Istanbul: Initial Impressions

I've done a fair amount of flying in my time, and there aren't many places that I feel are worth the effort of requesting a window seat when it comes to arriving by air. In my experience, most airports are located in suburban areas, and so the view out the window is pretty unimpressive; depending on where you are in the world, airports tend to be surrounded by farmland, strip malls and suburban housing, or not particularly attractive industrial zones. However, there are a few cities that I love to fly into because of the view upon aerial descent. For example, the approach to the Vancouver airport is absolutely beautiful because you get an amazing view of the city, the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Likewise, Hong Kong is great, especially if you're lucky enough to be landing at sunset, because you fly over gorgeous green islands, and the South China Sea is pink and sparkling. Elsewhere, Ulaanbaatar is a great city to fly because it seems to appear out of the middle of nowhere, and is the perfect example of how to not plan a city. Having arrived in Istanbul by air yesterday afternoon, I would like to add Istanbul to my shortlist of great cities to fly into. The approach to Ataturk Airport is impressive not so much for the view of the Bosphorus, or the beauty of the cityscape, per se; what makes Istanbul a great place to approach by air is the sight of the city's skyline that is marked not by skyscrapers, but by dozens of minarets that stand outside of the mosques across the city.

It's been a busy day of touring and wandering around Sultanahmet, the main area of Old Istanbul where most of the major tourist sites are located, so I'm happy to be chilling out on the rooftop of my hostel, cooling my heels and sorting through my photos from the day. After a year of enjoying the many benefits of being a student in Europe (free or deeply reduced admission fees to major sites and museums in several countries), sightseeing in Istanbul is proving to be a bit of a budget busting activity. My heart wallet wails a little every time I part with a banknote to enter a museum or monument. That being said, it was absolutely worth the 20 Turkish Lira admission fee to enter Aya Sofia; as expected, it was crawling with tourists, and sadly, much of the interior is covered in scaffolding (apparently there's been a big push on restoration work to get the place in tip top shape leading up to 2010, when Istanbul will officially be a European Capital of Culture for the year), but regardless, it is an impressive site to visit, and has definitely earned its status as one of the great buildings of the world.

Paparazzi, the Superstar, the stage mom, and the opening act (Deesis mosaic, Aya Sofia, Istanbul; from left, the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist).

 

Although I feel like I'm a little behind schedule and want to pick up the pace my travels, it's a little fortuitous that I only arrived in Istanbul yesterday. This is the last week of Ramadan, and for the most part, Istanbul is running business as usual; however, I've read that outside of the major cities in Turkey, and elsewhere in the Middle East, life comes to a bit of a grinding halt during the this period, which could make travelling a little more difficult and frustrating.