I figure it’s about time I shared what my daily life in Istanbul is like. So here goes.

I arrived in Istanbul on October 28th, so it’s been seven weeks now. And I must say what I’ve been up to in those seven weeks has been pretty great. Balances out living in a hotel room for sure. My “home”, let’s start there. I live at the Ramada Atakôy (Atakôy being a suburb of Istanbul). It’s pretty close to the airport and very close to the office. When I manage to get myself out nice and early it’s a 20 minute walk to the office – or the gym or pool next door to the office. When I don’t get up early, there’s a van that picks up those of us living at the Ramada. Getting to work is easy. Living in a hotel room…well, I’d prefer not to, but so far it’s been okay.

This is the Ramada Atakôy… For some reason the entrance and the street in front of it mesh and it’s hard to tell whether you’re on the street or not. It’s a busy street corner and making your way across can be interesting.

The Ramada Hotel and Suites, Atakôy, Istanbul. Also known as “home”.

This is the first room I had here. Two single beds…after a few weeks I’d had enough of that.

So I moved into this room with a King bed. Felt extremely luxurious to be able to starfish and move around.

It’s a very new hotel, so every now and again something new makes its way into the room. A few weeks ago the shampoo and soap were suddenly branded Ramada, and a couple of days ago a robe showed up. It’s been interesting to watch them develop their service. We can now go into the gym – even though it’s not officially opened yet.

My other “home” is the office. So if you’re thinking it’s all glamour all the time over here….some proof that it isn’t would be the office photos.

This is the downstairs office. Since Deepak (man with ponytail on the left) went back to India, the style level in our office has taken a serious drop…

And this is the upstairs office, where I generally sit. Bad fluorescent lighting, everyone crammed into one big room, and let me tell you by mid-afternoon it’s incredibly warm and there’s a definite lack of oxygen. And for whatever reason on our floor the women’s washroom runs out of tp by mid-afternoon, and it doesn’t seem to get refilled until night-time…

That said, we know how to have fun. There are many laughs, and even a few spontaneous dance parties.

Luckily for me I’ve had to go out and about and work on some photo shoots. Some of the team see nothing but the office all week. So you won’t find me complaining. You will, however, find me being incredibly thankful. I’ve been on some pretty interesting shoots.

A sunny day spent on the Bosphorus.

Getting to go out into the countryside. Not sure stepping onto this old suspension bridge was a ‘highlight’ that I need to repeat. “It’s safe if you walk on these boards”, right. I hate heights, I get vertigo, that makes me feel really secure.

One of the production team’s daughter Azra. She was on a school break so she joined us for a couple of days. We bonded over Angry Birds.

I’ve even managed to learn some Turkish. In true Lise fashion I have a tutor. But not a traditional ‘teacher’ type of tutor. That just doesn’t work for me. My tutor and I meet and go out and about. What I want is a glimpse at regular day-to-day life in Istanbul. What I want to learn are words and phrases that I will use on a daily basis. I met Bariş (pronounced “Bah-Rish” (roll the R like you do in French) while doing a shoot. Unfortunately for him that meant he had to swim in the Bosphorus in mid-November. Not sure how he made it out without going into hypothermia, but he did. And as we were driving him home post shoot he asked how long I’d been here and if I’d learnt any Turkish. Sure I had, but just the easy stuff, what I needed was a tutor. He offered, I accepted. In true Turkish hospitality style, he won’t let me pay him. And to date when we’ve been out and about he refuses to let me pay for anything. I’m going to have to figure out how to fix that. Or maybe there’s nothing to fix…

Poor guy. The least I could do is take a photo that does him justice – which this one most certainly does NOT do. On this occasion we were out and about in Beşiktaş. A much nicer and cooler part of town than the area I live in.

Speaking of driving around this city – that is certainly quite an experience. My comfort zone for space around the vehicle I am in has not only been tested, it’s been completely demolished. I have no idea how we don’t get side-swiped daily. I am also in awe of where these drivers can get their vans to go – streets I wouldn’t even try to go down in a compact car, and a Mercedes van for 12 gets through. Little windy streets with cars parked on both sides and vehicles coming at us. Six lanes that merge into one with cars jostling for position. Going backwards on a highway – or any street for that matter. Cars creating lanes where none exist. It’s crazy. But I guess that’s what happens in a city of 18 million. I need to take photos of that. No words can adequately describe it.

