It has been 28 years since we were in Istanbul in 1996. The city is as beautiful as we remember it to be. The Bosphorus with the 7 hills rising continues to be evocative and sensual. Since then, Istanbul has become a megalopolis with something over 20 million people and excellent public transportation. Have a look at our photos from our first 5-month visit. It is great to be in a big city after living in the tiny town of Vail, Colorado.
First Visit: Four Seasons Sultanahmet
We arrived on a new Turkish Airlines non-stop flight from Denver (it was okay--definitely not Qatar quality). We had been told that the new Istanbul Airport was large, but at our gate, there was a buggy which we took for an easy ride to the immigration exit. Our luggage came and we found the Four Seasons representative who took us to the car service €204, US$222 (with Arkan who bumped into the car in front at a stop light while texting). The ride was about an hour. The roads were good and the traffic moved, even at rush hour.
At the front door of the Four Seasons Sultanahmet, Edis, a Guest Experience rep gave Audre a beautiful bouquet of flowers when we walked in. The Hotel Manager, Serap Akkus, was at the door to greet us too. Without stopping at the reception desk to check in, Edis took us to our Executive Suite.
The Four Seasons Sultanahmet is right next to Hagia Sophia. The fact that Hagia Sophia was completed in 537 AD makes Audre's heart jump walking by it. It is magnificent and exciting. That Greek Orthodox Church is now a mosque. (When we were last in Istanbul it was a museum.) Also, right next to the Four Seasons is the Blue Mosque. It was built between 1609 and 1617. Being so new, it doesn't make Audre's heart jump. The minarets of the mosques in Istanbul are slender and distinctive; Dimitri really likes them. Hippodrome Square, the park area between the two mosques, was always full of people looking like they are from everywhere. Many women are wearing headscarves. We see a lot of niqabs (people say "they must be Arabs") as well as hajibs too. Outside of this area, women were dressed like cosmopolitan women are dressed worldwide. We walked through the Hippodrome area every day to get to the tram and it was always lively, full of vendors, tour guides, and, of course, tourists. The area's history is not just from 500 AD; it was in this area that the Byzas established an acropolis around 676 BC. After that, it was the center of Contstantine's empire. Audre gets a big kick out of being in the midst of that history.
Our upgraded Executive Suite room at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet cost US$1100 a night (which was the price of the premier room). Considering that the bones of the building were those of a prison completed in 1918, we should be happy that we have a suite at all. It was small (for a Four Seasons suite) at 635 square feet but we did fit. It was nice having a separate living room and a powder room. The closet space was good enough and the bathroom was okay, although having only one sink was tight. We were brought a laptop table for Dimitri's desk and Audre used the round table. In fact, the room was personalized for us following the preferences we sent (it's a multipage Word document at this point). Every day there was new fruit for us on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Some days were brought baklava, and other days cheese or nuts or macaroons. The mini bar area was large enough and there was a second closet for our suitcases. Our view in the distance was the sea. We looked down at the courtyard where the restaurant was. We had a wall of atmospheric windows and one on the south side too. When the "chill lounge" music was playing on the terrace bar level above us, we could hear it—the windows were not soundproof. The climate control worked but we would have liked heat in the morning to warm up the room. A small portable heater was brought for Dimitri in the powder room.
We were very well taken care of by the staff at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet. Muhammet, at breakfast, made sure that everything was the way we like our breakfasts to be. We sat outside in the courtyard and ordered our "main course". Inside was the buffet with everything you might expect at a Middle Eastern buffet breakfast. We were brought delicious fresh figs and very good local strawberries.
We had the attention of Onur and Mehmet from the front desk staff and all of the concierge staff was wonderful to us. Öykü, the director of rooms, was always available to fine-tune our room personalization.
Being in a huge city was fun. In the Sultanahmet area, we walked. To get to other places we took the tram or the Metro. Rarely, did we take a taxi. On our first night, we walked to Balikci Sabahattin, a restaurant off of the beaten tourist roads. It looked to us like the guests were locals or Turkish tourists. It was a fish restaurant and they had little fish--sardines (it was not the season for anchovies). They were delicious and we ate the whole thing--bones and all. We enjoyed the meal and the people at the table next to us wanted to take a picture with us. How nice.
