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Istanbul

Istanbul, Türkiye · October 2023

Stayed: The St. Regis Istanbul, three nights
Paid with: 128,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
Flying home: Lufthansa business through Frankfurt
Where: 41.01° N · 28.98° E

Coming first: the Ethiopian flight in from Addis Ababa is at the end of the Addis Ababa page.

Where I stayed · The St. Regis Istanbul

Three nights on Marriott points, 128,000 in all. It was pretty nice but not mind-blowing. It was relatively cheap with points, and I wanted to try a St. Regis since I normally do Hyatts and Park Hyatts.

From the balcony

The street below the hotel balcony

A cat asleep on a scooter seat, seen from above

Part one · Into the old city

It wasn’t a long time there.

Along the water

A clock tower across the road

A stadium and yellow taxis

A mosque by the water

Palace grounds

Old wooden houses by the walls

A square with an ornate fountain

A marble gate

An avenue of plane trees

A gate with two towers

An old brick church

A long stone wall with arches

The city across the water from a terrace

Mosques and the square

A domed mosque with minarets

The carved eaves of a fountain

A mosque with six minarets beyond a fountain

An obelisk in the square

A mosque courtyard under autumn trees

A green-domed fountain with a mosque behind

Shops and streets

The Arasta Bazaar

A shop window full of painted ceramics

Colorful old houses

Dark wooden houses with iron balconies

Part two · Evening by the water

Down to the water

A mosque at the end of a plaza in late light

The mosque in the late afternoon

Dinner: köfte with salad and grilled peppers

A mosque at dusk

The mosque lit up at dusk

The bridge at dusk

Crowds along the water by the bridge

The waterfront crowds and boats

People fishing from the bridge

The lower level of the bridge lit up

Mosques against the sunset

The skyline across the water at sunset

The hill across the water with a tower

The square by the water at dusk

Brendan on the bridge at dusk

Part three · Balat

A walk around one of the trendy Instagram neighborhoods. It was very nice. I liked Istanbul.

Up and down the hills

A steep street toward a colorful stairway

A painted wall with a cart and old shutters

A lane under ivy

A red brick building with towers

A narrow street of old houses

Colorful houses covered in ivy

Pink and red row houses on a slope

A cobbled street dropping toward the water

Stairs down between old wooden houses

Cafés and old cars

A café window with painted portraits

A busy shopping street

An orange and black Beetle

A pale blue old car parked on the street

A café front with painted figures

A dog asleep under café chairs

A bright café with tables out front

A round red café on a corner

A minaret over the rooftops

Down to the water

The city across the water from a street

A white church with an ornate tower

The water from the shore

A park by the water with a mosque on the hill

A lit underpass with murals

The water and the far shore in the morning

Ferries and mosques across the water

Part four · The cats

The cats are an Istanbul thing.

Around town

Two black cats crossing a park path

A tabby by a plane tree

A black cat walking down a sidewalk

A ginger cat lying in the leaves

In Balat

Two cats on red stone steps

A grey and white cat on the cobbles

A cat sitting in a café window

Near the hotel

A cat by a planter on the sidewalk

A cat in a wooden shelter on the street

A white cat on the stairs

Two white cats on the stairs

A white cat stretching

Home on Lufthansa

Lufthansa business class from Istanbul to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Boston, booked with Avianca LifeMiles: 126,000 miles plus $247.50 for two. For a few years Lufthansa business was easy to get at the last minute, so I booked it often and flew it so many times that I didn’t really take pictures.