The Place We're At Now: Istanbul, Turkey
Why, yes, we are living in the historical center of this fantastic, 2500-year-old city.
This is a regular feature about where we currently are in the world: how we ended up there, what it costs, and exactly what we think.
We are currently spending a month in Istanbul, Turkey, because Brent needed surgery on his foot.
We previously lived in Istanbul for three months back in 2021. Covid vaccines had become available, and the world was just starting to open up for travelers again.
We loved it then, and we love it now.
This ancient metropolis is, in fact, the most visited city in the world. In 2023, twenty million people came.
The population of the city itself is somewhere between 15 and 17 million. (Istanbul is currently home to hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, making an accurate count impossible.)
In any event, the city is massive. It also famously sits in both Europe and Asia, separated by the Bosporus Strait.
The European side is larger both in terms of geography and population. Almost two-thirds of Istanbullars — the fantastic name of the city’s residents — live in Europe.
The European side is also home to Istanbul’s commercial and historic centers, as well as the city’s most famous attractions: the Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Spice Market, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Istanbul Archeological Museum, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and Galata Tower.
But don’t ignore the Asian side! There’s plenty of cool stuff there too.
Istanbul’s history is long and fascinating. It was founded by Greek settlers in the 7th century BCE (on the European side) as Byzantium.
In the 4th century CE, then under Roman rule, Emperor Constantine modestly renamed the city Constantinople, after himself.
It was Constantinople all through the Ottoman Empire, which lasted from 1299 until 1922.
But by 1930, Turkey was a republic, and the city wanted to “rebrand.” People had been referring to parts of the city as “Istanbul” for centuries, so it seemed the natural choice.
And because I’m incredibly evil, I will now remind you of the They Might Be Giants’ cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” an insanely catchy earworm that, if you’re familiar with it, will now be stuck in your head the rest of the day.
How Did We End Up Here?
Brent already went into detail about his foot surgery, but in a nutshell: Istanbul has great, affordable medical care.
Plus, the city is famously full of cats. I mean, come on.
Where Are We Staying?
We chose an Airbnb in the Balat neighborhood, on the western side of the Golden Horn (on the European side of the Bosporus Straight). It’s fairly close to Brent’s doctors’ offices, and also the hospital where he had the surgery. At the same time, there was enough nearby to keep life interesting for me while Brent recuperated.
Fun fact: Our apartment is just inside the city limits of the original Constantinople. In some places, the city walls, which kept the city from being conquered for some 900 years, are still standing.
In 1492, after Queen Isabella kicked all the Jews out of Spain, Sultan Bayezid II welcomed many of these refugees, and Balat became the city’s Jewish quarter. At one point, the neighborhood was home to 18 synagogues (though only two remain).
In other words, this neighborhood is old.
We picked our Airbnb because it looked bright and open in the pictures, with a great view, which we thought would help keep Brent from going stir-crazy.
Unfortunately, the building is old too — and not in an “interesting historical character!” kind of way. Plus, the unit was somewhat smaller than it looked in pictures.
There’s also almost no kitchen counter space, no dining room table, and to dry our clothes, our host told us to drape the wet clothes across the radiators.
Also, the unit hadn’t been very well cleaned — and the refrigerator didn’t look like it had been cleaned at all. The owner also left his toiletries in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. When I mentioned this, he told me to just move them elsewhere.
Um, yuck.
We’re not fussy travelers, but for what we paid for this unit, we expected much better.
Which brings us to…
What Does It Cost?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Brent and Michael Are Going Places to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.