On our second night, Emine came to our hotel and we had a mocktail on the roof terrace (the source of the annoying music). Then we went to Galeyann, a local tourist restaurant that was barely okay. We met Emine and her husband, Simon, in 1996 at a special dinner here by Paul Bocuse at the Çırağan Palace. The dinner was as opulent as the surroundings. Simon died in October 2023 and this was the first time we were rendezvousing since Sydney in 2004.
We really liked going to lokantasi-type places for lunch and sometimes for dinner. There you can look and choose the food you want from the big pots on display. Soon we tired of that and, when we did, the Executive Chef Ozgur and the Four Seasons provided delicious meals in the lovely courtyard.
Our first chore was to go to the Greek Consulate in the Taksim area to renew Dimitri's Greek passport. Nothing about the process was easy and we had to return a second time to satisfy the clerk. The application was accepted ultimately. Then we just had to wait and hope it was returned by our departure date of September 6th.
Because we were the quintessential A-type tourists in 1996, we did not stand in line on this visit to go to any of the places where we had already been. We enjoyed using the gym at the Four Seasons Bosphorus (because it was big and much better equipped than the one at Sultanahmet). We also luxuriated by the pool there, soaking in the beautiful Bosphorus view in the Jacuzzi. We took a land shuttle there provided by the Four Seasons Sultanahmet (very civilized). On the way back we took the sea shuttle at 6 pm, also complimentary. It was typically busy on the Bosphorus and it was a lovely time of day. The yacht was comfortable enough (we always got the best seats, fortunately).
A Four Seasons article told us about a hidden gem in the Sultanahmet. The Şerefiye Cistern was rediscovered under a building that was being demolished in 2010. We couldn't have seen it in 1996! The cistern was built by Emperor Theodosius II between 428 and 443 AD to store water from the Valens Aqueduct. It was amazing; 45 vaults were supported by 32 marble columns about 36 feet high. All column capitals were Corinthian and the marble came from Marmara Island. We thought that the sound and light show was terrific (a pricey US$40 for the two of us) and it was lovely and cool there. We were really jazzed to find something so old that was new to us!
We had a fun time at the Modern Art Museum, particularly at the Timeless Curiosities exhibit in the Pop-Up Gallery, and at the restaurant at the museum. Exploring the imaginations of the various artists was a trip but best of all, we loved the quote on the wall from one that went something like "the only good nation is imagination".
We took the Bosphorus Hop on/Hop Off bus one Sunday and renewed our acquaintance with all of the main sights. We went to the shop called Hayfane at the Spice Market to find real salep. It was expensive but it was supposed to be unadulterated by sugar and cornstarch. Dimitri loves it; we could not find it in summer in Istanbul in any shop; it is only served in the winter, hot. There we also bought saffron from the Mashhad area of Iran. The spice market was fun; the Grand Bazaar had been too gentrified since 1996 to be fun. On our second visit to Istanbul we did find salep on the menu at Hafız Mustafa 1864. We didn't like the baklava there either--no crunch, just mush.
Everywhere in Istanbul there were cats. It looked like every restaurant had its own cat-hanger-on. Not so many dogs, just lots of cats.
Second Visit: Four Seasons Bosphorus
While we stayed at the FS Sultanahmet, we used the great gym and the pool at the Bosphorus property. One day we asked to see the room that had been reserved for our August stay. We didn’t like the Junior Suite reserved for us by Neşe Güner, Senior Director of Reservations and Communication, Sales & Marketing—it was one room and the only large thing about it was the closet. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was over the event space that often hosted large, noisy weddings. Fortunately, we met the Front Desk Manager, Gönen Öz. He offered us a one bedroom Bosphorus suite at the same rate (the standard room rate of US$958.17 per day and upgraded us from an upgrade). It was an excellent size and our only compromise was that it had no view—just hedges. A fine compromise for us.
The Turkish Airlines flight from Cairo was uneventful and not noteworthy. We exited the airport at the gate we were told to and found the driver holding the FS sign. We had to walk with the driver across the parking lot to an elevator and go down. Evidently there was no other way. The drive was under an hour and comfortable. It cost US$226.89.
We were met at the door of the FS by Gönen, Ebru Ayas the Guest Experience Director, and by the General Manager Reto Moser. It was a lovely greeting with a bouquet of flowers. We were whisked off to the suite we had previously seen. It had been personalized for us and it was very comfortable. Alexa worked right away.
Walking through the FS Bosphorus was like walking into a modern art museum. The art on the walls, the sculptures and the large sculptures on the lawns by the Bosphorus were spectacular and entertaining. They were changed periodically by a gallery and were a wonderful contrast to the 19th century palace architecture.
