Walking Through the Streets of Taksim

 

I am the kind of person who enjoys walking aimlessly on the streets. Too bad I don’t do that very often in Karachi because the life of an A-Level student demands a bit too much in very limited time, but whenever I visit another city, the best way I choose to explore it is by walking on its streets. Be it a small village in Kenya, the downtown of Kuala Lumpur, the alleys of Bur-Dubai or the Holy city of Makkah, I’ve done it everywhere. Walking around is perhaps the best way to feel the spirit of the city you are visiting, for it allows you closer contact with the lifestyle and traditions of the people. And being a person who loves to explore new cultures and communities, this exercise has always been very fruitful to me.

 I landed at Atta Turk International Airport on New Year’s Eve of 2013. Little did I know that my four day visit to Istanbul would be one of the best vacations of my life.

My hotel was in the heart of Istanbul known as Taksim, a place not only popular for being one of the major tourist spots in the city but also the main center for all mass political processions. Its streets were always crowded with people, both locals and visitors. The hotels ranging from three stars to five stars were always occupied and the restaurant serving both street and fine dine menu produced an aroma that grasped every passerby’s attention. While walking on Takism, you could always smell the scent of Turkish sheesha from every corner of its alleys. You could see people wearing from the most modest to the highest form of high street fashion clothing. You could see men brewing chaiye or making fresh showarmas and hamburgers for pedestrians. And every now and then, you can observe a policeman walking around Taksim Square, keeping a sharp eye on the pickpockets.

My journey to explore this wonderful city begins from Takism. Walking on the perfectly bricked pavements with buildings portraying traditional European architecture with Turk Cell advertisements hanging on them every now and then, there is a lot to the city that is to be learnt about and explored.  What makes Istanbul one of the greatest cities in the world is that it lies in both Europe and Asia. Thus, the city is a blend of different cultures living together and hence at each corner of the city, you go through an entirely different experience. Its large population comprising of different cultures, classes and faiths is perhaps one of Istanbul’s key factor in making it feel very much alive.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in Turkey and cities such as Istanbul are usually crowded with tourists from all parts of the world nearly all year around. Thus, the city is beefed up with tourist spots and it has something to offer for everyone. Take a cab and go straight to Sultan Ahmett Camii (Blue Mosque) and be awestruck by its amazing architecture and beauty. Or take the metro to Hagia Sophia museum, a church which is also a mosque and dive into the history of Romans and Ottomons. 

Late in the afternoon, take a ferry to Princess Islands while feeding sea-gulls on your way and simply relax there till late in the evening at the famous pollution-free island by roaming around on a bicycle or a horse-cart. Smell the sweet scent of flowers and grass on the island and for a few minutes, sit back on the rocks and observe the sounds of the waves hitting the island shore.

The night life at Istanbul is pretty fascinating as well. One can shop till they drop at the Istekhlal street or simply enjoy themselves at any of the late night Turkish dance shows. Or one can explore the Turkish sufi culture by visiting a Seema ceremony of the whirling dervishes. But what’s best out of them all is perhaps a cup of chaiye at street view restaurant. The chaiye isn’t the traditional milk/black tea but is in fact a kahva made of tea leaves that tastes like green tea, or perhaps even better. In my view, there’s nothing better than a cup of chaiye on a very cold Istanbul night with Turkish music in the background.

Observe and you’ll discover that Istanbul is a city that comprises of many hilly islands connected together with huge magnificent bridges. Each bridge tells its own story too for on either sides of the bridge exists an entirely different culture and community. There is a great similarity between its streets and its mosques, for both have layers in them. The streets of Istanbul like on any hilly island are constructed in perfect layers placed on top of each other, just like the domes of its mosques are, both representing fine architecture.

As my four day journey to this magnificent city was drawing to an end, I decided to take one last stroll to see as much as I could from my surroundings. And I’m glad I took one, for it was on this day I learnt a great deal from this city. I remember crossing by a night club full of people of both sexes wearing western attire, drinking and dancing next to each other. And right next to the club was a small tea house with chairs and tables on the pavement occupied by a group of women wearing the Islamic hijab in the most modest way, sipping chaiye and chatting away with each other. And I was surprised how neither side complained against one another, nor were they bothered what was happening on the other end. It was the element of co-existence in the Turkish people that won my heart. 

Despite the greatest amount of diversity one can ever see in a metropolitan city, the people of this city live together in perfect harmony, peacefully supporting each other in making sure Istanbul remains one of the greatest city in the world.

Perhaps Napoleon Bonaparte was right when he said, “If the earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.” And truly he meant it when he said that.

PICTURED BELOW are some more photographs taken by Zeeshan

By Zeeshan Hasan Khan