A few more favourite sites around town include:

Out and about in the Taksim area. That is one heck of a lot of doner meat! And totally yummy.

Every now and again you come across a street that is completely unexpected. Gorgeous.

Walking around Taksim for a nightlife shoot – and what do we find but a restaurant called “Montreal”. Not quite sure why it’s a Mexican food place…but seeing the maple leaf felt good.

In my first week here we found this great little tea place. When David and Marilyn were here for a visit (they were cruising in the area and in Istanbul for a day) I took them there, with Bariş. This completely astonished Bariş. Apparently my favourite little tea place that has baby sized plastic stools with cushions and plastic tables lining the windy cobble street is a traditional MEN’S tea house. No females allowed. Oops. We were sitting outside, and sure enough when I looked in it was filled with men (older men at that) drinking tea, smoking cigarettes and playing cards. I think knowing it was a traditional ‘men’s only’ spot made Marilyn and I like it even more. Bariş insisted that if I ever went back on my own and sat inside it wouldn’t matter whether or not I spoke Turkish…I would know what they were talking about and I would leave. Hmmm, I might have to test that!

It’s still my favourite tea house!

The Basilica Cistern. Constructed when Rome ruled. As the main water supply it used to be full to the ceiling. Now it’s just plain gorgeous.

There is so much more I could write about, but this is enough for now. Suffice it to say, I cannot believe how lucky I am! The past two weeks have been all work, every day, but there’s no way I can complain about any of this. I am simply grateful, for the opportunity to be here, the people I work with, the friends I have made, and this incredible city and culture.

Çok teşekkurler for reading this far down.

Görüşürüz!

I cannot believe how amazingly gorgeous the sky was last Saturday. This is taken from the Asian side, looking at the Maiden’s Tower and then back onto the old city on the Europe side, with the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque up on the hill. Stunning.

I toyed with continuing to call my Istanbul blogs “LIstanbul”, but somehow that just felt wrong. I am a visitor in this city, not queen of it. So Discovering Istanbul it is.

And there’s no better place to start than two buildings that dominate the landscape of the old city – the Blue Mosque and the Haiga Sophia (pronounced Aya Sophia). I have yet to see two such incredible buildings face each other anywhere else.

On one side you have the Haiga Sophia – originally built in 537 as an Eastern Orthodox church, it was the largest building in the world for almost 1000 years. In 1453, when Sultan Mehmed II conquered the city (known then as Constantinople) it was converted to a Mosque. Even in those days this was a progressive city – instead of completely destroying everything Mehmed II has his people plaster over the Christian mosaics and frescoes, which actually preserved them. Some say he chose to do this as he didn’t want to incite the Christians that remained in the city, showing what I think is uncharacteristic of most conquering nations.  It is an incredible building with a lot more history than I can include here. Let’s just say it remains an incredibly impressive and beautiful building. It is now a museum, so they have uncovered a majority of the mosaics and frescoes.

View from the balcony. The chandeliers were added when it was converted to a Mosque to light the praying area – remember they are on their knees when they pray.

The chandeliers are incredible.

Byzantines, Romans, Ottomans…. Wow is all I can say to the history this place has seen. It’s hardly enough, but it’s all I’ve got right now.

Some of the uncovered frescoes from the balcony area. As with most places of worship built in those days the scale of the building is crazy. I’m always in awe of what they were able to build without “modern-day machinery”. And yet their buildings stand…and are so incredibly beautiful.

A great example of how they built over the Christian church – here they added a pulpit for the Imam to lead/speak from. Above it you can see one of the ‘plaques’ they added around the inside.

The Blue Mosque was built by a very young Sultan, Ahmet I, from 1609 – 1616. The guide I had when I took the tour with friends said that Ahmed was also quite vain – he wanted to build a bigger mosque than the previous Sultan, which is why it has 6 minarets (the previous Sultan built one with 5 minarets). Our guide also wasn’t that impressed with the Blue Mosque, saying that the tile work doesn’t match up. This may be true….but you know, I love the place. It’s beautiful. And apparently it led to the word ‘turquoise’.

The courtyard.

I love the arches and the minarets – seen here from the courtyard.

Now this is something I love about Mosques and entering for prayer. Before going in to pray people cleanse themselves. They wash their feet, hands and faces. These are outside for all to use on their way in. Let me tell you….they should start making tourists wash their feet as well – everyone who enters a mosque must take their shoes off..by the end of the day…post hundreds if not thousands of tourists…..you get the picture.

