At 4.15am I emerge blinking into the arrivals hall at Istanbul airport and start my immersion into a new city as so many travellers have done before me — by haggling with a local taxi driver. He takes me through the city to a backstreet where he declares ‘road closed’ and points me in the direction I need to walk. It is the dead of night; I am addled from the wine and Xanax cocktail I took to help me sleep on the plane – and I have no idea where to go. Promises to my family not to wander the streets alone in the dark (something I have a tendency to do) echo in my head as I traipse down a cobbled street clutching my bags.
I must be on the edge of the Bosphorus, as I can smell and hear the sea and the pavement is wet with spray. The hotel gates appear eventually. I grab a couple of hours of confused, restless sleep and later head out onto the busy streets of Beşiktaş — the style-forward district which is home to many new Istanbul designers. Getting lost in a new city often seems the best way to acclimatise, but Istanbul has a way of drawing you in and never letting you go – crowds close around you; hawkers are roasting corn and chestnuts; the paving stones around the juice sellers are sticky with pressed pomegranates; sirens wail; car horns are played as if they were musical instruments. Overwhelmed and exhausted, I start to question why I have come here alone for a restorative break…
I need a change of plan and book myself into one of the city's oldest bathhouses — Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamam. In the same way that Istanbul excels at energy, life and crowds it can also do silence, cleansing and healing like nowhere else on Eearth — shedding your second skin is not just a metaphor here.
These traditional Bath houses are relics of Arabic desert culture – many of which date back to the 1400s and exist all over the city, but Kiloc Ali Pasa is gathering accolades as a beautifully-restored version, attached to the Mosque at Galata. My session was women-only, and we lay on the heated marble slabs in bikini bottoms to be scrubbed, soaped & massaged to within an inch of our lives. Body shape, size and age irrelevant, we were all there for the same reason, to forget for a moment the complicated world outside those white stone walls and feel ourselves again.
Traditionally a patriarchal society, Turkey now feels as though it is in the midst of dramatic change. Women have found their voice, and the strength of sisterhood and confidence comes through in these moments, as well as in the bustling shopping malls and cocktail bars alive with all women groups. Modest dressing is respected but elegantly channeled into high-necked silk tops paired with jeans and high heels.
Back at my hotel that evening, I watch the light fall over the Bosphorus. With its unfailingly clear skies and panoramic views, Istanbul can claim sunsets as its signature like no other city on Earth. In Islamic culture, the new day begins at dusk and this is an hour to be savoured as the colours change and fade – accompanied by the Maghrib call to prayer.
Move over, Santorini…
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That night I sleep for 11 hours, leaving the window open to hear the waves – even the smell of diesel and hubbub from the night ferries is strangely nostalgic and calming.
Restored, I spend the following day in the heart of the Old City, and join the queues in the early morning for the Hagia Sophia – one of the Byzantine Empire’s surviving architectural marvels. I buy a head-to-toe blue, hooded gown from a street seller and wander into this sacred building and its breathtaking domed beauty of calligraphy, mosaics and chandeliers. Something symbolic about it still remains – an important symbol of power and representative of a unique culture that blends Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Armenian influences.
This is a city with immense potential, and its journey is only just beginning.
What to do in Istanbul:
Unless you are genuinely in the market for large supplies of cheap saffron, visit the Grand Bazaar when it is closed (pre 9am). Try sweet Turkish coffee on the steep, cobbled streets around the entrance and retreat when the crowds arrive.
The stretch of Bosphorus from Galata to Ortakoy has the best hotels – interspersed with museums and palaces – all of which command fabulous views. But only the Shangri-La has a perch so close to the water you can hear the waves from your bedroom. Try the Ossetra caviar with blinis while you watch the sunset, and experience an authentic Hamam in their excellent spa.
The Peninsula Istanbul is the new kid on the block with a jaw-dropping position and exceptional attention to detail. Swim all year round in the infinity pool while watching ships in the harbour glide by, try the best shopping experience in the city at neighbouring Galataport and reclaim your soul in its vast underground wellness centre.
Take the tram — it feels complicated the first time you do it but it will pay off – it’s the only way to move around this busy, congested city efficiently.
