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 Prayer at the Blue Mosque, Istanbul | Photo by Lauren Girardin Todd and I were worried because our first days in Turkey would coincide with the last days of the Muslim holy month, Ramazan (also called Ramadan). We've been warned that people will be cranky from hunger, nicotine withdrawal, and even dehydration, since the truly religious won't swallow anything during daylight hours, even their own spit. We've heard rumors that even if we can find food, it will be in hard-to-find speakeasy-style joints, or worse, in tourist restaurants.
But, since we're starting off in Istanbul – a sprawling, crowded, and increasingly Westernized city that literally straddles the line between Europe and Asia – we don't have to worry. Most restaurants are open all day, though long lines form for tables right before sunset (conveniently making it easy to figure out which restaurants are most popular with locals).
Better yet, our backpacker hostel is a few blocks from a nightly street fair that fills the Hippodrome, an open area just outside the Blue Mosque. The end of Ramazan is a family holiday and a lot of Turks have descended on Istanbul.
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 Making peynirli künefesi at Ramazan street fair | Photo by Lauren Girardin Even before the sun sets, we're surrounded by over a hundred vendors hawking doner kepap, fresh-made peynirli künefesi (a gooey confusion of hot cheese soaked with sugar syrup), sweetsour pressed-to-order pomegranate juice, Magic Corn, roasted chestnuts, some sort of Turkish variation on Fruit Roll-ups studded with pistachios, strangely soft rainbow-hued handmade lollipops, and so much more. The family entertainment factor is high with fire slingers, puppeteers, and a grand Turkish marching band taking the main stage.
One night, Todd is drawn to a temporary-looking building by the sounds of music and applause. The surroundings aren't glamorous – on stage under fluorescent lights, a thickly mustachioed musician sings and plays the Turkish guitar, sitting on a folding chair next to a soda machine. A packed audience crowds around short tables on even shorter stools, alternately listening to the music and chatting, all the while sipping Turkish tea (made by Lipton). An oversize banner picturing nothing but the photo of a smiling bald man with an intense gaze covers one wall.
 Istanbul musician in green | Art by Todd Berman Since the art don't stop, Todd takes out his markers and sketch pad and starts to draw the musician, standing just outside the doorway into the room. Before long, Todd and his art have been noticed and we're herded into a seat, given tea, and Todd is encouraged to draw each of the night's musicians and a few of the waiters too.
An hour later, Todd's drawing hand has cramped, so we escape back into the lights and anonymity of the crowded street fair.
Travel tips - Istanbul, Turkey
Where we ate:
As we'll probably mention again later, prices of just about everything in Turkey is surprisingly high. In Istanbul in particular, we couldn't afford to eat at the kind of restaurants we would have liked to, in part because of the cost of eating out, but also because all the sites are expensive as well. Also, since Turkish breakfast is included in almost every hotel stay, like so many other budget travelers, we usually only ate one meal besides breakfast.
- Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftescisi Selim Usta - Always packed with locals, this place has a short menu – kofta, white bean salad, ayran seem to be all anyone gets. The kofte were nice, though not spiced quite enough for our taste: YEH
- Ramazan Street Fair in the Hippodrome - Some items here are overpriced (6 YTL for a stuffed potato? As if.) or weird (what's with the spam-like doner kepap) , and savory items are scarce, but there's more amazing sweets here than you could try during the time the fair runs: YEH!
