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Saturday, October 26th - Istanbul
I have a slight hangover from drinking at a local pub with Vincent and Coen last night. Actually, there were a few of us from the hostel, including a German named Frederick, a tall, blond, Aryan-looking, sweet-natured and dangerously handsome. "Ask him to give back your bicycle," I whisper to Vincent. "Shhh, be good!" he warns me. He enjoys that I engage him and remember the stories he tells me. Unlike Coen, he likes to tease and be teased.
So this morning we are off to the Pakistani Consulate after breakfast. This consulate is not in Sultanahmet but in Taksim Square, in a part of the Istanbul I have not yet been. The guide book says Taksim Square is the 'heart of modern Istanbul', but after learning of Ilio's plight and the number of poor here, not to mention the two largest right-wing parties sweeping the election last weekend (the final results came in yesterday), I am beginning to think it doesn't have a heart.
The bus ride to get to Taksim Square from the depot in Sultanahmet isn't long. It is probably only two kilometres away. It is a broad, open square with a circular, patterned lawn in the centre and a large monument honouring the creation of the post-Ottoman republic at the hub. There are shops, hotels and restaurants around the perimeter. The Pakistani Consulate is on a major street leading into the square.
It is a busy office. We are given applications for visas and we spend 15 minutes filling them in. Then we sit for an hour or more waiting in turn for someone to review them. We have to leave our passports with them, which always makes me nervous. We are instructed to pick them up tomorrow afternoon. It is around noon when we get out of there and back to Taksim Square.
The morning haze has cleared and it is bright and sunny again. There is Burger King on the square that holds some sort or allure for the Dutch boys so we eat there for lunch. The other choices are McDonald's and Pizza Hut. Taksim is proof that Turkey is oriented towards the West and not Asia. I don't mind the choice. In a few days, I may be craving Western culture so I should enjoy it while I can.
The trip to the Iranian Consulate will need to wait until we have our Pakistani visas so we have the afternoon free. After our fast food American lunch, we stroll around the square to see the monument. There is another tourist office on the square that provides us a map of local attractions. The main street of this district, Beyoglu, is Istiklal (Independence) Caddesi (Street). It is a major shopping street with sizeable crowds, so I keep an eye out so not to lose tract of the other two. Vincent stands out. He is wearing a colourful cycling top, not perhaps the best choice when applying for a visa to an ultra-conservative Islamic country, and his spiky blond hair is unusual. Coen stands out because he is tall, not because of his bland striped pullovers.
Istiklal Street is recommended in my guide, but I haven't been near it until now. It is lined with 19th century neo-classical and Beaux Arts-styled buildings, typical of most European cities, which rise four to six floors above the street. It looks very cosmopolitan. One of my favourite places along it is Cicek Pasaji, the Flower Passage. It's a 19th century mall lined with small, intimate restaurants and taverns. It would have been a much better place to have lunch. 
Istiklal leads from Taksim down into the heart of Beyoglu, Galatasaray Square. The 500-year old Galatasaray High School is here. It bends here and continues south towards Karkaroy, where is ends near the base of the Galata Tower. This lower section has several churches and mosques, including the Catholic church, San Antonio di Padova, and the Neve Salom Synagogue at the very end.
Once we are here, we decide to pay admission and climb the Galata Tower, build by the Genoese in the 1300s when they had a trading colony opposite the Golden Horn. There's an elevator to the top but it is crowded with families and seniors so we take the stairs to the top, which is a good workout. The view from the top is worth it, even if we need to wait our turn to look out the window. I can see all the major landmarks on the Golden Horn from here, from Topkapi Palace and Gulhane Park on the left to the Eminonu ferry docks with Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque behind and the Galata Bridge and Suleymaniye Mosque closer on the right.
Sultanahmet looks quite close from the tower so Vincent and Coen want to walk. I know it is at least three kilometres but I am not tired. Crossing the Galata Bridge, we realize we will be late for dinner at the hostel at our present speed so we stop for a fish fry dinner on the lower deck. Now my two fast food dinner are attacking each other in my stomach. It's a fight to the death with occasional rude side effects.
I am ready for a nap when we arrive back to the hostel. I don't really sleep, but in two hours I am ready to join the Dutch boys for Turkish desserts and beer.
PHOTO 1: Taksim Square War Monument
PHOTO 2: Taksim Square from Burger King
PHOTO 3: flower market on Taksim Square
PHOTO 4: Turkish market near Taksim
PHOTO 5: Istiklal Street
PHOTO 6: streetcar on Istiklal
PHOTO 7: entrance to Cicek Pasaji, the Flower Passage
PHOTO 8: inside the Flower Passage
PHOTO 9: French Street, off of Istiklal
PHOTO 10: San Antonio di Padova Church
PHOTO 11: the Galata Tower
PHOTO 12: view of Sultanahmet, Eminonu and Galata Bridge from the tower
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