I have always wanted to visit Constantinople since I first saw a picture of it during a religion or history class in Junior High or High School at St Pat’s - or maybe it was during that Western Civ class at BC. I was fascinated by its history, its architecture - the domes, minarets, spires and steeples, its diversity although I don’t think that term was in vogue back in the 1960s! The Orient Express always makes me think of Constantinople. I’ve had it in the back of my mind throughout the years.
When my youngest son married a girl from Macedonia, my interest in that part of the world peaked. Not many people know where Macedonia is located - I knew Constantinople was near there somewhere - but I didn’t know much more about the region. That all changed in the winter of this year 2024 when my daughter-in-law Tina and my son JB suggested I take a trip to Macedonia with them this September. Tina and her mother were heading there in mid-August - JB and I would follow in mid-September. We would go to Macedonia and then try to visit Bulgaria, Romania, and perhaps Serbia. At some point Thessaloniki in Greece was added. I mentioned that I always wanted to visit Constantinople/Istanbul - and since we would be flying home from Thessaloniki to Istanbul then on to Miami, Tina suggested a couple of days in Istanbul before heading back to Miami! I was thrilled! I learned last winter what a travel vlog was, and I have watched hundreds of them about the Balkans and Istanbul on YouTube ever since!
Anyway it has taken me 60 years to get there, but JB and I landed in Istanbul on Monday September 16.
I had never flown Turkish Airlines before - Turkey doesn’t always have positive vibes in the news media - to me it can seem a bit sketchy. But the crew onboard the airline were very nice - welcoming us as we boarded. I was sitting in seat 24D - an aisle seat of course. I asked the young woman in the middle seat if those were her things on the aisle seat - no she said - the steward came and took them from me so I could sit down. He returned and gave them back to me - they were gifts from Turkish Airline - a small pillow that fit perfectly behind my head - a blanket which was handy when the plane got cold, a padded set of ear phones - and a little bag with a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste, an eye mask, and a pair of slippers! What a lovely gesture! I’ve been on planes where you pay for a blanket, a pillow or ear buds - some up to $10 each - but these were all complementary! There was a very extensive selection of movies, TV shows, kids program, 5 live news programs - I heard about the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump on CNN and the BBC. So this plus the fact that it was a 10:45 AM flight helped make the trip to go faster.
Shortly after take off, we were served a dinner - either cod or parmesan pasta - I chose the cod. The meal was served with real cutlery!! There was a container with cooked peppers, another with a small chicken Caesar salad, the cod was in a light sauce and was served with delicious mashed potatoes, sautéed carrots, zucchini and mushrooms. There was a nice carrot cake for dessert. I just did apple juice for a beverage. I wasn’t too hungry as I had had a bagel at the hotel before leaving for the Miami airport. But the onboard meal was much better than any airplane food I’ve had before!
I watched The Great Escaper with Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson - loved them and it. Then I watched 4 episodes of a British detective series and some news. I tried but couldn’t sleep. About 2 hours before landing we were served another delicious meal! A pepper and onion omelet with a delicious stewed tomato, sautéed mushroom and diced potatoes. It also included a small container of fresh fruit, a container of cottage cheese with a slice of cucumber, tomato, and cheddar cheese. Both meals were served with a warm roll. What a surprise!
We landed in Istanbul at 4:30 am in the pitch black - we could only see lights, no buildings as we landed. As we were walking up the ramp from the plane, an army of what looked like Segways with seats in front of them came rolling by heading to the airplane door to pick up some of the passengers. Then a young guy with a wheelchair spied my cane and insisted on stopping the passengers disembarking to practically throw me on the wheelchair and push me up the end of the ramp into a handicap area of the terminal. He told me to sit there and his friend would be coming with one of those Segway kind of things to take me to the next terminal. The army that went down the ramp returned - 2 of them were empty - I had to get on one then they made JB (who was holding my cane) get on the other - they even strapped him in! I had no strap which I regretted once we started flying thru the concourse! It was like a race to see who could get to the next stop the fastest! But thank goodness we had them - it is a long long walk.
They dropped us off at another handicap area and told JB that we should wait until our names were called because the gate for Skopje hadn’t been assigned yet. Next thing our names were called - there was one seat left in an extended golf cart - they had me take that and JB said he’d walk to the gate. I arrived at another handicap center where we dropped off a couple of people. I was wondering if I’d ever see JB again when he arrived and said that the gate was nearby. The driver came back and told JB to get into an empty seat, and we were off to the gate. I’m sorry that we didn’t take pictures of us with the drivers.
When we got on the flight to Skopje, someone was in my seat and wasn’t about to move. Luckily there was a stewardess nearby who checked our boarding passes - the woman had moved into my seat because a young couple had taken her seat so they could sit together - the stewardess made them move into their own seats, the woman in my aisle seat moved across the row into her middle seat and it was all sorted - I think I was the only one happy!
