Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Turkey in the Straw: Thingorjus sleeps in Istanbul

THE RITZ CARLTON ISTANBUL

We really enjoyed our stay at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Istanbul, even though the location is a bit daft. The hotel is in the Taksim section of the city, on a hill surrounded by a highway. Crossing the street is a major hassle and can be quite dangerous. I assume the people at Ritz thought that everyone would take a Mercedes taxi upon leaving and returning to the hotel, but I think it is ridiculous to get a cab to go two blocks (the Dolmabache Palace is only two blocks, as is Taksim Square).

The service at the hotel was uneven. The cabana boys were fabulous. They sprinted across the pool area to fetch a towel or pick up an empty Champagne bottle. However, the doormen liked to stand around chatting whilst we were left to open our own doors. The security at the Ritz, and all the other big hotel chains around Taksim, was very tight. You had to pass through metal detector and have your bags scanned to enter the hotel. Muffy said to one security guard, “It is quite ironic that you run to scan my purse, but you can’t seem to hold a door open for a lady with packages.” What is also annoying about the Ritz is that you have to put your room card-key into a slot on the elevator to go to your floor. This may not sound like much, but when six people get on the elevator in the lobby, everyone fights to put their card in first. If you are last, you must go to all the other floors first before you get can off on your floor. This is one of the DAFTEST things ever thought up.

The décor of the hotel was beautiful. The rooms were spacious, the bathrooms divine. I called the beds “sleeping pills” because once you got into bed you immediately feel asleep. If I had one of these beds at home, Eli Lilly would be forced into bankruptcy.

The pool area was very nice, but the lounge chairs looked rather worn. The pool was small--the front desk clerk said that the regular pool (indoor) was being refurbished. There were also two hot tubs, which Muffy and mother adored. The strange thing about the pool area, however, is that we noticed a lot of OLDER MEN with VERY YOUNG women. Muffy said that she thought the women were high-paid hookers, and that she was an expert on such a thing because she is the cousin of the Mayflower Madam. Some of the women were tottering around on impossibly high heels, wearing string bikinis and Chanel sunglasses. (Muffy wore a one-piece from the sporting-goods department of Walgreen’s. She carried around her cigarettes in a Fortuny evening bag that once belonged to her grandmother, the former bridge partner of Truman Capote.)

GRAND BAZAAR

We took a trip to the Grand Bazaar, but were very put out by it all. WORD OF ADVICE: if you are going to the Grand Bazaar, wear your rattiest clothing and take off all or your jewelry. Once the shop owners see that maybe you have some money, they go after you like a wolf on a day-old lamb. We would tell the sellers what we were looking for, price and all, yet they kept showing us the most expensive merchandise. I would tell a seller that I wanted a $20 pashmina shawl, yet I would be shown something that cost $200. ANOTHER WORD OF ADVICE: if you are a woman with a man, the dealers will always talk to the man. Muffy and my mother would ask to see something, yet the dealers would look at Keith or me to ask our approval. My mother did NOT like this at all. She told one shopkeeper that she had her own money and her own credit cards, that he need not look to her son for payment. We did come away with a few cheap tiles (about $2 each) and a $20 pashmina (finally!) for a friend.

SPICE BAZAAR

Same as Grand Bazaar, but smaller. The dealers here are WORSE, however. Some shopkeepers became irate because we didn’t talk to them. One said, “What are you looking for? If you don’t want to buy, why are you here?” Muffy replied, “We came for some tennis balls. Do you have any? No? Then shut up.” Good for a photo op.

BLUE MOSQUE

You have to take your shoes off to go inside, putting them in a plastic bag that is provided. Hence, the whole place smells like feet. The floor is carpeted with a million carpets. Keith, Muffy, and my mother walked around with scarves wrapped around their heads. Muffy actually said, “Do you see any ashtrays?”
It was like being at Disney World with unruly children.

SAINT SOPHIA

Huge and atmospheric, there is not much inside. There are two remnants of mosaics on the second floor, right wing. On the way out of the building, look up and you will see a fantastic mosaic above the doorway.

TOPKAPI PALACE

This place was fabulous. The Harem was the best part (you have to stand in a separate line inside the gates to get admission tickets), with rooms covered in Iznik tiles (if only I could afford to cover my kitchen with these tiles). You could spend half a day here looking at all that is on display, from cooking utensils to a jewel-encrusted cradle. They even had a footprint that is supposed to have belonged to Mohammed, and the skull of John the Baptist. There is a restaurant/cafeteria on the premises that is somewhat pricey. A can of coke was about $3. Muffy complained to the manager and told him that in America he would be boycotted. We also met a nice Iraqi lady from Baghdad at the café. We had a discussion about the war and President Bush. You can also exchange money at cambio at the café, and at the post office that is next to the ticket office.

Side note: it is very difficult to exchange money in Sultanahmet. There were no cambios around. You either had to change money at the post office or a bank on Divanyolu Caddesi. There are no banks in the touristy Sultanahmet section. In Beygolu, you can find many cambios on Istiklal Caddesi. The good hotels (Ritz, Divan, Hyatt, Inter-continental, etc.) will also change money for you. You also must understand that many of the carpet/souvenir shops in Sultanahmet will not take a credit card. Neither will some of the smaller restaurants, especially on Aksikyik Caddesi, which we called “Backpacker Street” because of all the youth hostels.

DOLMBAHCE PALACE

This is one of my favourite places in Istanbul. It is a 19th century palace built by Sultan Abdul Mecit. It was built by an Armenian architect, so it is symmetrical in design. I liked it because all of the furnishings were on display in the rooms, as opposed to being in vitrines like the Topkapi Palace. The crystal chandeliers were unbelievable, especially the one made by Waterford. (Some of you know how my mother feels about crystal chandeliers.) Ataturk’s simple bedroom was on display and was in sharp contrast to the otherwise opulence of the palace. The Harem can also be visited—you need a separate ticket for entrance. English-speaking tours are every 35 minutes. PLEASE BE AT THE PALACE BY 10 AM, otherwise you will stand in line for tickets and tour for HOURS.

ISTIKLAL CADDESI

This is the Champs Elysee of Istanbul. Lots of shops, restaurants, cambios, cafes, people. There is a nice store that sells beautiful glasswear called Pasabahce on this street. Ozsut Café, with the best tiramisu and cappuccino is also here. You will also find Cicek Passage here, where there are many restaurants. We did not eat here, however, because my mother did not like the smell coming from the nearby fish and vegetable stands. My mother is rather posh.  This is also a great place to find the same type of souvenirs that you would find at Grand Bazaar, but WITHOUT the hassles.

CHORA

A small gem of a museum that used to be a Byzantine church, now a mosque. Beautiful, important mosaics from the 14th century depicting the life of Christ. Off of the beaten path, but well worth the effort to get here. We took a guided tour that also included a boat trip on the Bosphorus. The famous Asitane restaurant is next door.

Observations

We did not like Sultanahmet. We much preferred staying in Beygolu/Taksim area. Sultanahmet was too touristy, too much of a hassle dealing with carpet dealers chasing us down the street. Don’t stay in Sultanahmet if you are going to Istanbul. Stay in Beygolu and take a taxi to see the main sites (Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and St. Sophia) of Sultanahmet. Cabs are very cheap, maybe $6 to go from Taksim to Topkapi Palace. You don’t get hassled in Beygolu, nobody haggles over the price of something. Everyone takes credit cards. It is like being in New York or Paris. Being in Sultanahmet is like being at Disney World.