Exiting the Grand Bazaar on the opposite side is like entering another world. It’s noisy and dusty, the streets aree crammed and we can even see ISIS flags on balconies above. But we keep moving on because this is the way down to the Galata bridge.
The Galata bridge spans the wide wade water called the Golden Horn, and it’s a very special contstruction. First, because it’s a two-storey bridge where the “upper floor” is where you pass over to Karaköy and the “lower floor” is a row of restaurants, most of them serving fish. But it’s upstairs that the longing for fish is really strong, hundreds of men stretch out their fishing rods over the railings.
Having traversed the bridge we seek out the “Tünel” station, reached through a hole in a rock. Tünel is an electric train that runs in a tunnel, straight up north to Beyoglu. It’s actually the first underground train in Europe (sorry London!) It was probably an important means of transport in older times, but now it’s more a sort of museum railway.
Exiting the Tünel we hop on a tram, ride east a couple of stations to end up on the Taksim square. It was here that the Turkish President Erdogan met his last (latest?) wave of popular resistance in 2013, when he wanted the nearby Gezi park demolished to make room for houses. Tens of thousands of Istanbul’s inhabitants took to the streets in protest. And the protests spread out to other parts of the country, but were crushed by the regime’s forces. Many political analysts consider this event as being the starting point for Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule.
The sun has set and it’s getting dark when we reach hotel Marmara Pera where we take the elevator to the top floor and restaurant Mikla. Through it’s panorama windows the views over Istanbul are breathtaking. Mikla has an exciting menu with modern versions of traditional Turkish courses, and for doing this so well it has earned it’s place as one of the world’s 50 top restaurants.
We meet up with Mehmet Gürs, the Swedish-Finnish-Turkish owner of Mikla. He is raised in Sweden and got his cooking education in the USA. He describes to us in detail and with much enthusiasm about his gastronomical laboratory team that constantly moves around all parts of Turkey finding and twisting local specialities. He owns a handful of other restaurants as well and is an avid activist for more climate smart food and less food waste.
Reluctantly we leave the friendly atmosphere at Mikla and find our way back over the Galata bridge to another rooftop restaurant, Inbat, where we have reserved a table. This one is also on top of a hotel, called Orient Express. Imbat is a modern and exciting restaurant also, maybe a trifle more leaning to western food traditions than Mikla. In Inbat we get a taste of Turkish red wine, a sensationally good experience. We hear that there are a great number of wine growers in Turkey, but because of the islamic government’s ideals where the use of alcohol is not endorsed they suffer a lot.
Istanbul is definitely a truly great food city, and another excellent restaurant we visit is the Old Ottoman Café, a straightforward and traditional place in a narrow alley. They are highly ranked in Tripadvisor and quite rightly so.
And let’s not forget to mention the generous and nourishing breakfast at hotel Aslan, where we stay. It’s super delicious!
Istanbul’s part in history is to a great extent due to its strategic place on the Bosporus, the straits that divide Europe from Asia and is the gateway into the Black Sea. So the water is an essential part of the city, and it’s also a great place to watch the city from. Lots of tour boats do the route past the Topkapi palace and the Golden Horne, on to the gigantic motorway bridge connecting east to west. Along the way you pass enormous and lavish palaces, some of them now luxurious hotels. We also pass a sort o gigantic raft, big as a football field and with swimming pools and restaurants. It’s owned by the football club Galatasaray.
