Free intercontinental travel

Aqueduct of Valens

I took Ming to Topkapi Palace around 0900 and left her to it.  I had only visited last year, my third visit in thirty years.

There was a sight that I hadn’t seen since my first visit thirty years ago though and it was the Aqueduct of Valens.  I wandered there from the palace through very untouristed areas.  Those areas were actually tidier than some touristed areas which have super-high foot traffic.

The aqueduct, is about 1600 years old and around 1km in length, it carried water from a forest to the Basilica Cistern.  It is just as I remember it!

Aqueduct of Valens.

I continued randomly downhill through areas I hadn’t visited and ended up in the bazaar area which led to the Egyptian Bazaar.  The exploration put that spark back in me again despite the bazaars buzzing with more people than usual, possibly due to being Republic Day.

Busy in the bazaars today.

Last night, I had felt that I had been here too much and too long now.  And Istanbul is not that cheap anymore; meals in touristy areas are a little cheaper than New Zealand but no longer super-cheap.  I  was also a bit bored with the food as well since I’ve been eating this kind of cuisine in Azerbaijan and the Balkans as well, for nearly a month!

Free intercontinental travel to Uskudar

As soon as Ming was back from Topkapi, we headed out again for lunch.  I suggested that we take the underground or underwater metro to Uskudar in Asia.  It’s only one stop away.

The city and transportation system was crazily busy due to Republic Day.  Transport was also free today!  This is probably my first ever free intercontinental travel.

Today is the 99^th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Turkiye, even though it was de facto a republic already for some 3.5 years already.

We had a simple lunch of beef mince and salad on rice.  We found a good supermarket where I stocked up on snacks for hiking while Ming bought spices and gifty snacks.

The waterfront in Usukudar was buzzing with live concerts set to happen in the evening.  We made our way back to the hotel to enjoy some amazing desserts on the rooftop.  We had found some amazing desserts at the supermarket for only NZD2-3.  Trileche cake and also custard-filled profiteroles in a chocolate smothered in a rich chocolate sauce.

Final shopping

Around 1630, Ming and I went out for her final shop-up.  The Egyptian Bazaar was closed today but the stalls outside were open.  We had already established that their pricing were very good; eg. Turkish delight at a third of the price of the fancy stores.

She bought some Turkish Delight, nuts, dried fruit and candy for people in Singapore and back in New Zealand.  The total came to around NZD240 but it was quite a bit shop-up that they had to pack it into a good quality, sturdy, stitched bag.  It was so heavy that one person couldn’t carry it comfortably for long.

Crazily busy in the bazaar where we did the shopping.

Crazily Busy

I leave tomorrow at 1335 on a Singapore Airlines which is already full.  Ming is on standby and thought it would be wise to try for Turkish Airlines tonight at 0145, knowing that it was full or nearly full as well.

On a normal night, I would have suggested leaving the hotel around 2000 after the busy period by tram and bus to the airport.  But it was crazily busy due to the holiday and the crowd wasn’t expected to subside as there was going to be fireworks.

We decided to leave around 1820 by tram.  We could barely enter the tram stop and the tram but somehow, we made it on with her large case and a cabin wheelie.

Squashed like sardines on the tram.

At Aksaray metro, I was disoriented and couldn’t find the way to the bus without Google Maps.  Then I recalled having the same problem last year.  The short trip had taken nearly an hour due to congestion, tram doors not closing well due to the crowd and my disorientation.

After she left on the bus, I decided to find out once and for all, how I could be so disoriented.  As it turns out, this bus stop wasn’t the same one as the drop-off we had arrived at.  And the tram connection was also at a different stop.  It was just uncanny that the shops, doner stalls and mosques looked similar.

At 2100, I caught a six-minute firework display set off from near the bridge that links Europe to Asia.  Just when I thought I’d go back to my room, another round of fireworks was set off, this time apparently from the bridge.

It seemed to go on for longer and was louder three years ago when I was here on Republic Day also.  I had had a night flight from Sharm el Sheikh and was in bed, missing all the action.

It was very nice for Istanbul to welcome me in such a grand fashion back then, and tonight, for this city to farewell me with a big bang as well.