Cool Spots Around Istanbul (Part I).

Cool Spots Around Istanbul.

September-October 2020.

At long last I am edging towards the end of my Istanbul series. What an incredible city it is, something I have hopefully succeeded in showing over the last seventeen articles.

Now, as per Leighton Travels tradition, it’s time to round up the best of the rest. And boy is there a lot to get through. So much, in fact, that I have had to compile these remaining sights into two editions. With that in mind, maybe make yourself a brew of some manner. Then sit back and enjoy my Cool Spots Around Istanbul (Part I).

Oh lord, where to start? I guess as good a place as any would be Taksim Square, Istanbul’s largest pedestrianised public space. Home to fancy hotels, restaurants and cafes, it is also a major transport hub.

Indeed this was pretty much the first place we saw after jumping out of the airport transfer bus. It was early morning, not all that long after sunrise. Thus we trudged through the empty square with our luggage, bleary-eyed and disoriented.

Labelled “the modern heart of Istanbul”, Taksim Square has long been the site of political speeches and mass protests in addition to several unsavoury incidents. The so-called Taksim Square Massacre in 1977 and the stabbing of two English football fans in 2000 to name just a few.

Cool Spots Around Istanbul.

Despite this historic gravitas, there isn’t actually that much to see or do on the square. One can feed the pigeons, I guess. Or get annoyed by them, depending on one’s persuasion.

As a kid I always enjoyed my experiences on Trafalgar Square in London, which back in the 1980s was full of pigeons. So Istanbul’s mucky birds didn’t bother me, and I even managed to get a good shot of a typical moment of Taksim Square pigeon madness.

Moreover, the square is a prime spot for beggars and pickpockets, which means we always had our wits about us when passing through.

Prior to the completion of Taksim Mosque some years after our visit, the square was home to just one sight, the imposing 11-metre Republic Monument. Crafted by the famed Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica and unveiled in 1928, the monument commemorates the birth of The Turkish Republic on the 29th of October 1923.

Canonica created the monument from marble, while its bronze figures stand in tribute to the republic’s founding fathers. As you would expect, there is a prime spot for Atatürk, as well as Field Marshal Fevzi Çakmak and İsmet İnönü, the country’s second president. You’ll have to do a 36o of the monument in order to find all the various figures. 

Republic Market.

From the square it takes just a minute or two to enter Istiklal Avenue, the city’s premier shopping street. If like us you have little to no interest in branded stores and tourist trap restaurants, it is at least worth a wander to check out some of Istanbul’s most handsome 18th and 19th century buildings.

The street takes its name from Turkey’s transformation into a republic (Istiklal means independence). Aside from stores, cafes and restaurants, it’s generally a good place for soaking up the city’s atmosphere. Indeed a tram rumbles by every few minutes and there are nearly always street performers, models, influencers and Instagrammers strutting their stuff.

One afternoon we took a stroll down Istiklal Avenue on our way to the impressive Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church. With Istanbul’s many stunning mosques understandably taking centre stage for most visitors, the city’s churches often get overlooked. 

Designed in the Neo-baroque style and finished in 1880, it has a somewhat troubled history. In 1955, for example, it was the subject of state sponsored anti-Greek violence when a mob began attacking Greek churchgoers. Next, they attempted to burn the building down by dousing it in kerosene and flinging burning sticks on it. 

Cool Spots Around Istanbul.

Somehow the church survived and decades later, between 2002 and 2003, it was completely refurbished. The work was carried out thanks to a generous donation of over $90,000 from the Greek oil magnate Panagiotis Angelopoulos.

That day, we almost didn’t get to see the church’s sparkling interior. This was due to the fact that the caretaker, a grizzly old man, proved to be an absolute asshole. Entering the historic structure, he received us angrily with a harsh growly monologue which basically amounted to a rude demand for money.

Aware that the church had no entrance fee, we tried to politely ignore him. However, he then proceeded to rush us around the joint and barely five minutes later we gave up and exited. The old goat then locked the main door and disappeared. Still, I managed to grab a cheeky photo of him moments before he left.

We enjoyed a far more pleasant visit at the nearby Church of St. Anthony of Padua, where the caretaker was nowhere to be seen. This church is far busier, with a steady flow of foot traffic coming in and out of the building for much of any given day.

Church of St. Anthony of Padua.

Completed in 1912 in the Venetian Neo-gothic style, this Roman Catholic edifice is run by Italian priests and serves a community of around forty thousand parishioners. Outside, just in front of the main entrance, we paused to take in the gruesome modern art statue of Jesus on the cross. There is a touch of Dali to it, methinks. 