This flight took less than an hour and a half. They served us a snack but by the time they had served everyone, it was time to collect the trays before landing! Of course our bags were the last ones to arrive. Tina and her brother Ilce had driven up from Bitola where they live that morning to meet us. Somehow JB and Ilce managed to get 3 large bags and 2 knapsacks into the car - JB had one suitcase on his lap for the drive to the airB&B that Tina had rented. It is in a section of Skopje with a lot of new apartment buildings. Our apartment is on the 8th floor and is very modern. The elevator was plenty big enough for all of us and the luggage. It is a 2 bedroom apartment with a bathroom with a walk in shower, a kitchen/dining area and a sitting room with a large TV. The highlight is the small balcony! Tina told us that the development in this area has been going on for less than 7 years - it was not going on when she was here in college. Her father's friend owned an old apartment building here - the developer bought him out and gave him 2 apartments!
Tina, JB and Ilce walked to the store for water and something to eat. After watching so many travel vlogs talk about barraks, I finally had a piece of a pizza barrak! They are made of flakey pastry and cut in a triangular shape - about the size of a quarter of a large pizza - they were filled with sauce and cheese, meat and onion, or chicken and onions. I love pizza so of course I loved the pizza one - the ground beef and onions barrak was good but too heavy for me at 9 am - I was full after trying a piece of each of those. They had also bought what looked like a hot dog in a flakey crust instead of a hot dog roll. I tried a little of the drinking yogurt which wasn’t too bad but not on my kidney diet.
JB and I had a rest for a couple of hours. Ilce drove home taking one of the suitcases with him. When we got up, the 3 of us took an Uber to Macedonia Square which is the main square in Skopje. I was finally seeing all the statues, the triumphal arch, and the buildings I have been researching and seeing in vlogs! It was overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. The underwhelming part was because in the vlogs the square seems so big and mostly quiet - the statues were the main focus - the surrounding restaurants, shops, food stands weren’t really filmed - or maybe it was because many vlogs were made during covid - the square was empty - the shops and restaurants were closed. No matter what I loved it - there was the huge Alexander the Great on his horse - Tsar Samoil’s huge statue. The statues are way more than life size - almost overwhelming when you stand at the base looking up at them - it is difficult to see their heads from the ground! One of the first sites after the triumphal arch that we saw was the plaque at the site of Mother Teresa’s home. It is hard to believe that this simple nun from Skopje became world renowned. Very humbling.
We walked along the square - took a right along the Vardar River and saw a large pirate ship which is a restaurant - it would be too large to fit under any bridge along the river. We stopped nearby for a bite to eat. Such a choice of food. JB ordered a Macedonian salad with tomatoes, cukes, and white shredded cheese. I ordered something like a chicken stir fry with peppers, onions, mushrooms. Tina ordered a burger stuffed with cheese that came with French fries. We also ordered a pizza thinking if there were leftovers we could take them home. We just ordered soft drinks. I loved the Schweppes bitter lemon. When the food arrived, I was surprised at the huge portions! But I was flabbergasted when that gigantic pizza was served! There was so much meat on it - ham, prosciutto, and pepperoni. We all tried JB’s salad which arrived first - very good. My chicken was delicious - I love sautéed veg. Tina’s burger was good but I am not a big beef eater - JB said her French fries were some of the best he’s had. But that pizza - it must have been at least a foot and a half wide. I was trying to cut one slice in half for me and Tina - next thing my elbow knocked my Coke Zero over onto my plate and onto the pizza platter plus onto the table and the floor. Fortunately the drink landed on the empty side of my plate and mostly the empty section of the pizza platter. I dabbed the plate and platter up with napkins - cleaned up the table but my fleece and jeans were pretty wet. Anyway after the waiter brought me a clean plate to transfer my remaining dinner onto, all was well.
The restaurant was very nice - it had a combination of tables with chairs, tables with couches, a couple of small intimate dining areas - the windows opened out onto the river - one near us was open and it started getting cold - which I did not complain about since the forecast for Miami when we left was 110 degrees and very high humidity! It had been too hot and especially humid for me to go out while I was in Fort Myers so I was appreciating the cooler temps!
We had over half a pizza to take home as well as half of my entree. Tina was correct when she said that after cutting down on salt at home in Fort Myers, she finds food here very salty.
We walked back thru Macedonia Square and took a taxi back to the apartment. Tina told the taxi driver that she knew the driver took us a roundabout way to the apartment - the taxi driver said it was good for us to see some of the city! This is why everyone says to take an Uber - taxis take the long way around to jack up the price. The taxi driver told Tina to take her phone number - she could take us to Matka Canyon - a big tourist site - Thanks but no thanks!
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