ISTANBUL, TURKEY

RIX-IST

28.03.2024: Before our mini getaway to Turkey’s largest city — Istanbul — there’s still some work related stuff to bet sorted. So yes, today is properly packed. After wrapping things up at work. I make a quick pit stop at home to grab the bags and then jump into the nearest Bolt ride. On the way to the airport, we pick up Madara on the way — smooth coordination — and off we go.

The airport is unusually lively today. Haven’t seen a 20-minute queue at security in a while. Every single security lane is operating at full speed, so despite the crowds, things move efficiently. We arrive about 30 minutes before boarding — tight, but calculated. Operational and successful.
Time to fly. The last time we flew with Turkish Airlines was on our way to New York. Let’s see what this round brings.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY: HOTEL MIRO MANSION

28.03.2024: As expected, dinner was served on the plane. Pasta for me, chicken for Madara.
Solid, no complaints. During the flight I watched the new The Flash movie — or as Madara calls it,
“Zibensmens (Lightening man in latvian).” Surprisingly entertaining. I actually liked it, and it conveniently filled about 85–90% of the flight time. Honestly, that’s the perfect movie length for a mid-range flight.

Sitting next to me was a very… wide Russian gentleman. Let’s put it diplomatically — I retained about 70% of my seat. Thankfully, the flight wasn’t long. If this had been a 10-hour long-haul situation, that would’ve been a genuinely tragic experience. At the airport, our pre-arranged transfer is waiting for us. €45 for the two of us — although initially no one seems particularly interested in collecting the money. (Spoiler: they do eventually.)

Our hotel, Miro Mansion, looks nicely central on the map — located in the Mimar Hayrettin area — so the plan is to explore mostly on foot and rack up some solid step counts. Field testing begins tomorrow. We arrive around 00:30. Time to sleep.

HAGIA SOPHIA

29.03.2024: Hotel breakfast is… minimalistic. But technically sufficient. A small omelette to share, 2–3 small slices of bread each, half a tomato, three cucumber slices, and coffee. We are fuelled. Let’s go. We head almost straight to one of Istanbul’s oldest and most iconic landmarks — Hagia Sophia. At the entrance, we’re greeted by what looks like a 300-meter-long, mildly depressing queue for the €25 ticket. I briefly consider my options and check online to see if there’s a
timed-entry ticket. Jackpot: €35 “skip the line.”

Well. Let’s call it “skip to a significantly shorter line.” Not exactly empty — but at least a queue where you can see the end of it. About 20 minutes later, we’re inside. Compared to the pristine perfection of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Hagia Sophia looks… slightly worn. But considering the age difference between the two is over 1,500 years, it’s probably not the fairest comparison in architectural history.
The mosque is active, and five times a day during prayer it’s closed to regular visitors. Even between prayers, tourists aren’t allowed to walk across the central carpet area. Instead, we move along the second-floor perimeter gallery.

Fun historical twist: the building was originally constructed as a church and only became a mosque after 1453. The central dome rises 56 meters high with a 31-meter diameter. Today, with
modern engineering and technology, we can build almost anything. But how on earth did they pull this off 1,600 years ago? That’s the truly impressive part. We spend about 40 minutes exploring, absorbing architecture, history, and a solid dose of perspective.

SÜLEYMANİYE MOSQUE

29.03.2024: We felt like taking a short break, so I opened Google Maps and found a café promising an excellent view over Istanbul’s Old Town and its endless sea of blue rooftops. The view? Absolutely worth it. The service? Non-existent. After waiting 15–20 minutes without anyone even acknowledging our presence, we took our photos, accepted defeat, and left. Sometimes you pay for the view. Sometimes you don’t even get the coffee.

We waited for the next prayer time to finish and then headed into Süleymaniye Mosque right after. Even then, many people were still praying, and the call to prayer echoed beautifully through the space. Turkey feels noticeably more relaxed in how these religious spaces function alongside tourism — at least compared to what we experienced last year in the United Arab Emirates. Visitors are allowed inside while prayers continue, as long as you behave respectfully and keep your distance. So that’s exactly what we did — observed quietly from the side. It’s actually quite powerful to witness, even as an outsider.

GRAND BAZAAR

29.03.2024: We wander around for quite a while, slightly lost but pretending it’s intentional. The original mission was simple: buy a couple of T-shirts. Reality? Not so simple. Finding the right ones proved harder than expected, and the bargaining process didn’t exactly go in our favor. In
the end — no T-shirts. We retreat empty-handed.
We duck into a café for coffee, pistachio rolls, and walnut baklava. Proper fuel. Armed with
fresh carbohydrates and renewed determination, we head back out with a more focused
objective. Mission accomplished.

Madara gets herself a small Prada bag. Me? A Prens leather jacket. Let’s be clear — Madara’s Prada is very much a “Prada.” Mine, on the other hand, is quite expensive but genuinely feels like high-quality leather in proper shop not street kiosk. €375 after a small discount. Painful? Slightly. But hopefully a long-term investment piece.
Now it’s time for a short shopping cooldown. Back to the hotel to recharge before the evening chapter begins.

BASILICA CISTERN

29.03.2024: The main objective of the evening: Basilica Cistern, located in the Old Town between the two giants — Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The entrance queue looks intimidating at first glance, but it actually moves fairly quickly. While Madara heroically secures our place in line, I take a short tactical walk to “assess the situation” — and immediately get distracted by the irresistible smell of roasted corn. For 25 lira, I acquire one cob and efficiently eliminate it while queueing. Excellent investment. Entrance fee: 1000 lira per person.

