Ageless and Glorious

Dispatch From: Istanbul

SPIRALING TEMPLES magically disappear and reappear as if playing a fickle game of hide-and-seek in the swirling rain clouds that brush low across Istanbul. Even the mighty Fatih Bridge, connecting Europe to Asia in an elegant sweep of engineering prowess, seems ready to take flight into the clouds and vanish in a whiff of magic.

Ageless Istanbul, built on numerous hills——and long noted for the most glorious skyline on Earth——appears as an upside-down puzzle laced together with bridges and tiles, mosques and minarets, suspended over a mystifying cityscape. The clashing sounds and rhythms of the streets mingle with the exotic cadence of the complex Turkic language to create a surprisingly musical soundtrack. Nearly every vista includes glimpses of the rippled, ever-changing, 20-mile-long Bosporus.

Winding through the city like a huge blue snake, the Bosporus, which joins the Sea of Marmara to the fabled Black Sea in a mighty embrace of currents and swirls, is dotted with rusty, black-hulled Russian freight - ers manned by vodka-tinged seamen with faded tattoos. Riding low in the water, funky fishing boats chug along the watery highway near slick yachts and tiny boats resembling bathtubs flying the Turkish flag, along with the incessant ferryboats moving to and fro like crazed ants, carrying camera-laden tourists.

Istanbul is home to the spacious Topkapi Palace, the famed Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya, often listed among the most beautiful buildings in the world. Nearby, the once- infamous Sultanahmet Prison has been converted to an elegant Four Seasons Hotel, the city’s finest. Two of Europe’s preeminent markets attract visitors from around the globe. The Egyptian Spice Market in Eminonu near the Galata Bridge, dating to1597, and the Grand Bazaar with its 4,000 shops and clever shopkeepers who will be your best friend, at least for the moment, carry one into another world.

A culturally complex city of neighborhoods linked by cobbled passageways, Istanbul is united by its sidewalk cafés, where people play backgammon, drink tea and enjoy live music. But the unending heartbeat of the city is seen along Istiklal Street from Taxism Square to the Tunel Train. Here, masses of humanity flow elbow-toelbow through the street, and gypsies sell dried spices next to an angel-face 10-year-old girl playing the accordion while her little sister holds out a cup. A hooded lady from the Black Sea region plays a 150-year-old handmade instrument, while a man with three white rabbits offers to tell your fortune: “You will ride on a train and sit by the window.” A first-rate Istanbul thought.

If You Go

For more information, contact the Turkish Tourism and Culture Center, 323-937-8066; tourismturkey. org. For the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul, go to fourseasons.com. Public transportation is among the best in all of Europe, including more cabs than tea shops. Most major airlines service Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport. Visas are not required. Turkey’s currency is the lira, which is on par with the dollar.

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