It‘s a Wrap - Istanbul Day 6
Time to close this chapter of the story and begin the next one. And you’re in for a wild ride. Now in reality, this is a 2 day story (I did not sleep in between), but for the sake of the blog, I will keep them separate as it was quite the ride.
Let’s begin. Pretty routine start to the morning, which as you probably, guessed, started with the breakfast at the hotel. This was my last day in Istanbul, as I was due for an early flight the next morning, and as such, was also going to be my last breakfast.
Karim and I made it to breakfast about 10 minutes before they started closing shop, so we rushed to get all our food on our plates and sit and consume it. Following breakfast, we went back upstairs to get ready and get our day started.
The main plans for today was a Turkish Hammam in the evening, and then I was splitting up to meet my uncle and his family, who live in Istanbul for dinner. Since the hammam was going to be on the European side of the city, not too far from the Grand Bazaar, we decided to start by visit the Bazaar. As busy and touristy as it can get, no visit to Istanbul is complete without a stop in the Grand Bazaar. Besides, I had to get some pistachios and figs for my friends whom I was going to see in a few days.
We took the ferry over to the European side, and started by making our way to the Hagia Sophia. Even though I had been to Istanbul 3 times before, I had yet to visit what is probably the most popular tourist attraction in the city. We waited in a line which looked long but took no longer than 10 minutes, and then we were inside.
I was not disappointed at all by the insides. As simple as the decor was, a common theme with Ottoman style mosques - don’t mistake my comment for I love the simplicity, it was truly beautiful. We stopped for a few minutes to do some prayers in this beautiful piece of history, before continuing on our way to the Grand Bazaar.
Along the way, I made a stop by a bookstore I had visited on my first trip to Istanbul back in 2018, which sells Turkish books and novels in English (or translations versions). On my last visit, I had picked up Snow by Orhan Pamuk, a beautiful historical fiction novel that was possibly one of the best reads I have had. I picked up two titles whose name escapes me right now, one by Orhan Pamuk and the second by another Turkish author (I promise to discuss these at some point on the blog, whether book reviews or another post).
Back on our way, we entered the Grand Bazaar where we both needed to use the bathroom. Traveller tip - if ever in the Grand Bazaar and need a bathroom, just go to the courtyard where Nusr-Et is, as there is a bathroom on the outskirts of the area which is well maintained, and there is enough crowd where no one cares if you are a guest of the restaurant or not.
We visited one of the first stores in sight where I picked up lemon pistachios, salted pistachios, and some dried figs for my friends. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this place (or any for the matter), as there are plenty of options where you can shop around, taste the products, and pick what you would like. I haggled enough for the price (just enough to feel like I got a deal) and was back again on my way. We decided to explore the Grand Bazaar some more as I was told of an area where you can have tea in a very traditional setting in the Bazaar, and you know that I am a sucker for these kind of opportunities.
Making our way through twists and turns between all the shops, we found the space, or at least what we thought was it, where we enjoyed a cup of tea while people watching. This was unfortunately a very expensive glass of tea, the most I have had in all of Istanbul, and I bet the price was just because of the setting. But oh well, I guess pay for experiences. It was worth it in my opinion, as I really felt like I was back in the old times watching people go through their days while sat in the beautiful setting.
It was now starting to get close to our appointment time so we made our way out of the Bazaar and headed for the hammams. This time, I opted to visit Kilic Ali Pascha Hamami, one of the best rated hammams in Istanbul yet at half the price of the most famous ones. We were first greeted by a glass of sherbet (I hope this is what it was called for I can never remember it), which helped refresh us from the humidity inside the building. We then checked in, signed waiver forms in regards to health, and were sent to the change rooms to change into the Peshtmal (traditional hammam cloth) and put all our stuff in the lockers.
