At the Bosphorus

Landing at 3.30 pm, we taxied for ever, as one always does, at Istanbul’s gigantic airport before finally being let out in the afternoon sunshine. Sharing the same Istanbulkart, Anna and I got into town for less than 50 SEK but we soon realized that the past decade in Sweden has made us forget how busy a 16-million people city can get and how packed a subway train can actually be. Eventually, we arrived at Taksimbul Design Hotel, which turned out to be a perfect budget stay close to everything, including a rooftop restaurant from where we could watch the sunset with the Topkapı Palace at the other side of the Golden Horn.

As we strolled through town later at night, the city was as lovely as I remembered it, with lots of cats and narrow alleyways. Last year’s centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic was still very visible, with many Atatürk posters, which I presume are sending a mixed message these days.