Our suite had a large entry hall with a hall closet and powder room (which we love having). The living room/dining room was large and the sofa across from the TV was comfortable (we had personalized it, moving the sofa to comfortably watch TV). Dimitri’s desk was there. We also had a bay window with a lounging area. The bedroom was large enough for Audre’s desk, a comfortable chair and ottoman, as well as a bench. It too had a bay window with a lounging area. The closet off of the bedroom had drawers and shelves and worked for Audre. The bathroom had two sinks and enough counter space so we shared it.
Our view was of hedges mainly but also the school that had been part of the Çırağan Sarayı (palace). School had not started so it was very quiet and nice (enough) looking next door. BTW, the FS Bosphorus was known as Atik Pashat and was one of the secondary buildings of the Çırağan Sarayı. It was very grand and beautiful. And, oh yes, the special Paul Bocuse dinner in 1996 (where we met Emine and Simon) was at the Çırağan Sarayı which is and was a Kempinski hotel. It looks dirty and poorly maintained compared to the more graceful (and well maintained) FS Bosphorus.
We didn’t have many touristic items on our agenda. We only wanted to see Emine again before she returned to Sydney. That didn’t happen because on the day we had arranged, Dimitri was coughing and sneezing. We didn’t want to give her anything so we cancelled. She was so busy she couldn’t reschedule.
We lounged by the Bosphorus at the FS pool. It was entertaining to watch all of the traffic going by—big tankers and small tour boats and everything in between. Tukcan was attentive to us at the pool and we enjoyed him. Each day we had our “moment of Zen” in the Jacuzzi with the great views of the Bosphorus. If Tukcan was not around then Oner looked after us.
When Dimitri felt better, went to the gym which was large and very well equipped. We visited Dolmabache Sarayi. It was awful. For US$60, we were crowded—really herded down narrow 2-way halls, past poorly displayed exhibits in a musty building. Quickly, we just backtracked and got out of there. We didn’t visit the harem or the crystal room.
The other touristic thing we did was go to the Pera Museum (with a reasonable entry fee of US$5.88). We enjoyed lunch at the café there and then were amused by the long and detailed explanations of the paintings. There was an exhibit of the history of weights and measures that was actually fun. Who knew?
We also went to the Pera Hotel where luminaries
wrote novels. It was historical and could use a sprucing up. We had some nice
meals while in Istanbul and found Dimitri some loukoumades that were
excellent.
Every morning we were very well taken care of at breakfast by Junnie. She made sure that it was breakfast the way we like it. She also filled in our FS profile so that all future Four Seasons would know what we like (it doesn’t change much!) One morning at breakfast F&B Assistant Director, Kyrylo Zhyla, arranged for us to get a complete and authentic breakfast of Türkiye. It was a cultural tour while sitting at the breakfast table and it was fun! From time to time Reto, the GM and the new Hotel Manager, Burak Cecen, would visit us at breakfast to chat. We love that!
Ebru, Hiba, everyone at the Concierge Desk and, actually, everyone at the hotel was very helpful and welcoming. Ebru gave Audre a FS beach/pool bag that Audre loved and it was very useful.
During our last week, we got a FABULOUS gift. It was a private yacht trip, with a guide along the Bosphorus, including lunch. Loreta, Assistant Head Concierge, helped us personalize the tour (and helped us greatly during our stay). We don’t know why we were chosen for this gift from the FS HQ in Toronto but it was exactly what we had talked about doing.
One night for dinner we walked the back streets near the football/soccer stadium and the streets were packed with people wearing Beko shirts, face paint and all kinds of indications that we were in the midst of “fandom” for the Beşiktaş soccer team. Every restaurant along the tiny streets was full of people eating and drinking. It was riotous and exuberant—all in very good fun. Sokak, the restaurant we were headed for, was right in the midst of it all. We got a table a little bit away from the center but with a good view of all of the celebrations. In our section of the restaurant, was another couple who explained what was going on (in their fandom outfits). We had a nice meal and it was great entertainment. If we had know what was happening, we would have eschewed it but we were really, really glad that we experienced this bit of culture. The game started after dinner (and our team, Beşiktaş, won).
very much enjoying your reporting. i had to smile when we learned you squeezed into the 635 sq.foot suite. Well done! Bob
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