Bohemian cafés, shops and Istanbul’s oldest wooden buildings still stand in the colorful neighborhood of Balat. Located on the western shore of the Golden Horn, the area was once the center of the city’s Jewish and Greek communities. Photo © Irina Lepneva | Dreamstime.com

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The Sümela Monastery, built on a cliffside 1,640 years ago, is one of the oldest monasteries in the world. Today the ruins are open to the public as part of a national park in northern Turkey. Photo © Sener Dagasan | Dreamstime.com

Dating to the early third century B.C., the Roman baths at Sardis resemble those at Ephesus. Photo © Okanakdeniz | Dreamstime.com

Lunch on the top floor of Hilton’s Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus hotel turned out to be a smart way to survey the city. From its windows I looked out on the Golden Horn, the major urban waterway and natural harbor of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. These shimmering waters mark one of the continental boundaries between Asia and Europe.

I traveled to Istanbul last year for the Society of American Travel Writers meeting. Although the conference lasted only four days, I stayed six additional nights to see more of Turkey. It did not disappoint.

Like whirling dervishes, the Sufi dancers who are common in this country, Turkey mixes ancient and modern — spiritual and secular — rituals and routines with ease.

As the “crossroads of civilizations,” the East and the West, Turkey was part of the trade route connecting the Roman (and later, Ottoman) Empire to China.

I’ve long been fascinated with the Silk Road, a 4,000-mile route established in 130 B.C. and active until 1453. Traveling from Istanbul to other parts of the country, I discovered markets that would have traded wares such as spices, carpets and jewelry with other cities on the ancient Silk Road.

Old Town’s sights

Istanbul served as the capital of two great empires: first as Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire (A.D. 313-1453), and then as Istanbul, the renamed capital of the conquering Ottoman Empire (until Ankara became the capital of modern Turkey in 1923).

Today, impressive monuments to those past empires dominate its Old Town: the popular Hagia Sophia, the multi-domed Blue Mosque, and Topkapı Palace, home to the ruling sultans and their harems. These sites often have long lines for entrance except during the off-season, December through March.

With a guide, I visited the Blue Mosque, an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Sultan Ahmed I. Across town, Istanbul’s Grand Çamlıca Mosque is the city’s largest, with a capacity of 63,000.

Five times a day, the Muslim call to prayer echoes across rooftops. I found the live voices (never recorded) relaxing as I rushed to see as much as possible during my four days.

For those who answer the call to prayer, the city of 15 million people has more than 3,000 mosques to choose from — but devout Muslims simply stop where they are, prostrate themselves and pray. Although 70% of Turkey’s people declare themselves to be Muslim, no one knows the percentage of those regularly practicing their faith.

Most Turks wear Western apparel, but I noted some generational differences: A 30-something guide told me she never wears a burka, whereas her mother always wears the traditional black dress for Muslim women.

Throughout the country, I observed that similarities among faiths (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) are easier to see than the differences. Museums display objects from all three religions: a staff claimed to be that of Moses, a sword belonging to David and preserved footprints of Mohammed.

Sampling Turkey’s food

Walking the streets provided a glimpse of Istanbul’s character and culture as well as its cuisine. Pastry shop windows displaying
honey-soaked baklava and vendors selling corn on the cob from carts looked familiar, but foods like gözleme (flatbread folded over cheese and spinach) were less so.

The cuisine throughout the country is Mediterranean-healthy with tasty seafood and grilled meats cooked with olive oil, veggies and lentils. Save room for dessert, though: Pairing a soft, chewy Turkish delight with the famously strong Turkish coffee is a must.

Turkey today remains one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of fresh produce (apricots, peaches, cherries), food items amply included on every menu.

In terms of shopping, I bought a few reasonably priced silk scarves to bring home as gifts, as well as the blue-and-white glass “evil eye” amulets dangling from souvenir stands. These are said to be good-luck charms that ward off evil.

Some of my friends who were serious carpet shoppers hired guides who assisted them in finding the best places for what they wanted in their price range and having the purchase shipped home.

Trabzon and Ephesus

I chose to go early and stay late after my Istanbul conference. My Turkey trip, with its pre- and post-additions, was a 10-day trip of a lifetime (but it wasn’t inexpensive — approximately $6,500, even with every discount I could muster).

First I headed to Trabzon, a beautiful area on the Black Sea known for its tea plantations and the magnificent 4th-century Sümela Monastery, built into a steep cliff face almost 1,000 feet above the valley floor.

I climbed dozens of steep steps (some with railings, some without), only to find at the top — where I had a spectacular closeup view of the monastery — that I had to descend steep steps to enter the monastery.

Since we also had to descend to the valley floor via the same path, I decided not to go inside. Instead, I just breathed in the beautiful view from the top. A 54-year-old who went down told me I didn’t miss anything. The refurbished artwork on the walls, she said, included “an angel that looks suspiciously like Cary Grant.”

After the conference, I traveled west to Ephesus, the most important Greek and Roman city in Ionian Asia Minor and a major archaeological site. To make the flight worthwhile, I expanded this trip into a four-night visit to the seven “churches” (i.e., communities) that St. John the Apostle addresses in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation.

While Ephesus is one of the world’s great religious and archaeological sites, I found the church at Sardis just as interesting, though it’s nowhere near as large. Unlike Ephesus, which was abandoned in the 15th century, Sardis remains a thriving, bustling city, with traffic circling the ancient section all day, every day.

If you go

Round-trip flights to Istanbul start at $660. To fly within Turkey, check rates at Pegasus Airlines, AnadoluJet or SunExpress.

At Hilton’s Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus, a five-star-hotel, room rates are $150 a night and up. Prices may be lower from December to March. January is the coldest month in Istanbul, with temperatures in the high 30s to low 50s.