Turkiye, Portugal, Spain and Dubai Day 2 Istanbul. 9 Sept 25

We both had a good nights sleep, I think our body clocks are approaching Turkiye time. We both had yoghurt with breakfast this morning, fortifying our gut for any local bugs, a little trick we learnt in India.
After breakfast we sat down and worked out how much local currency we would need. (I mean the Turkiye Lira isn’t really a currency you want to have leftovers of.) With the help of a very friendly concierge we also worked out where we can get some washing done, where reputable ATM’s are located and where the local shops are.
So armed with all good intel we headed off into the neighbourhood. We found the laundry, and then walked up a lively, narrow alleyway to Istikal Cd, the main shopping and commercial precinct. It was essentially closed off to traffic and had a tram line running up its length, a very nice pedestrian plaza.
The buildings in the pedestrian plaza were mostly old and interesting, maybe up to about 4 or 5 storeys high. We saw an old Catholic Church and another St Anthony of Padua, the largest Catholic church in Istanbul. We popped inside for a look, but there was a service going on so thought we would come back another time.
It’s fun getting out and about again and hearing a multitude of different languages being spoken around us. When we were done there, we walked back towards our hotel and onto a small supermarket to get some bottled water and a chemist for cold and flu drugs for me.
It was our Hammam afternoon. We left the hotel at about 1:45pm to go Hurrem Sultan Hamami, a Turkish bath, up near the famous Blue Mosque. We got there with a few minutes to spare so we had a quick look around. Within ”seconds” we had a Turkish Rug dude trying to get us to buy from him! I know they need to make a living, but they just never give up.
Anyway, the male entrance into the Hammam was grand and inviting, where the female entrance was down a non-descript staircase at the back of the building. From our descriptions both facilities were much the same inside. Immediately inside was a sitting room for after your bath, around that were change rooms. Except for the cabinetry, everything inside is white, there is white marble where you walk, sit or lie. Once changed into “disposable underwear” you are taken through to a ”Shower Room”, where you sit next to a marble sink and using a copper bowl, pour water over yourself for about 10 minutes, the room is warm, I think it’s meant to open the pores of your skin. From there you are taken to another room, where you again sit next to a marble sink and your attendant scrubs your body using a course mitt. That is nothing like I expected, it actually felt great. After being rinsed off, you are then taken to a heated marble slab where you lie down on a towel. Your attendant then covers you in warm foam, it felt so good. And then proceeds to massage you from head to foot. Very relaxing. After the massage you are taken back to the ”sink” area and rinsed off with warm water and then finished off with cold water. From there you are taken to a drying room, where your attendant towels your upper body dry, then wraps towel around your waist, and then they remove your underwear (under the towel) and finish drying you. You then get taken back to where it all began, the sitting room. Here you are given water, a cold pomegranate and carrot drink, your choice of tea or coffee (I chose Turkish coffee, it just seemed appropriate) and a couple of pieces of Turkish delight. It was so good.
After I changed back into my clothes and was about to walk out, one of the men at the front desk told me that Deborah was waiting for me just outside. We sat together out in front of the Hammam for a bit, reflecting on our experiences. I think we were both surprised that the scrub wasn’t unpleasant and we both enjoyed the whole experience.
It was a bit of fun getting a taxi back to the hotel. The first guy wanted to charge us 1600 Lira (we paid 600 including a tip to get there), we got out of that car pretty quickly, we passed on another where the driver was smoking and wanted 1000 Lira, we finally got an Uber for about the same rate as it was going there.
We got back to the hotel around 5:30pm went out for dinner at 7:15pm.
Deb found a little place, we think it was family run, not far from us, Bilice Kebap. It is located on a busy narrow street, full of small restaurants, bars and all sorts of humanity. We got a table outside and while we were waiting we had visit from a bearded guy in a wheelchair, he had 3 colourful parrots sitting on his shoulders, and his beard was coloured yellow and blue to match one of them. We had Beef Kebap and Chicken Skewers for 2. It was a feast. First came out a 1m+ round tray with 10 different accompaniments around its circumference, followed shortly later by a 20cm beef kebap hidden under the softest flatbread you could ever eat, and then about a dozen chicken skewers. Everything was so fresh and tasty. Deb had an Ayran, a yoghurt drink to go with it (the healthy option), I had a coke. The meal was finished off with a glass of hot tea each and some freshly cut watermelon. It was the most fabulous meal, the family were all so welcoming, the food delicious and the atmosphere on the street was delightfully memorable.
Back in our room by 9pm, our tour(s) begin tomorrow at 9am, so got ourselves a bit prepared.