Side note: our tour guide told us that there’s a joke here about the English and how July is wedding season because it’s after their yearly bath in June. HA! Made me laugh – sorry Brits, it’s just funny.

There’s something quite magical about the low chandeliers. When the sun goes down the blue tiles really shine.

So beautiful – whether the tiles match up or not.

And there you have it – the Haiga Sophia and the Blue Mosque. I am fairly certain I will find myself walking the grounds between them regularly. It’s one of the loveliest places I’ve seen.

As you leave the Blue Mosque you see the Haiga Sophia across Sultanahmet Square.

No, I haven’t taken over Istanbul…but it’s what I’ve been nicknamed by a fellow co-worker. It makes me smile, so I’m fine with it.

As you will have guessed…I’m in Istanbul. And I’m here until about December 21st, and possibly back in the new year for a few more months. As I was leaving to come here I heard a lot of “be safe”. No need to worry folks, Istanbul is a very safe city. Yes, Turkey is a secular Muslim country. It is also where Europe meets Asia – which is true in more than geography terms. There is a large mix of cultures and religion in this city. As I walk down the street I’m not obviously a tourist until I try to speak Turkish, or haul my camera out (for which there is ample reason). This city is going to provide a number of posts…there is just so much to see and do, and then there’s the day-to-day as I settle into “living” here for 8 weeks.

First up – the Pera Palace Hotel. It was the first ‘western’ hotel built in Istanbul, created to accommodate those arriving here on the Orient Express. It has seen guests the likes of Agatha Christie (who is believed to have written Murder On The Orient Express here, in room 411, now named the Agatha Christie Suite), Queen Elizabeth II, Alfred Hitchcock, Pierre Lotti and a host of modern-day celebs. It has a ballroom, a saloon, a tea room, a little bakery, and the Agatha restaurant. Steeped in history and a murder mystery written here….all things that make me happy! So, I’m going to scrimp and save and one day book myself the Agatha Christie suite and lay in bed reading Murder On The Orient Express (many of her books are provided, in multiple languages, in the room). Until then, I’ll pop by the bakery and have tea and cookies.

A taste of the European – the ballroom. Yes, please, I’d love a dance.

This is how they got you from the train station to the hotel when arriving on the Orient Express. I haven’t quite figured out where the train station is/was yet, but I’m hoping it wasn’t a long walk for whomever was carrying this…

Istanbul’s first western hotel is also home of Istanbul’s first elevator…complete with a lovely red velvet bench you sat on as you made your day up or down.

I don’t know about you, but I’d be quite happy to use the stairs.

The tea room. Or rather, one of the chandeliers and a look at the walls and ceiling in the tea room. Beautiful. And if feels “Turkish” to this tourist.

Sigh…I can see and feel what it must have been like back in the day. Happiness.

Indeed, it is true. I am a fan of efficiency. And on this trip I got to experience efficiency at its best.

To get to Rome from London I flew London-Munich-Rome on Lufthansa. I had 55 minutes in Munich between flights. That’s plenty of time – provided you don’t leave London an hour late, which we did. We landed in Munich at the time my flight to Rome was to start boarding. (In case you’re doing the math, I know it doesn’t add up – we left an hour late, but the flight was shorter than planned, plus they pad the flight time to allow for minimal delays.) I asked the flight attendant before landing if she thought I’d make the flight and was assured that if I made my way to the gate without any stops along the way I would be on time, as the departure gate wasn’t far from where we were coming in. Just after we landed she told me that actually, there would be a white van waiting for me outside the plane to take me to my flight to Rome. Because of our delay we were at an outside gate, not the terminal, which means we were on the tarmac.

Off the plane I went, was greeted by a man holding a “Rome” sign and shown into the white mini-van – in which I was the only passenger. He drove me to passport control so they could stamp my passport, then drove me to my plane. I got there before any of the other passengers did. This flight was also at an outside gate and the passengers arrived by bus from the terminal just after I did. I was the first one on the plane.

A girl could get used to this! Nothing to worry about, chauffeur to get me where I needed to go, including whisking through customs. Very nice indeed.

Unfortunately my luggage didn’t have the same personalized service. I did ask the flight attendant if my luggage was also going to get a mini-van (hey, I thought it was funny) and was told that luggage always moves quickly, so it would be fine. Well, not this time. But that’s okay. In true Italian efficiency, I was told it would be delivered to my hotel later that evening and it arrived the following afternoon.

Love it. All of it.