We made our way back downstairs where we were ushered to the hammam room. We were instructed to lay down on the central hot stone for about 10-15 minutes. Our attendants then came and greeted us, and proceeded to begin the hammam ritual. Basically, the ritual starts by having both warm and cold water poured all over your body. This is then followed by an initial bubble scrub, followed by a scrub using a loofah glove, where all your dead skin is removed. And I mean all of it! That is then followed by another bubble scrub to clean you of all the dead skin, and concluded by being ushered to the next room where you are dried by your attendant and fully wrapped in another cloth. The attendants then ushered us into the common area where we could relax for a bit.
Now, just for full disclosure, you need to be very comfortable with a few things when doing a hammam. Be ready to be, for lack of other words, physically abused. The scrubbing is very vigorous, and you are given a very strong massage during the whole thing. You should also be comfortable having another person scrubbing you fully clean, something you have not had since you were a little kid. I can say that my first time doing a hammam a few years back was a very interesting and new experience, but I have now gotten used to them (or at least partly), so I was able to enjoy it. And if you are concerned about it, there is no nudity in the process, although there may be a few close calls. Another thing to note than hammams are gender separated, and in the case of this hammam, there were different hours for men and women. Other hammams may have 2 separate sides instead of designated hours.
Once back in the common area, I was greeted by a second attendant, who was going to give me the full body massage I had opted for. The massage was about 50 minutes long, and was very relaxing. All tension in my body was gone, both physical and mental, so it was a very needed one.
Overall, the whole experience cost about 100 USD, excluding tips. While this may seems like a fortune, remember that a spa treatment back in Canada or UAE, which includes a massage, would cost a lot more. This also applies to the two other hammams I have tried in Istanbul beforehand. I would definitely recommend you visit this hammam, as the price is reasonable, and the experience was amazing. It was not the biggest hammam, with different rooms for each part, but the experience was among the best, and felt more traditional than the others I had been to. I apologize for not having more photos but for obvious reasons, phones are not allowed outside of the common area.
Following the hammam, I made my way to Galata Port to meet up with my uncle and his family, while Karim split up to go see his friend. Seeing my uncle and his family again was a great conclusion to the day, as we got the chance to catch up over pizza (yes, I know I shouldn’t be eating pizza in Istanbul but oh well). My cousins had grown up a lot, which definitely made me realize how old I was (it’s all perspective). We ended the night by them giving me a ride home, something I appreciated a lot since I wanted to avoid the crazy situation I had last night, with promises to stay in better touch over messages. I have to admit that I can be very bad at staying in touch due to the circumstances of my life.
Back in the hotel, I started to pack for my flight the next morning and Karim arrived shortly thereafter. We had originally planned to go out for a last coffee and tea but it was late, and we were both tired by this point. I did a last minute check on the flights available, as I had booked my flight with miles and was hoping for a last minute option that would open which was more convenient than my trek across continents mixed with long layovers.
To my surprise, there was a route opening, which would be more convenient than my original flights. There were two downsides - I would have a 14 hour layover in Frankfurt from morning to night, meaning I would have to stay awake, and I would have to leave for the airport in less than an hour, as it was 1.30 am and the flight was at 6.30 am. I did not hesitate to make the change, but was soon hit with the realization that I would basically have to be awake for almost two days.
I quickly finished all my packing, and before I knew it, I was in the taxi headed to the airport, and that’s it for the day. I think I will end this post here, and will discuss the journey as well as my day in Frankfurt, which was all about fighting sleep, in my next post. But let me tell you that even by the time I was arriving at the airport, I was starting to collapse from tiredness as well as the lack of sleep over the past week.
In conclusion, to wrap up my time in Istanbul, I think it was a great and less hectic visit in terms of going around from sight to sight, which was replaced by running around in situations I accidentally found myself in. But hey, to me, that is the beauty of travel - all these random experiences which are stressful at the moment but make for great stories.
What did you think of all my days in Istanbul? Did you have a favourite? Have you visited a hammam before, and if so, how was your experience? Last minute flight changes like me - tell me all about it! Leave a comment below with your thoughts and until my next post, stay positive!
