Overnight in Istanbul
A 3 hour and 50 minute flight from Dublin gets you to Istanbul. Split in two by the blue waters of the Bosphorus this ancient city prides itself on having served as a capital for three empires. In 1923 it was abruptly knocked off its pedestal when Ankara was named Turkey’s capital, yet it remains Turkeys largest city and the heart of industry, culture, and tourism.
Bosphorus Bridge
After a massive thunderstorm in Istanbul, a delayed flight from Dublin, and a missed connection to Ankara, it seemed like a night by the Bosphorus was on the cards. The Turkish airlines flight arrived into Istanbul Ataturk Airport at 1.20am the exact time of the last flight to Ankara, having gotten over this minor annoyance and rebooking our connection we headed into the city centre.
Exploring Istanbul
My first sights of Istanbul were thus in the dark after 2pm on a Friday night… it looked pretty but I possibly could have been dreaming. Arriving at the hotel was a treat with the beautiful flower display framing the entrance to the Four Seasons Hotel.
The hotel were so kind as to upgrade us to a junior suite, most likely taking pity on our late arrival and missed flights.
Sorry about the bags, 3am photo taking me was not really on it
The room was huge and equipped with multiple first world essentials such as a shiny new Nespresso machine.
If we didn’t have a flight to catch I would still be in that bed
After the last 5 star experience in Diani beach where I had to fight for every millilitre of shampoo, I was quick to check the bathroom facilities. It was stocked with Bvlgari… happiness!
This photo doesn’t do it justice.. Bvlgari everywhere!
Fun Fact: During the Ottoman Empire Istanbul had over 1000 public toilets while the rest of Europe didn’t even have toilets in palaces!
After sleeping in quite possibly the most comfortable bed ever we woke up to an early sunrise over the Bosphorus. The red umbrellas of the swimming pool lined the edge of the grounds making for a lovely view. The pool size was a little small compared to endless blue one finds in beachside resorts yet it looked like the perfect place to relax.
Watching Istanbul wake up
To treat ourselves after our ordeal at the airport (I know we ended up in the Four Seasons but still…) we ordered room service for breakfast.
View of the Bosphorus from bed
The display was magnificent and they offer a large variety of Turkish, European and American style breakfasts to choose from.
Room Service is my new favourite thing
The only major problem was forgetting to order the Belgian Waffles, but on the bright side now there is reason to go back!
Turkish and American Breakfast
Front Courtyard of the Four Seasons
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,’script’,’//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’); ga(‘create’, ‘UA-59648263-1’, ‘auto’); ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);
.jpg)
Comments