Valens Su Kemeri | JBinnacle – A Travel Logbook

Since I had woken up early the previous day, I had also woken up early today, and I was caffeinated and ready about one hour before pick-up time. Considering that they were picking me up at 8:30 for a 13:45 flight, I decided to go for a walk in Istanbul | İstanbul before I got stuck at the airport. The Aqueduct of Valens was close to my hotel, and to get there I had to walk in front of the building of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality T.C. İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Başkanlığı. In the town hall yard there is a fountain with a glass case and several figures inside, reaching for the water. It is the July 15 Sarachane Monument Saraçhane 15 Temmuz Anıtı, which recreates a picture taken on the 15th of July 2016 during a coup attempt. It is supposed to represent a group of civilians Muslim men performing ritual ablution before facing off the rebel military forces at the call of President Erdogan. I was not sure if taking pictures of it was a security risk, but there were no guards around…

July 15 Sarachane Monument

I continued on towards Bozdoğan Kemeri (Aqueduct of the Grey Falcon), the part of the Aqueduct of Valens Valens Su Kemeri that can be driven and walked underneath. I stepped through the arches, and then turned towards Sarachane Park Saraçhane Parkı, which was empty except for a few cats and hooded crows (Corvus cornix) which expected me too feed them…

Aqueduct of Valens

cats and crows from istanbul

I went back to the hotel, gathered my things and came down to reception – both my driver and I were there at the same time, around 8:20. I guess we managed to avoid all traffic jams, because we reached the airport about 9:30. Upon entering the terminal, there was a first security control which X-rayed all the luggage, then I could access the check-in counters. I had done my check in online, but I printed my boarding pass in the kiosks anyway, and dropped off my luggage. The employee at check-in, holding my passport and boarding pass in her hand, asked me if I had a boarding pass. Obviously, she was not having the best of days, either.

I then went to passport control to clear immigration, which took about half an hour, and then the standard airport security check, which was fast because I found a “no need to take your electronics out” queue. Everything was extremely expensive in the airport. I did buy a bottle of water, but the prices put me off an ice cream, so I munched on some crisps that I had not eaten for dinner the previous night and I had packed exactly for this.

Truth is that Istanbul airport has a museum, but entrance was 13 € (note, not Turkish lira – 13 €). And at that point I decided that I was done feeling like a cash cow and introducing euro into the economy. I spent my remaining lira in the duty free shop, and found a copy of The Little Prince in Turkish for my and my parent’s collection.

We boarded around 13:00, and the process was not as efficient as the way in, but it was easy. We got lunch on the plane – happy to report I have finally internalised that pasta on planes tends to have peppers in the sauce and that upsets my stomach, too. I watched a movie and a half, and spent the rest of the time with one I had watched before as I would not have time to finish it.

Landing was smooth, but it took 61 minutes exactly from touchdown to getting out of the arrivals lounge, what with waiting for the luggage and so. And that was the end of the trip.

Maybe the bad project I mentioned at the beginning of the report was cursed, and thus the circuit was doomed, but it has been honestly one of the most disappointing trips I’ve taken – rushed, with bad information, and horrible customer service. I complained to my travel agent, who was horrified. It has really, really put me off anything organised for a while, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, there have been good times, and awesome places, so it was not a complete disaster. Just not what I wanted, or what I thought I was buying when I chose it.

Would I come back to make up for it? I don’t know. As I was writing, I did wish I could go back to Cappadocia and Pamukkale to satisfy the geology nerd in me. Istanbul was not a city that made me feel particularly welcome, so I could skip that. Maybe in 20 years or so, if Türkiye is still a somewhat laic place, I might consider it. But the world is big, and there are many other places to explore… And the Turkish guide kept complaining that “all the good stuff was taken to Germany” so… that might be an option.

It was warm in Istanbul | İstanbul when the sounds of the town woke me up. Since I was up early, I decided to find the Bozdoğan Kemeri (Aqueduct of the Grey Falcon), part of the Aqueduct of Valens Valens Su Kemeri. It was built using brick and stone in the 4th century in order to bring water to Constantinople. Construction started under the reign of Constantine II and finished during the reign of Valens, and the structure was in use under the Ottoman period. The Bozdoğan Kemeri bridge is 971 metres long, and its maximum height is around 30 metres. Today, it stands over a busy road, with cars running underneath.

