Day 5 – Dolmabahçe Palace, Grand Bazaar, Hamam, Cooking Class

And then it was my last day in Istanbul! I took a little more time in the morning to leave the hotel because my day wasn’t as jam packed as the others had been. I decided I wanted to walk around the city a little bit more and not use public transport very much. That was always my favorite thing to do in Paris. Whenever I had spare time, I would fill it by walking wherever I was going, no matter how far. It helped me get to know the neighborhoods, and get a better feel for different areas. I notice a lot more around me. One thing I got very loud and clear on this day walking around more was that being a blonde in Istanbul makes you extremely conspicuous. I didn’t feel like a target so much as I just wish that I wasn’t so noticeable as a tourist and immediately identifiable as American. In any case, walking around the city felt a little stranger due to that.

I went from the hotel and walked down the steep hill to Dolmabahçe Palace. I didn’t intend on going inside but once I got there, it was just about to open and I thought maybe I would just do it. I am really glad that I did. The tour guide at Dolmabahçe was great. It was so nice not to have to listen to an audio guide and to be able to interact with someone. The Palace is like the Turkish Versailles. It was fun to peruse the opulent décor, chandeliers that weighed two tons, and immaculately manicured lawns and gardens. The Palace is also right on the water with guards patrolling the docking areas. This palace is where Ataturk died as well. No travel blog about Turkey would be complete without a cursory view of Ataturk. He is credited as the founding father of the modern Turkish state, many political, cultural and economic reforms, and Turkish Independence. The best takeaway from my tour was a new phrase: “No mubalaga!” which basically means no b.s. There were a lot of Indian tourists on my tour with me and they struck up a conversation with our guide about the language. I don’t know if this is true or not but Levant said that modern day Turkish is 45% derived from Urdu. Either way, this phrase was a good one and rolls trippingly off the tongue. So fun to say.

After Dolmabahçe I took a long walk to the Spice Bazaar to pick up some souvenirs for family and then I started up to the Grand Bazaar to get a few more. Scarves are the thing to get here. And I began to try and bargain for everything. If I wanted a necklace, I would ask about a discount for two. I would not sit with the merchants, I would not drink their tea. I told them I was there to deal and drove hard bargains. I thought I was doing such a good job. Of course, I wasn’t and was probably just paying the prices they originally intended to get people to pay. I found out later that I went through the entire Spice Bazaar paying the marked prices when I could have been wheeling and dealing my way in there as well. I was sad about that. But it didn’t occur to me that spices or teas would be different from scarves or jewelry. Missed opportunity.

After the Grand Bazaar, I was excited for a real hamam experience. I had a long discussion with my friend from the study abroad office who had given me a heads up about the full hamam experience. I was glad for this preparation because I think it’s a little easier to go for it if you know what you’re getting into before it happens. I went to the Çemberlitaş Hamam and signed up for a scrub and a massage. I had never done anything approaching a spa experience so everything was new to me. It’s a beautiful room and very nice inside. They had mostly tourist clientele. When you walk in, depending on your service, they give you a towel and everything else you need. And you get a locker you can use to keep your stuff in. I had a very relaxing afternoon and even felt like I got a real cultural experience as well. I maybe wouldn’t have done it otherwise since it’s not really my style but it was fun and new. I’m leaving out some details so if you go to Turkey and want to hamam, let me know and I’ll give you my full story run-down so you can be prepared.

I was thoroughly relaxed and shiny with oil by the end of my time at the hamam and it was time for me to go to my Turkish cooking class. There is this place in the Sultanahmet neighborhood called Cooking Alaturka which is run by a Dutch lady who studied in Istanbul, fell in love with it, and moved back after university and started a life there. She used to be in the hotel industry and is writing a book about it but she currently teaches Turkish cooking to tourists and I had a great time learning from her! We had quite the menu. We started off with zucchini patties, green beans in olive oil in tomato puree, and yoghurt soup. The main course was called Sultan’s delight, which is a large pot of vegetables and meat slow cooked with Turkish spices and red pepper paste, a smoked eggplant puree in béchamel sauce, and for dessert we ate quince stuffed with apples cooked in vanilla and cinnamon syrup. It was a delicious meal and so fun. I would recommend this for anyone traveling alone as it was a great way to meet other travelers and a fun, communal way to spend an afternoon. We had a great time cooking together, and eating together was a great opportunity to trade information about what to see and do. It was here that I found out I could bargain at the spice market and that I probably should have looked for a more local, less well advertised hamam. Randomly, a guy at the class went to Duke with Cara and they knew each other. Small world! So after we all ate and drank together to finish our evening Cara and I caught the tram home. It was a great finish to my stay in Istanbul. I was excited to go home the next day because I felt like I just put my life and all its big decisions on hold for a week. It was a fantastic break and I feel like I did the right thing going.

Istanbul is an incredible city. And the rest of Turkey is definitely on my list for places to see. I’ll have to pump Cara for information on Cappadochia, Gallipoli, Chalcedony, Izmir, Ankara and other sites. Sigh. So much to see in this world. My flight home was great, uneventful other than another random meeting with a friend of a co-worker who had been traveling in Istanbul as well. What a great trip! Many thanks again to Cara and all the people who gave me great advice and guidance for my time there.