Turkey: Drift down the strait and narrow

The Blue Mosque at Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul. Photo / 123RF

Turkey's largest city is a place of grandeur and contradiction, writes Nicola Lamb.

Many great cities are split by rivers - London, Paris, Rome - but Istanbul straddles two continents, a famous strait and a sea.

The European side of the city is also separated by the Golden Horn waterway into distinct areas.

The geography can be confusing to a newbie: Are we on the Asian or European side? Are we crossing the Bosphorus Strait or down by the Sea of Marmara? Are we in the old or new areas of the European side?

Intriguing contradictions are the appeal of secular Turkey, a country of Christian and Muslim heritage that gives you the familiarity of Western life - some sophisticated shopping, hotels and nightlife, good roads and city traffic jams - but constantly reminds you that it's different. For travellers who don't want to cross the seas to wake up to a near-replica of home, that's exhilarating.

Getting to grips with the geography of Turkey's most famous city is essential to getting a sense of Istanbul itself. And that really means getting on the water.

On our Trafalgar tour, we travelled by boat twice. The first time was by ferry as we left Istanbul for Gallipoli on our second day, and the second was by a cruise power boat from Findikli to the Anadolu Hisari along the Bosphorus at night, when we returned to the city.

A wise hand in the group noted that on tours what ends up being a highlight isn't usually what you expect it to be - there are always surprises.

The ferry trip was straightforward. What I noted was the size of some of the cargo ships ploughing past.

But seeing the waterfront lit up at night while crossing continents was magical and took me by surprise as probably the highlight of the entire trip. I sat and soaked up the sights on the European side as we headed to Lacivert restaurant on the Asia waterside.

Large and small craft shared the strait - there were three cruise ships in the area.

The architectural grandeur on display starts with the solemn dignity of the Dolmabahce Mosque, followed by the gold of elegant mansions including the Dolmabahce Palace, a museum in what was once an ornate Ottoman sultan's home, the Ciragan Palace Hotel and the Four Seasons Hotel. The Bosphorus Bridge shimmers blue over the water and there are dreamy flickers of gold light from the Ortakoy Mosque on the waterside.

Just near the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is the Anadolu Hisari Fortress, built in 1452, with rounded cream walls bathed in gold light.

During the day, when we crossed by bridge from one part of the city to another we would see a long line of men fishing from it with rods.

It's hot weather even in October. At the Topkapi Palace grounds, dogs sprawl inertly on the grass. In the sun, three cats speed towards an old man filling a container with water from a bottle by the roadside. Around the tourist areas, stall workers race to squeeze out 5-lira cups of pomegranate juice diluted with orange, while others roast corn cobs and nuts.

The main gate of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Photo / 123RF

There are big shopping malls but then there's a hardscrabble economy in the city of 15 million.

Around the Grand Bazaar a man offers "Bvgari" watches for 20 lira. Small, traditional shops in the city tend to spill a large amount of items on the pavement outside - pots, other silverware, rugs, even racks of fish.

In a street near our hotel a man uses a three-wheeled contraption to sharpen knives on a motorised grinding stone.

There's good dining to be had. At a slow food restaurant, Kantin, we taste produce sourced from other parts of Turkey including cheeses from Kars, olive oil from Ayvalik and green olives from Sivrice.

The highlight was a dish of sorrel and caramelised pears and cheese from Konya. At the other end of the scale is 360 Istanbul, a fusion restaurant, where steak fillet is done "East and West" on the same plate. A dessert mixes coffee cream, chocolate, strawberry and mint.

It offers surprise performance art: Someone dressed as a monster and a soul singer spacing out an electronica Moondance.

While in Turkey, try Mado icecream, which has an unusual, thick texture, which is like munching through silicon. In Izmir, a sea-front city to the south, there is an entire street of restaurants at Kordonboyu next to a park with views of the bay, including seafood specialists Yengec where the sea bream cooked in milk sauce is delectable.

Izmir, Turkey's third biggest city with about 3.5m people, has a likeable resort atmosphere and is close to both beaches and the ruins of Ephesus.

The Greco-Roman marble city of Ephesus is one of those historical sites that inspires anticipation and still manages to live up to it. Compared to crowds at other ancient sites like Petra and Pompeii this one wasn't too claustrophobic.

Tourists follow Curetes Way - the main street thousands of years ago - past the Odeon theatre and towards the beautiful Library of Celsus and Great Theatre.

Among all the ruins are cats, sitting in the shade on broken pieces of marble. It may be 2000 years old, but it's still just a seat as far as a cat's concerned. The library is the centrepiece with intricate balconies and alcoves for statues.

Outside in the shops, a man shining shoes sits on a small, red chair, his back bowed, with bottles of polish on either side of his knees. He holds the shoe in his left hand and with a gloved right hand makes rhythmic sweeps. By a rubbish bin a sign in gold says "Genuine Fake Watches" and points to the right. That's honesty for you.

CHECKLIST

Getting there: Emirates flies from Auckland to Istanbul via its hub in Dubai, with economy return fares starting at $2070 and business return from $9070.

Details: Trafalgar offers a number of holidays including the eight-day Highlights of Turkey package, the 14-day Best of Turkey and the 15-day Secrets of Turkey for small groups. Call 0800 Trafalgar to book.

The writer travelled as a guest of the Trafalgar Group for a trip based on Highlights of Turkey and Best of Turkey tours. Emirates assisted with flights.