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piece of pavement seems to be taken up with
tables and chairs spilling out of meyhanes, or
taverns, while street vendors sell mussels in
the shell, cooked with lemons in giant pans.
I squeezed my way down
restaurant-packed Nevizade
Sokak but found every table
full of locals feasting on grilled
sh and knocking back raki, so
I headed over Istiklal Caddesi
to Nizam Pide, a cheap and
cheerful café that's one of the
best places to try pide, Turkey's
answer to pizza.
The next morning it was time for some
sightseeing, so after a terri c Soho House
breakfast of poached eggs and avocado, I
wandered down to the 14th-century Galata
Tower, built as a protective forti cation by the
Genoese in 1349. The top- oor gallery o ers
a stunning 360-degree panorama of Istanbul,
from the 1970s suspension bridge spanning
the Bosporus to the old city huddled around
the tip of the Golden Horn, one of the world's
most impressive natural harbours. From here
I could see my prime destinations: Hagia
Sophia and the Blue Mosque, the two most
famous landmarks in Istanbul.
The former, which means the Church of
the Holy Wisdom, was built by the Christian
emperor Justinian in 532 AD and converted
into a mosque following the Ottoman Turk
invasion in 1453; since 1934 it's been a
museum. The Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet
Camii, was completed in 1616 and gets its
English name from the 20,000 dazzling Iznik
tiles that adorn the interior. Both buildings are
impressive for their sheer scale, bristling with
minarets and undulating with domes.
After a tasty lunch of grilled meatballs over
the road at Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi, I
headed deeper into the old city to the Grand
Bazaar - dating from the 15th century and
housing 4,000 shops under one vaulted roof
- before taking in the heady aromas of the
Spice Bazaar, where the trays of sa ron and
paprika, sumac and cumin form a patchwork
every bit as vivid as the carpets for sale in
the Grand Bazaar. Outside on the harbour by
Galata Bridge, I joined commuters grabbing
a grilled mackerel sandwich and a paper
cup of syrup-drenched doughnuts from the
harbour-side stalls on their way to the ferry.
Like all great cities, Istanbul is as exhausting
as it is exhilarating, so the next day I was
ready for some relaxation at the Mandarin
Oriental Bodrum, a short ight away. You
can do as little or as much as you want here.
I was happy reading on my private terrace,
gazing over the aptly named Bay of Paradise
and wondering who owned the two massive
superyachts moored there. Had I wanted to,
I could have wandered down to one of the
two private beaches, taken my pick from
four swimming pools, or gone scuba diving,
parasailing, jet skiing, or paddle boarding.
I did leave my room to eat though:
perfectly fried calamari and a posh take on
a kebab in the poolside café for lunch; fresh
mezze and grilled sh for dinner at Balikcisi,
picked from an iced display and eaten
overlooking the water. I could also have dined
at the Scott 'Kurobuta' Hallsworth-helmed
Kurochan, Italian Assaggio, or local hotspot
Juju, all dotted around the 148-acre site.
The Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental
group is renowned for the quality of its
eastern-inspired spa treatments and the
Bodrum outpost, which opened last year, is
no exception. My therapeutic massage and
aromatherapy facial were both faultless, but
what I particularly loved was sitting outside
in the spa's 'tea garden', listening to a tinkling
waterfall and feeling that there wasn't
another soul around. Paradise indeed.
I WAS HAPPY GAZING OVER THE APTLY
NAMED BAY OF PARADISE, WONDERING
WHO OWNED THE TWO MASSIVE
SUPERYACHTS MOORED THERE
GETTING THERE
British Airways ies from
London to Istanbul three times a day
and Bodrum twice a week from £98 one
way. Turkish Airlines ies from Istanbul
to Bodrum 15 times a day from £44 one
way; ba.com, turkishairlines.com
WHEN TO GO
Spring and autumn are the best
times to visit Istanbul; summer can be
hot and humid and winter cold and wet.
Bodrum is a delight to visit in May, June
and, especially, September, when the
sea is warmest; the peak season of July
and August are the hottest months
WHERE TO STAY
Mandarin Oriental Bodrum
Double room B¨B from £569 a night;
Soho House Istanbul Double room
from £140 a night; sohohouseistanbul.
com
WHERE TO EAT
Nizam Pide nizampide.com
Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi
FIND OUT MORE
Above: a junior suite at the Mandarin Oriental
Bodrum; below: Galata Tower in Istanbul