Inside — a fascinating underground reservoir that historically served as a drinking water source for the city. The space is supported by 336 marble columns, each about 9 meters tall. The total capacity is said to be around 80,000 cubic meters of water. What makes it even more interesting is that many of the columns are “recycled” — brought from various older buildings that were demolished or destroyed. That’s why you see a surprising variety of column styles down there.
In the evenings, the cistern hosts light-accompanied musical performances. The music tonight is not exactly our genre, so we don’t stay too long — but it’s absolutely a must-visit when in Istanbul. The atmosphere is unique. And yes — James Bond has been here too. This time it
was Sean Connery in From Russia with Love.

BOSPHORUS STRAIT

30.03.2024: This morning’s plan was to leave my old leather jacket for a small “reconstruction project” at the Turkish shop where we bought the new one. Unfortunately, a different salesman
was on duty today — and he politely shut that idea down. Nothing to be done. Which now
means that at +24°C I’ll be casually walking around in a leather jacket. Very practical. Very
warm. Today we’re heading to the Asian side of Istanbul.

For 25 Turkish lira per person, we hop on a ferry and cross one of the world’s most famous
waterways — the Bosphorus Strait, the narrow international strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. In about 30 minutes, we sail from Eminönü to Üsküdar. Efficient, scenic, and definitely the best-value boat ride in town. In principle, this strait separates Europe from Asia.
Our first stop: Maiden’s Tower (Kız Kulesi) — yes, another James Bond filming location.
This time with Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough. That makes two 007 spots for
us in Istanbul already. Accidental spy tour unlocked.

To save some steps on the way back, we take public transport. Turkish public transit is
refreshingly simple — tap your card, 25 lira gone, and you’re on your way. We continue along the promenade toward the 15 July Martyrs Bridge. On the way, we stop in the Kuzguncuk neighborhood for tea and an aggressively sweet dessert situation. I go for bananas and strawberries basically swimming in chocolate. Madara chooses something honey-cake-adjacent, equally drowning in chocolate and various sauces. Subtlety is clearly not part of the dessert philosophy here.
To be honest, I expected a different vibe from the Asian side. It feels surprisingly calm and quiet — except for the promenade, which is absolutely covered in smiling political faces. Election season is clearly approaching. It honestly reminded me of the Just Cause PlayStation games, where one of the side missions is destroying propaganda vans driving around the city. Visually? Not far off. We had considered taking a public bus across the bridge connecting Europe and Asia, but Google Maps made it look like a logistics exam. So we switched strategy and called a Turkish taxi instead.

When the bridge was completed in 1970, it was the 4th longest suspension bridge in the world. Today, it has slipped to somewhere around the top 30 — progress moves fast. And honestly, good decision on the taxi. For about 150 extra lira compared to the bus, we saved nearly an hour and got dropped off directly at the Atatürk Cultural Center — our starting point for exploring the “old Europe” side once again. Efficiency wins.

BEYOĞLU

30.03.2024: We start this part of the city from the Atatürk Cultural Center, right on Taksim Square, directly opposite Taksim Mosque. From there, we stroll at an unhurried pace down the wide, shop-packed Istiklal Street, heading toward the Old Town. The pedestrian flow is constant, the storefronts never-ending. By mid-afternoon, our step counter is already comfortably past 20,000, so we declare a tactical timeout at Dubai Café for a short recharge. Soon after, we dive into a small side street where, for 150–250 Turkish lira, you can buy almost any global brand T-shirt or bag your heart desires. Authenticity? Let’s not overcomplicate things. We grab a few items, but neither of us has the patience to dig through textile mountains for too long.

The “Old Europe” side of Istanbul feels the most charming to me — probably my favorite of the city’s three main areas. A mix of official brand stores and small local shops, packed cafés and restaurants, and a pleasantly lazy atmosphere. Right down the middle of Istiklal runs the historic little red tram, which has been operating — with interruptions — for over 100 years. For the past three decades, it’s leaned more toward tourist attraction status, but it still serves a real transport function.

It’s a pity that Galata Tower is currently wrapped in scaffolding due to recent earthquake-related repairs. We walked past it, admired it from below, but the nearly 700-year-old landmark is temporarily under construction camouflage.
We hop on the T1 tram back toward the Old Town. Mission: Grand Bazaar. Objective: possibly another T-shirt and maybe even leather shoes. Outcome? To be determined. We end the evening at Seven Hills Restaurant, with a spectacular view over Hagia Sophia. Fish night. I go for grilled salmon; Madara chooses sea bream. The view is outstanding, the food genuinely delicious — but
it’s not exactly budget dining. We part ways with €110 for relatively simple dinner.
Worth it? For that skyline — yes.

IST-RIX

31.03.2024: After roughly 1.5 hours of sleep, it’s time to head home. First, a 30-minute walk through the night-time streets of Istanbul toward the bus stop. Surprisingly, it actually feels quite safe — even walking through relatively quiet side streets in the middle of the night. Bonus points to Turkey for that. The bus, however, arrives at the airport almost twice as fast as the schedule
suggested. Security control is lightning-quick as well. Realistically, we could’ve slept at least one hour longer. But no use crying over lost sleep. We now have two hours before boarding, so the mission becomes finding the quietest possible airport corner for a tactical nap.

Overall — extremely efficient long weekend. We bought all kinds of things: clothes, bags, jackets, belts, shoes. In Turkey, you have to accept that everything moves a bit slower and more casually. If you relax and go with the flow, everything works out just fine. The city definitely feels different from the classic old European capitals — louder, more layered, more chaotic… but also more
alive.

Total trip expenses: €1,925
Per person: €912
Per person per day: €304 (including air fare)
Not bad for a weekend packed with history, shopping, Bosphorus crossings, Bond
locations, and 20,000+ steps per day.