Twice the Fun, Half the Time, and Laundry is not Neglected
As chance would have it, yesterday did not end with returning from my after lunch walk, but that was only the beginning. Hasan called me up and I headed down to Beshiktash to meet him and two friends. The whole waterfront is beginning to wake up, more people are about in the warm night air and from many restaurants I could smell fresh fish being cooked. The plan was simple, because a housemate was studying for a law exam they were going to vacate the apartment and go find some dinner. But where to eat? We took a taxi to Taksim, the center of Istanbul nightlife.
The main affair in Taksim is a long twisting avenue closed to automobile traffic that is absolutely jammed with crowds day and night. Plenty of famous restaurants are there and we passed by several before deciding that if it was fish we wanted, maybe we should head down to the waterfront and see how things look. Getting there was an experience, I had only been on Istanbul's more recent metro line, but at the end of the Taksim avenue we entered a large building which turned out to be another metro station, the original Istanbul metro line runs 800 meters and was built shortly after the first London underground, making it the second oldest metro line in the world. The cars are electric now and the damp, stone tunnel is brightened by florescent lighting, but not much seems to have changed. The walls of the station we arrived at were filled with Iznik tiles, reminding me that this metro line, as primitive as it may seem in comparison to modern ones, was built during the time of the Ottoman Empire.
Between Taksim and the peninsula housing Old Constantinople (Sultenahmet) runs a bridge lined with restaurants. Along the road (which is above the restaurants) many people cast lines and fish all day, some have small grills set up and will sell you a fish sandwich right there, though most seem to be taking their catch home. The restaurants are right on the water and in the warm night air the view was incredible. All of Sultenahmet is laid out before you, with only the expanse of night time waters separating you from it. That's definitely the place to have a date on a summer night. And while the restaurants were by no means cheep, they weren't as pricey as you would expect for the view they offered.
After a good fish dinner we went back to Beshiktash, through the now quiet market, and down some residential streets to meet another friend and came back to Mecidiyeköy and played music into the night. My fondness for Turkish folk music is growing more every time I hear it and having a few skilled musicians over for company made this a great weekend before it was even half finished.
Sunday has turned into a blissful laundry day, letting me reflect on last night's excitement while the neighborhood children kick soccer balls against the bars over my bedroom window.
The main affair in Taksim is a long twisting avenue closed to automobile traffic that is absolutely jammed with crowds day and night. Plenty of famous restaurants are there and we passed by several before deciding that if it was fish we wanted, maybe we should head down to the waterfront and see how things look. Getting there was an experience, I had only been on Istanbul's more recent metro line, but at the end of the Taksim avenue we entered a large building which turned out to be another metro station, the original Istanbul metro line runs 800 meters and was built shortly after the first London underground, making it the second oldest metro line in the world. The cars are electric now and the damp, stone tunnel is brightened by florescent lighting, but not much seems to have changed. The walls of the station we arrived at were filled with Iznik tiles, reminding me that this metro line, as primitive as it may seem in comparison to modern ones, was built during the time of the Ottoman Empire.
Between Taksim and the peninsula housing Old Constantinople (Sultenahmet) runs a bridge lined with restaurants. Along the road (which is above the restaurants) many people cast lines and fish all day, some have small grills set up and will sell you a fish sandwich right there, though most seem to be taking their catch home. The restaurants are right on the water and in the warm night air the view was incredible. All of Sultenahmet is laid out before you, with only the expanse of night time waters separating you from it. That's definitely the place to have a date on a summer night. And while the restaurants were by no means cheep, they weren't as pricey as you would expect for the view they offered.
After a good fish dinner we went back to Beshiktash, through the now quiet market, and down some residential streets to meet another friend and came back to Mecidiyeköy and played music into the night. My fondness for Turkish folk music is growing more every time I hear it and having a few skilled musicians over for company made this a great weekend before it was even half finished.
Sunday has turned into a blissful laundry day, letting me reflect on last night's excitement while the neighborhood children kick soccer balls against the bars over my bedroom window.
posted by Alex Gray at 16:14
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