Standing in a jam-packed tram in Istanbul on a Saturday afternoon, let’s just say, is not fun! When you’re used to the London Underground, you’re brave enough to travel on any other Metro system ... It’s a good way to explore a new city and get a glimpse of real day-to-day life. But Istanbul was not quite the mix of East and West I had expected. The streets were not reflective of the chaotic life that I imagined as part of cities in Asia — rather, they were more attuned to their relaxed European counterparts. But the rush hour on the tram revealed the less-European instincts of the locals.
In London you get rowdiness. In Mumbai, the ladies in the ladies-only carriages literally push each other on and off, which can be entertaining and annoying. The Metro in Dubai can often get hot and sweaty. But in Istanbul, the men make the experience of travelling on a train or a tram highly undesirable, which probably explains why we spotted so few women. My friend and I moved inwards when it dawned on us that the close proximity of the men was not due only to the lack of space. It made me wonder why Istanbul had not adopted the Asian, or Indian, culture of having separate carriages for women. Even Dubai has carriages just for women and children. I’ve been on the Metro in Paris, Spain, New York and Mumbai, but I have never faced this kind of discomfort (nothing to do with odours and sweat, of course).
I had not planned to start my tales of this city by writing about this one aspect. Let me tell you some more about this trip — a trip that is linked inextricably to one shady book that came by recommendation, and I did no research to find out what it was all about.
First, I did manage to see in such a short time, various tones and shades of Istanbul, due mostly to the fact that I was with friends who wanted to cram in as much as possible from the Bosphorus cruise to shopping at the Bazaar to a Turkish bath to food and, of course, nightlife. But the agenda was often happily distracted by the girly chatter that had not been indulged in for much too long.
Rushing down ten minutes before breakfast ended always set the relaxed tone of the day, and then, of course, we would sit at breakfast at the House Hotel for an hour before heading out into the chic outdoors of Nisantasi. The few things I’ll remember about Istanbul is sitting by the Bosphorus at the Kempinski Ciragan Palace having afternoon tea; a pianist coordinating melodiously with the chorus of birds, the moving sails just visible beyond the pool and umbrellas; of course, dinner at the most picturesque Ulus29 which overlooks the river; the twinkling city on the opposite bank and two gleaming bridges on either side; and the next day at Munferit, a romantic alfresco setting with tables spilling on to the street, located in the Beyoglu. And then dancing at Reina, where we were literally looking up closely at the details of one end of the bridge, where the barman was kind enough to give me a plate of cut fruit, and eating salad at 3 in the morning just because … well, just because.
— Follow Meera Ashish on talefourcities.com and @meeraashish