I went back to the hotel for pick-up, which today happened on time. I had signed up to the other day trip offered to me at the airport Estambul Bósforo (55 €). My hopes were not too high, but at least I met with the nice ladies from the day before. This time around, the group was bigger, so everything was a bit more chaotic. Our first stop was Süleymaniye Mosque Süleymaniye Camii, an Ottoman imperial mosque commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent to his imperial architect Mimar Sinan around 1550. The mosque has four minarets with a total of ten balconies. The interior is decorated with medallions, writings, geometrical decorations, and beautiful stained-glass windows. Outside, there is a cemetery with the mausoleum of Sultan Suleiman and his wife Roxelana.

Süleymaniye Mosque

After the mosque complex, the bus headed out towards the Asian side of Istanbul for a panoramic viewpoint up Çamlica Hill Çamlıca Tepesi, which implied getting stuck in traffic for a long time again and driving past a lot of interesting buildings – visiting any of those would have been a better use of our time.

View of Istanbul from Çamlica Hill

We went back to the bus for the boat ride, which despite being advertised as a Bosphorus trip, was only up and down the Golden Horn Altın Boynuz for about an hour. At first, I tried to pay attention to the guide as he explained things, but I got bored pretty quickly. This was not a good sign, considering this one guide was the one who was to take me onto the tour around the country…

Bosphoros boat ride

For lunch, we had been asked to choose either bream or chicken. I had ordered the chicken because I had a feeling I could not trust a random restaurant in Istanbul… I was right. The bream turned out to be sea bass. Again, food was nothing remarkable. Then, we walked towards the New Mosque Yeni Cami, which was the next visit, but we did not get to go into that one for reasons that escape me. Instead, we were taken into the Spice Bazaar or Egyptian Bazaar Mısır Çarşısı, for a demonstration inside a particular shop. I do wonder how many and how much commissions go into decisions like that.

New Mosque Istanbul

Egyptian bazaar Istanbul

This was the end of the day trip, around 17:00, since the guide had once again stated that “your hotels are close, no need for the bus”. I said goodbye to the nice ladies, and headed out towards the Grand Bazaar Kapalı Çarşı, described as a “network of indoor souks and market streets”. It is actually one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, and it has thousands of shops – literally. It dates back from 1455, just after the Fall of Constantinople into the hands of the Ottomans. It was an interesting structure, but I only found trinkets and souvenirs, and it was packed with people.

Grand Bazaar

Thus, after crossing out the Grand Bazaar from the list, I headed towards the university İstanbul Üniversitesi, my reference for the metro stop Veznecıler. From there, I could take a train towards Taksim Square Taksim Meydanı, the gateway to Independence Avenue İstiklal Caddesi, on the other side of the Golden Horn but still in the European side. The area is a tourist hub with shops, fast food places, and ice cream vendors who play around before they serve you the ice cream cones. One of the highlights of the avenue is the “nostalgic tramway” İstanbul nostaljik tramvayı, a revival or heritage tramline with tiny cars, built from memories and photographies. It is not a novelty thing for tourists, but an actual working system that goes up and down the avenue, line T2. I was happy to be able to see it, the car was packed – mostly by tourists though…

Taksim square

At the end of İstiklal Caddesi, stands Galata Tower Galata Kulesi, a former watchtower, now a museum with an observation deck. The origin of the tower dates back from 1204 though the original tower was destroyed and rebuilt in the Romanesque style in 1350. At that point, it was the highest building in the city. At the moment, it is almost 63 metres high, with nine floors, and a renewed roof.

Nostalgic tram and Galata Tower

Afterwards, I caught the underground at the nearest stop – though I was a little bit tempted by the nostalgic tram – and I headed back to the hotel. I settled the bill for the water bottles I had bought and went up to my room, where I decided to order the same dinner as the evening before – kebap and yoghurt. I then had a shower and packed, because pick-up was at 6:00 the next morning. Good thing that I had found a vending machine in the underground system that sold canned coffee, even if it was “almond flavoured”.