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My 10 Most Fascinating Things about IstanbulBy Xavier Augustin

Founder & CEO, X! Travel Club

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My 10 Most Fascinating Things about Istanbul1. Its Hyderabadi connection

2. How it changed my view of a Harem

3. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk– my hero

4. A painting of how Istanbul was conquered

5. Islamic Art

6. The architect behind the mosques

7. The food & drink

8. The Hamam – the bathhouses

9. The Bosphorus

10. Old Bungalows and their stories by Ohran Pamuk

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Its Hyderabadi connection

• Princess Nilofer was from Turkey.

• The last Nizam of Hyderabad lives in an apartment in Turkey.

• The Sabiha Gökçen International Airport International Airport was made by GMR.• The terminal is twice the size of the new Hyderabad

Airport and 3.5 times the size of the new Bangalore Airport.

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How it changed my view of a Harem

• Make sure you visit the Dolmabahçe Palace. You wont find a more royal palace. The last Pasha of Turkey spend so much of money on it that they could afford to participate in the World War II.

• The family abandoned the palace and their ancestors married into the Hyderabadi Nizam family.

• But what the palace did was change the way I looked at a harem. The harem here is more modern and sophisticated. It looks more approachable than the one you see in the Topkapi palace. You would realize that a Harem is like any other large joint family that is grooming a girl whose son would become king.

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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – my hero

• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was my hero every since I read about him in Nehru’s writing.

• His teacher gave him the title in school – Kemal meaning ‘perfect or mature’.

• These are the few achievements of his which I salute:• Changed the use of Arabic script to a new Turkish alphabet

which looks like English.• One fine day asked the entire country to choose any

last/family name they preferred!• The Hagia Sophia mosque was once a church. It still has

early Christian murals on it. Instead of disputing whether it is a mosque or a church, he simply converted it in to a museum.

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A painting of how Istanbul was conquered

• I came across this painting in a museum shop.

• I wondered what ships were doing on the land.

• The painting is a story of how Istanbul was conquered and how the great empire was formed by a 21-year old boy, the founder of modern day Turkey.

• Those in the fort did not expect anyone to come on the weaker part of the fort since they had a good control of the strait just decided to carry all the ships over the hill and surprise the enemy.

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Islamic Art

• I first came across Islamic Art in the Alhambra in Spain and fell in love ever since.

• Our Taj Mahal and Chowmahalla palace are fine example of elegant and geometric Islamic art.

• Since Islam bans the use of images of persons, the artists are forced to use geometric patterns.

• You can see beautiful patterns in tiles and carpets.

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The architect behind the mosques and the Taj Mahal: Sinan

• Mimar Sinan was the chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III.

• He was responsible for the construction of more than three hundred major structures and other more modest projects, such as his Islamic primary schools .

• His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, Stari Most in Mostar and help design the Taj Mahal.

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The food & drink• Don’t miss going to these 4

restaurants:1. Maadi for its kebabs.2. The Meat Balls in Sultanahmet

Koftecisi near Haghia Sophia mosque.

3. Hafiz Mustafa for tea and buying the Turkish Delight gift boxes.

4. Sur Balik in Bebek area for seafood.

• Don't miss having the Turkish tea/coffee which is almost everywhere.

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The Hamaam

• There are 2 famous Hamams in the city center. There is a posh one and a simple and traditional one.

• The best and the most luxurious Turkish Hamam is the Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamam. It is located in the Sultanemet area right opposite the grand mosques.

• For the men, The Çemberlitas Hamam is the oldest Hamam and also the most affordable. Some may not agree with the hygienic levels or the large groups of tourists. But if you are looking for a Turkish bath experience without the guilt of spending too much - the Cemberlitas Bath it is. You wont forget the experience. How can you when you are given a bath like a puppy.

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The Bosphorus

• Check out the map and see how strategically located the Bosphorous strait is.

• The Silk Route, mind you was a land route. This was where it culminated and had to pay the toll to the Turks for the Turks had the access to the water ways and the world markets.

• All the old bungalows you see were made from this trade.

• Also it cuts between Asia and Europe. On the other side is chaos of the muslim world. On this side, peace. It was the choice of Attaturk that made Turkey tilt more towards Europe thinking than its neighbouring states, ever in turmoil.

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Old Bungalows and their stories by Ohran Pamuk

• All said and done, the Istanbul you see is the remains of the grand old empire – the great Ottoman empire that lies without its former glory.

• No one can introduce you to Istanbul better than Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish Nobel Prize Winner for Literature.Pick up a copy of his book "Istanbul: Memories and the City" to feel the the melancholy, the hüzün– :the sadness that comes of living amid the ruins of a lost empire.