Travels With Clo

One of my colleagues lived in Istanbul for twenty years, and her stories really inspired me to want to visit. It’s a city so full of history and culture, so right up my alley.

A short four and a half hour flight after work later, there we were. We got a taxi to our hotel, had a quick bite to eat, and rested for the few days ahead.

On our first morning in Istanbul, I booked a Turkish lamp making class. We met our guide and they took us to the Asian part of the city, where we walked to Fabrikafa, our workshop venue.

Inside, we were given instructions on how to make our lamps, as well as mosaic templates for ideas and dozens of colours to choose from. Callum wanted a more traditional design, but as our trip was in October, I made something a little more spooky. The pictures below document the process, and it really came to life when we got to pick the beads to cover the majority of the lamp.

Pleased with our work, we had a coffee at the cafe whilst the glue dried and had some lunch at a local restaurant. This was my first taste of Pide, and I’ve been addicted ever since. The owner of the restaurant was not happy with how Callum was attacking the lachlamun, so he came over and showed him how to eat it which was very entertaining.

After catching the train back to the other part of the city, we visited the Museum of Archaeology, Topkapi Palace and admired the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque from the square.

The weather turned after this, so we took shelter in a restaurant close to our hotel and had our dinner, consisting of mezze and kebabs.

On day 3, I booked us a coffee making class. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We learned about the history of coffee itself, and the history of Turkish coffee. We then tried our hand at brewing a cup, cooking it in the hot sand. It was very bitter, even with the sugar cube, but it was unique.

Once our cups were empty, our instructor read the coffee cups for our future, using animal depictions. Although I’m not a believer, it was still a fun activity.

As we were in the area, we visited Galatea Tower. We didn’t go inside, because I had a bad hip and couldn’t make the stairs, but it was still nice to appreciate from ground level. I also found a place that served the TikTok famous San Sebastián cheesecake which I was very excited for.

We stocked up on souvenirs, including boxes of Turkish delight and baklava which we got to pick ourselves in the shop, and headed out to a rooftop restaurant for dinner for more mezze!

The our flight home was mid-morning, so we didn’t do any major sightseeing before we left. We did however find a museum at Istanbul airport which was a nice surprise. It cost €13 and showcased items from archaeological sites all over the country. It really fuelled my desire to return to Turkey, as there are so many sites I want to visit, especially Çatalhöyük.

I’d definitely recommend a trip to Istanbul. Try the food, immerse yourself and have fun!