbul’s historic peninsula. Order tea, coffee, wine, raki, or a full meal, then relax and take in the sights and sounds. Or grab your camera and a tripod to capture the best light with the morning and evening calls to prayer. Remember to bracket a few sets of images to experiment with in HDR when you return home. <br />
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The easiest place to start is to ask if your hotel has a rooftop patio or restaurant. From our hotel (Armagrandi Spina Hotel), we could see at least three other rooftop bars and restaurants within walking distance with comparable views of Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque and the Sea of Marmara. Other views on the peninsula to take your breath away: Hamdi Restaurant, Adamar Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel. Discover your own rooftop favorite or hire a certified local guide, like Istanbulite.com, to seek out unique vistas.<br />
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Accessibility: Of the places mentioned above, none had easy rooftop access for the mobility-impaired. In most cases, you must climb one floor up a spiral staircase. That’s not to say that handicap access to phenomenal views doesn’t exist. For example, Hamdi Restaurant and the Adamar Hotel have (narrow) elevators leading to dining areas with sweeping vistas even on a cold winter’s day. Ask around. It’s a great excuse to connect and discover.<br />
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Links:<br />
<br />
www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos
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  • The best spot for kebaps and kunefe with a view is Hamdi Restaurant. An easy walk from Rustem Pasa, across from the New Mosque, downhill from the Grand Bazaar and a stone’s throw from the Spice Bazaar, Hamdi’s view sweeps the Golden Horn with the Galata Tower standing sentinel over the moody pastels of Karakoy’s waterfront. <br />
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The first floor cafe has the most extraordinary selection of baklava one could imagine. <br />
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Reservations for lunch or dinner on the upper floors are a good idea. Kebaps are the star of the show. The dizzying selection is based on combinations of two basic components. Meat can be beef or lamb alone, or a mix of the two. The spicing, however, teases and taunts taste and smell memory. Even when familiar individually, the combinations defy deconstruction for future replication at home. My advice? Savor every bite and enjoy the view. <br />
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For those who prefer meat in chunks, not ground, order the “shish”. But your taste buds will be missing the party.<br />
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Vegetarian kebaps and an abundance of eggplant and tomato dishes are also delicately spiced and satisfying.<br />
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Consider shopping for baklava from the café to try later back at the hotel, and sharing a kunefe as dessert. Mild white cheese is wrapped in cut pastry, baked until golden brown, sprinkled with a light lemony syrup and garnished with an abundance of chopped pistachios. Turkish tea provides just enough energy to tear yourself away from the view and immerse yourself in Istanbul yet again.<br />
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Links:<br />
<br />
www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos
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  • Balik ekmek ve bira. Fish with bread and beer. Fresh, simple, nourishing, refreshing. With a splash of lemon, set against a turquoise waterfront, it can’t be beat as accompaniment for people-watching, waiting for a ferry, or just letting time be. <br />
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On a busy day, a barge embossed in gold filigree, topped with gold domes, led by dolphins, serpents, or a helmeted dragon might get lost behind the throng of humanity. Stroll toward the red and gold-domes, though, and as eyes adjust to the shade, men in embroidered shirts serving hot balik ekmek from 8-foot open-air grills to customers waiting on land over the starboard side come in to view. Edge closer. If the line is long, someone may approach to take your order. Pay when the fish is ready and pick up your beverage at the refrigerator with your receipt. Select a barrel and table with a view of the Galata Tower. Observe or engage as life transits irrepressibly between historic and modern Istanbul. <br />
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Getting there <br />
From Eminonu station or Yeni Camii (New Mosque), cross traffic to get to the southwest corner of the bridge, ideally using the pedestrian tunnel. Look for the red or gold domes at water's edge.<br />
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Photo Op <br />
Take the staircase on the west side of the bridge to a sea level observation deck. For video, use a wide angle lens and adjust focal length, tripod height and viewing angle to include the two highest points of interest – Galata Tower to the north and Suleymaniye Mosque to the south. Be prepared - it's windy!<br />
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Links:<br />
<br />
www.afar.com for more Highlights from Istanbul by Mary Ramos
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  • Intricate textiles woven on looms handed down through generations. An array of laurel, olive and lavender bath products and the hammered bowls to hold them. Silk shawls with which to drape the color of the Aegean in a graceful arc below bare shoulders.<br />
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All organic and produced locally, with the specific intent of preserving a dying art.<br />
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Jennifer’s Hamam works with traditional Turkish weavers to produce luxuriously looped Turkish towels, flat-woven pestamels (the wraps used in hamams, similar to a sarong), and fine silks woven from hand-spun thread. Looms are passed from one generation to the next. New designs evolve over time. Part entrepreneur and part preservationist, Jennifer and her staff are generous with their knowledge and delight in sharing their affordable luxuries. Wander, shop, and emerge enlightened.<br />
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Accessibility: A wheeled walker can easily maneuver the main path of the Arasta Bazaar.<br />
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Links:<br />
<br />
www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos
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  • Look up once inside any gate to Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. The ceiling will provide clues as to which part of the Bazaar you are in. <br />
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The Iҁ (or Cevahir) Bedesten is deep in the center of the Bazaar. The concentric red brick circles of its high, domed ceiling shelter the Bazaar’s most precious jewelry and antiques. One of the few structures remaining from the time of Mehmet II, the Conqueror, the Bedesten was a source of revenue for Aya Sofya after the original Byzantine church was converted to an Ottoman mosque. The nearby Sandal Bedesteni, which carries textiles, has a similar red brick ceiling. <br />
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Elsewhere in the Bazaar, look up to find yourself beneath a path of yellow arches with blue arabesques; or variations in beige; or under ceilings in which the patina of centuries belies (or defies) location. <br />
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Combined with the abundance of jewelry, antiques, carpets, silver, leather, textiles, house wares, or souvenir shops in any particular section, Bazaar ceilings can help wanderers find their way. To find an exit, look for the word “kapali” (door or gate). It pays to know where you would like to end up, the name of the kapali you seek, and the section of the Bazaar that it’s in – there are at least half a dozen main gates (some near taxi stands) and as many as twelve smaller entrances to the Bazaar with approaches under arched stone ceilings from the time of the sultans.<br />
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Links:<br />
<br />
www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos
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