- Refik Restaurant - We can't understand why this mehanes (restaurant for Turkish mezes and raki) place is highly recommended by Time Out Istanbul, Chowhounders, and the guidebooks. Bland, unimpressive, overpriced food and tourists at every table. We bailed quickly and went elsewhere: NAH
- Konak Restaurant - With what may be the widest variety of meat dishes in Turkey, this is one Istanbul restaurant that won't break the budget. Their Iskender kebap was butterly wonderful and, with a salad and soup, fed two: YEH
- Şehri Safa - We may have the name of this chain wrong, but it's not worth seeking out anyway. Affordable food, small-ish portions, just ok: MEH
- Fish grills near Asia-side ferry stops - For 3 YTL you get a fresh caught grilled piece of fish with toppings. One of the cheapest and tastiest meals we had in Istanbul. Be sure to go to one that has a hot, busy grill: YEH
- Lale Restaurant a.k.a. World Famous Pudding Shop - They have vegetables! Real vegetables made into food that you can eat for dinner! 10% off if you show them your copy of Rick Steve's Istanbul. It's no destination, both the food and the waiters are a little salty. Our waiter, after I asked the price of beer then decided to not get one, tried to defend their prices by pointing out that beer is the same price in the U.S. Yes, but our beer is good. Your beer is Efes!: MEH
- Nazar Fast Food - One of the many fast food doner kebap places in Sultanahmet, it's mediocre but cheap: MEH
Where we stayed:
- Mavi Guesthouse - This place looks and smells like it's run by a bunch of young, clueless guys, which it is. Their Turkish breakfast was skimpy (it included a tasteless package of spreadable "cheese"). The bathroom smelled and looked like it wasn't cleaned during our stay and the hallways were noisy. For the same price there are much better places to stay: NAH
- Hotel Metropolis - Named the cleanest hostel by some reputable website or other. Nice guys, free internet, gorgeous views from their common areas. Bonus is the nice Turkish breakfast around the corner in their comfy restaurant. Tell them Ephemerratic.com sent you: YEH!!
What we saw:
- Semi-legal shuttle service at Ataturk International Airport - At 3 a.m, as the door closed on the shuttle van, which looked a little worse for wear, the sidewalk sales guy told the van full of tourists "Good luck" which made us all laugh and worry: YEH
- Aya Sofya - Also spelled 'Hagia Sofia," this mosque turned secular museum is truly awe-inspiring. Even with the ever-present scaffolding for restoration work, it was one of the highlights and (almost) worth the price of admission (20 YTL each): YEH!
- Istanbul mass transit system - Though they penny pinch by charging you every time you transfer, and make it difficult for short-term visitors to do anything but buy tokens one at a time, the transit system is incredibly efficient and incredibly crowded: YEH
- Topkapi Palace - Whoever sets admission prices has gone mad at this place. 20 YTL admission, plus 15 YTL extra for the Harem. For that, you get to wait out one of the inevitable throngs of cruise ship tourists, who arrive by the hundreds. Many of the museum-like areas have not been updated (or dusted) in 15 years: MEH
- Istanbul Arkeoloji Muzesi (Istanbul Archeology Museum) – This place is HUGE. A lot of the areas will only appeal to history or archeology dorks, but there's so much else to enjoy. Like other sites, many areas could use a dusting and they should replace the threadbare carpet in the sarcophagus room. Don't miss the truly creepy childrens' exhibits: YEH
- Sanat Galerisi - We followed some very un-Istanbul murals and signs for art to this gallery of modern artist Ilhami Atalay and his talented family. Feel free to buy us one of their beautiful paintings: YEH
- Grand Bazaar - This former shopping mecca has jumped the shark, selling out to the tourist shoppers: NAH
- Süleymaniye Camii - The entire interior of this mosque was closed for conservation so we could only see a nearby cemetery and Sultan's mausoleum. Worth confirming if it's open before you go, the work is extensive: HUH?
- Spice Bazaar - The interior area leans towards the tourists, selling the horribly chemical "apple" tea and other weirdly hued fruit variations and dusty pre-packaged spice. Skip the interior and instead head to the streets just outside for dirt-cheap dried fruit, nuts, spices and cheese in narrow lanes mobbed with locals. Interior is "Nah," surrounding streets get a: YEH
- Rüstem Pasa Camii - Hopefully you won't go through the shock that we endured as we watched three ignorant tourist women, heads disrespectfully uncovered, violate the clearly off-limits prayer area to take prohibited flash photos. May they get travelers diarrhea. If you have extra time in Istanbul and you're in the area, it's a nice mosque to check out: YEH
- Local ferries - For about a buck, you can take any local ferry anywhere. Be careful as a return ferry may not be running by the time you want to head back (you should easily find a bus instead). Best deal in Istanbul: YEH
- Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii) - If I could go back in time, I would visit the Blue Mosque before the Aya Sofya because the mosque seemed a little small by comparison. No matter, it is a divine space, both spiritually and architecturally: YEH
Photos from Istanbul, Turkey
If you can't see the photo slide show above, view the photo set on Flickr.
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