Balkans day 21: Constantinople

I wasn’t sure I’d make it this far, but Istanbul is an excellent fit for a tour of the Balkans. The city isn’t straightforwardly part of the Balkan peninsula (at most, some of it is), but during the heyday of the Ottoman Empire in the seventeenth century essentially all of the Balkans was ruled from here, under its previous name, Constantinople. Since today’s ventures are mostly around historical sights, using the older name seems appropriate for this post.

The Hagia Sophia and its queue

Another of the glorious survivors of the good old days of inter-Balkan rail connections is the sleeper from Sofia to Istanbul. This train is very nice: my compartment even had a mini fridge! What’s not so nice is that there’s a passport check just before midnight, and another, more serious one shortly after, at Kapikule in Turkey, where everyone has to troop off the train and show their passports and faces to the two unhurried border guards and their cameras, then have their bags X-rayed. By the time the train gets going again it’s 2am local time. This effectively means that one’s chances at a solid night’s sleep are scuppered; at best, you can hope for two 4-hour blocks of sleep.

The train before its departure from Sofia

Arriving in the outskirts of Istanbul, you then have to take a suburban train to get into the centre. It was rush hour, and everyone was heading for the same stop as me – deep under the city centre – but for different reasons. I rose from the depths, got breakfast in town, and began to wander.

The Blue Mosque was closed for renovation, and the Hagia Sophia rather overrun; I only have 36 hours here, so spending six of them in a queue didn’t seem appealing. Instead I visited Topkapi Palace, from where the sultans had once ruled the Balkans and more. The only place I’ve ever been that’s comparable in scope and setup is the Forbidden City in Beijing. (It’s worth adding that, while not as big as the Chinese capital, Istanbul still dwarfs anywhere else I’ve visited on this trip, with a population of nearly 16 million.)

Palace grounds

View of the Bosphorus and the Asian side

Sultan’s room

Tomorrow I aim to visit a few more parts of the city. For now I’ll try to get in to Hagia Sofia before it closes. Wish me luck!