Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine June 2016 | Page 130

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Travel | Istanbul

Wherever you go along the Bosphorus
waterfront – on either the Asian or European
shore – you see fishermen. And wherever there
are fishermen there are sure to be cats!
An old man drinks from a fountain
near Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

Visit old Istanbul at this
most special of times
and you’re sure to fall
in love with the city...

The Bosphorus, which
divides Europe and Asia,
has been teeming with vessels
for more than 4,000 years.
Byzantium (as Istanbul was
originally known) was already
a flourishing centre of art,
science and commerce
when the major cities
of Europe were little more
than barbarian hamlets.

The earliest Anatolian and Trojan fishing
boats plied these waters as did Byzantine
slavers, Roman galleons, and Venetian and
Ottoman traders.
Gazing down from my high-rise suite
in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, it’s easy to imagine
that 4,000 years from now a new breed of
futuristic hover-transporters will still be
carrying intercontinental commuters
between ultra-space-age trade centres on
European and Asian shores. I find it harder
to imagine, however, that in just a couple of
days this great city will be transformed into
a relative ghost town: the commuter boats
will slim down to just a skeleton fleet and
the traffic jams along the waterfront will
become a mere trickle of cars.
The great Muslim celebration of Eid
is just around the corner, and the vast
majority of Istanbul’s 14 million city dwellers
(some estimates say it fluctuates up to 20
million) will make their annual journey out
to their villages to celebrate the end of
Ramadan. With virtually traffic-free
city-centre roads and ample seats on the

trams and commuter ferries, this period
offers a unique opportunity to enjoy
the city at its most stress-free.
“I love Istanbul during Eid because
it’s so quiet,” says Mine Kasapoğlu, a sales
professional who chooses to walk to work
rather than battle the city’s notorious traffic
on a daily basis. “If you’re looking for
a relaxing city break, to enjoy a slower
pace of life and uncrowded restaurants,
then it’s the perfect time to visit.”
Most of the world’s massive cities can
feel overpowering due to sheer size and
congested traffic, yet even at its busiest
Istanbul somehow escapes the curse
of more frantic ‘megatropolises’ because
of the ageless waterways that carve it
into separate, manageable quarters.
The ancient quarter of Sultanahmet, for
example, is one of the greatest historical
treasure-houses on the planet. Last year
Istanbul was ranked as the world’s fifth
most visited city and an estimated 12 million
tourists were drawn to Sultanahmet to visit

© thipjang / Shutterstock; © Mark Eveleigh

A view of the Galata Tower from
the Bosphorus.