The church’s main claim to fame is that a certain Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli preached here while he was serving as The Vatican’s Ambassador to Turkey between 1935 and 1944. Later, in 1958, he became the head of the Catholic Church as Pope John XXIII. 

In recent years the church found itself embroiled in a major controversy. In 2016 there was quite a storm when a man by the name of Sebahattin Gok claimed the land upon which the church was built belonged to him and several business associates.

He then tried to sell the church to several overseas groups who had ownership connections to the original 18th century site that predated the current house of worship.

Ultimately, Gok was arrested and charged with fraud, including the creation of false documents. An investigation subsequently uncovered a real estate scam ring that was in the process of targeting numerous Christian churches across Turkey.

Cool Spots Around Istanbul.

One of Istanbul’s major draws is of course its world famous markets. I have already written up the city’s biggest network, The Grand Bazaar. If one has time, it’s definitely worth checking out The Spice Bazaar too.

The Spice Bazaar started out in 1660, nearly two hundred years after The Grand Bazaar’s inception. Back then it was simply christened New Bazaar, though some locals labelled it the Egyptian Bazaar, a reference to the fact that much of its funding came from the Ottoman eyalet of Egypt.

Over the years, the focus of the market shifted to spices, dried fruits, herbs, nuts and Turkish sweets.

What’s more, it’s a good place for freshly ground Turkish coffee. Ah, if only I could stomach the stuff.

And… fear not… there are plenty of stalls selling the kind of tourist tat you can find all over the city. Come on, you know you can’t go home without picking up a fez or two for your loved ones.

Overall, we felt the atmosphere was less stressful compared to The Grand Bazaar. Certainly in terms of the crowds and vendors giving you the hard sell.

The Spice Bazaar.

One spot that’s worth tracking down is this eye-catching balcony in the bazaar’s Dua Square. It belongs to a narrow wooden building called Azan Pavilion, which dates back to the late 17th century.

This is where the market’s many tradesman and artisans used to gather to pray each morning before starting work. The muezzin would issue the call to prayer from the balcony. These days people usually do their worshipping at the nearby New Mosque.

While we didn’t shop at any of the Spice Bazaar’s many stores, we did find ourselves tempted into a lovely little Turkish sweets cafe called Güllüoglu near Gate 3.

Run by a trio of courteous old guys, the cafe offers all manner of Turkish dessert staples in addition to coffee and tea. Figuring we’d be happy resting our legs for a bit, we made our choices and headed upstairs where there are comfy chairs and tables overlooking a section of the bazaar.

After some deliberation, we went for a piece of baklava and a healthy serving of künefe. The latter was truly a revelation, a delectable pan-cooked pastry filled with stringy cheese and pistachio.

Cool Spots Around Istanbul.

I’m gonna sign this piece off with a look at a major Istanbul sight that, in usual circumstances, I would have dedicated a single article to. However, as with The Blue Mosque, the stars did not align during our visit to the picturesque and historic Galata Tower.

Built in 1348, this former Romanesque watchtower once stood at the highest point of the city’s Galata Walls. The walls (which no longer exist) served to protect an administrative and trade post known as a Genoese colony. After the conquest of Constantinople the Ottomans turned the tower into a prison.

Today Galata Tower is a museum and exhibition space. Unfortunately for us the damn thing was closed, another example of local authorities taking advantage of the decrease in tourism during COVID times to carry out restoration work.

Hence we made do with soaking up some of the tower’s history from outside the entrance gates. We enjoyed the ceramic mural that trumpets a particularly famous (but almost certainly untrue) Galata Tower story dating back to 1638.

This is when the Ottoman scientist, inventor, astronomer and poet (among other things) Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi allegedly carried out the world’s first intercontinental flight by jumping from the tower wearing a pair of homemade wings. Those who witnessed the flight considered it intercontinental because he took off from the European side of the city and floated over the Bosphorus before landing on the Asian side. Classic.

Galata Tower.

We also took a moment to admire the beautifully engraved Bereketzade Fountain, located on Galata Square directly beneath the tower. Originally built in the 1450s for Sultan Mehmed II, it stood for centuries outside the now destroyed Bereketzade Mosque. Happily the fountain survived the centuries and was fully restored to its original glory prior to arriving at its new location.

I’m not gonna lie, we were bummed about not getting into Galata Tower. So we settled into a nearby cafe to lick our wounds. Next time, we promised ourselves, we’d get inside and claim those sweeping views from the top. Despite our disappointment, it was a lovely moment sitting there sipping from our flat whites, gazing up at Istanbul’s spectacular tower.

Like this? Take a look at my series of articles on Istanbul.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 30 countries.