Galata

July 15, Wednesday / Istanbul: Oddly enough, getting back to 'stam boul feels a bit like getting home.

The flight was only about an hour and presented some nice views of the country below, especially the bit where we came in over the Marmaris Sea.

Today we were intent on getting to Topkapi palace - but even within forty minutes of the opening the place was filled with tour busses. I noticed it is closed on Monday and Tuesday, so I think (hope) that Wednesday might be an especially crazy day. Anyway – we hit the eject button and decided to take advantage of a nice day to take a walk through Galata.

This involved the metro rail across the Galata bridge and the funicular up to Taksim Square. Galata is located on the steep incline of a hill between the north coast of the Golden Horn and Taksim square.

It's an interesting place. Essentially, it is this traditional Italian (Genovese) town that has always been the seamy world of trade and commerce balancing the serenity and pieties of the palaces, mosques, and churches across the water. This is the place the Ottoman Sultans came to take on so much debt and such high interest that it effectively broke the Empire.

Again – not learning my lesson from our guided stroll through Balat and Fener – we attempted
another one of the guided walks from the book. It is no more possible to know where you are on a map in Galata than in Balat. That's a kind of interesting fact about Istanbul. Even the taxi drivers need to ask directions and look at their gps systems. But the idea was “go downhill” and that worked for us. We did manage to catch a few of the listed sites from the book along the way. One of these was the Dervish lodge, an interesting old Catholic Church, a synagogue (with an exterior, I must observe, like a Brinks armored truck, apparently enough of that kind of religious tension exists to keep the Jewish congregation concerned). Of course, the Galata tower was the big item halfway down the hill. It is set in a kind of convergence of roads winding down the hill, surrounded by cafes, sleeping street dogs, and old Ottoman fountain. Below that you get into the banking section, and finally a market area down by the water.

I like these walks through the city – and this really is a city of neighborhoods. I think if I were to live here for some time, Galata would be a nice choice. It has a quieter feel – mostly due its narrow streets - and is close to the water and the big sights of the Sultanahmet across the estuary, yet it remains its own small place. The hill would keep you healthy. It might also be a nice place to stay even for a shorter visit – there was a nice looking hotel right there at the foot of Galata Tower.

Galata has always been a kind of counterpoint to Istanbul. It is a city of Italians and Catholics and Jews in a traditionally Islamic and Ottoman city. It even predates the fall of Constantinople and was recognizably its own concern back in Byzantine times. People like to say that Constantinople is where Europe meets Asia -but I think that specifically and practically really took place in Galata. That is where all the big Italian trading firms, banks and finance really brought the European world to the Sublime Porte.

Lunch at the old Kofteicisi – I've been there three or four times this year and last. This is an old fixture dating from the 1920's(?) where white coated waiters bring out plates of salad and kofte (lamb/beef grilled meatballs) with a special red pepper sauce. It's a wood panelling, brass fixtures, marble table top kind off place with lots of old pictures and letters from all the Turkish notables across the walls.

After that – back to the hotel for the usual afternoon down time, and then off, once again, to the Arasta Bazaar to kill some time with the carpet merchants.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Turkey. We really need to get to Topkapi and Aya Sofia.




Most Remarkable Thing: The city really is a city of neighborhoods and interestingly enough even the markets throughout the city specialize. For example, the top of Galata is filled with music stores – if you want a guitar or drums, that's where you find it. Lower down, this is the mechanical and electrical parts place for all of Istanbul. Clothing is purchased on the other side of the Golden Horn on the streets that fall down from the Grand Bazaar (which sells exclusively tourist trinkets) to Eminonu. Pet food is in the blocks outside the Spice Bazaar where you can also find plants. Pots, pans and metal work is near the Suleymaniye Mosque. Whatever product you care to name – eyeglasses, lawn mowers, air fresheners ,garden hoses, bicycle tubes – I am sure it has a specific address here.




Photo: Galata Tower.