Sultan Ahmet Mosque in Istanbul
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 17, 2023 | Perhaps you are like me, and find that when you travel, you often have regrets that you did not do or see enough while you were away from home.
On a recent cruise from Athens, Greece to Venice, we took a different route to get there, not a direct flight to Athens. For half the price of a Delta trip to Athens, we could fly on Turkish Airlines, first to Istanbul, before transferring that same day to Athens. On the return flight, we would fly from Venice to Istanbul, where we would spend two nights before flying home. (Yes, traveling that far means an 11-hour flight, and that’s difficult. Book well in advance and fly Turkish Airlines at a good business class price to stretch out and not be crowded in steerage.)
When as a student, perhaps it was the way “Constantinople” rolled off the tongue that fascinated me. That’s today’s Istanbul, of course.
The city’s name was changed in 1930, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish field marshal, took power. He was a revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. The land occupied by the Turks was known as the Ottoman Empire from the 1300s until 1922. Following World War I and the fall of the Ottomans, the Republic of Turkey formed, taking on the name that had long referred to that region.
Detail of molding at White House Hotel
On our recent trip, we were lucky in the choice of our hotel, interestingly named the White House Hotel. It’s a small and beautifully-done hotel with a sixth floor breakfast area overlooking the Bosphorus, the waterway which is the dividing line between Europe and Asia. The hotel is perfectly located within three blocks of key mosques of Istanbul.
Traveling for several days is tiring, and one regret is that we slept too much at the White House Hotel. We were exhausted after 10 days of traveling.
So the big regret is that we saw little of the city of Istanbul teeming with people (15 million). In some ways it reminded us of New York, people walking everywhere, always fast, and it’s very crowded. And while there are extensive through streets, in the old city where we were, the streets are narrow and crowded, restaurants abound everywhere, and there is such a vibrancy around! For sure, it’s like nothing in Gwinnett.
So yes, though quite distant from my home in Georgia, it would be great to go back and take in more of this always-important-from-Bible times city.
Growing up in Macon, as a kid we rode the city buses all over town for a nickel. We often just got on and rode to the end of the line, only to ride back immediately. That was fun.
Maybe I’m still a kid. Should I ever go back to Istanbul, for sure I would ride their modern metro system. Trams go throughout the city on several lines. Paying a small fare to ride to the end of the lines (both ways) would give you a good overview of the city, and let you glimpse into areas most tourists never see. Not riding a tram in Istanbul is my big regret of our recent visit.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us