Dale Endreson's Istanbul Photo Page

Main Page: The American Military in Turkey at @comcast.net9;cast.net

Dale Endreson's Many Tours

Corlu, Istanbul, and Izmir

1978 - 1994

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This page contains Dale's Istanbul photos.

(27 Jan 2014)

Dale sent these photos of Istanbul:

1. A dolmuş (English-Dolmush)is a shared taxi.

2. Sirkeci (English-Sirkeji)was located in the Eminönü neighborhood of the Fatih District of Istanbul. The neighborhood borders to the North the mouth of the Golden Horn, to the West the neighborhood of Bahçekapı (English-Bahchekapuh), to the East the Topkapı Palace area, and to the South the Cağaloğlu neighborhood. (Cağaloğlu is a neighborhood located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Much of the publishing industry in Istanbul is located in Cağaloğlu. Cağaloğlu is also famous for its ancient hamam.) Sirkeci hosts Sirkeci Station, the Southeastern-most (thus "Oriental") long-distance passenger train terminus in Europe for the Orient Express. The neighborhood consists mostly of commercial and tourist oriented uses. A combination of small shops, "hans" (larger workshops), offices intermingled with boutique hotels, traditional Turkish restaurants, Turkish and foreign-language bookstores, and tourist offices. In the Byzantine period, the area was known in Greek as "Phosphòrion".

3. A "Hamam" is the Turkish variant of the Roman bath, steambath, sauna, or Russian banya, distinguished by a focus on water, as distinct from ambient steam.

4. A "Lamaçun" (English-Lamachun) is a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat (most commonly beef and lamb) and minced vegetables and herbs including onions, tomatoes, and parsley, then baked. Lahmajoon (English pronunciation) is often served sprinkled with lemon juice and wrapped around vegetables, including pickles, tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, and roasted eggplant; a typical variant employs kebab meat or sauces. Always refreshing.

5. The legendary Pera Palas (Pera Palace) Hotel is a name that is synonymous with both Istanbul & Luxury. It is a historic special category hotel and museum hotel located in the Beyoğlu (Pera) District in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built in 1892 for the purpose of hosting the passengers of the Orient Express and was named after the place where it is located. It holds the title of "the oldest European hotel of Turkey". The Pera Palace Hotel is located in the Tepebaşi neighbourhood of Pera, once known as "Little Europe". It is about 20 km from Atatürk International Airport. It is in walking distance of İstiklal Avenue, Taksim Square, and the British, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Italian, French, and German consulates. It was closed from 2006, undergoing a major renovation and restoration project and reopened on 1 September 2010.

Photo Memories - Istanbul
Click Photos to Enlarge

Although I was stationed at Corlu, we made many trips to Istanbul usually over the weekend. I was able to make generally a trip a month. I (and often times others as well) would catch the bus at the Corlu Bus Depot and then get off the bus in Istanbul. It was fun because we then took a dolmuş (see above) ride to Sirkeci (see above). Sirkeci was located near the Galata Bridge. If the timing was right, then a lahmachun or Turkish pizza (see above) and a bottle of sour cherry juice. Then a trek around Istanbul - covered bazaars, mosques, museums, etc. We would try and stay at the Pera Palas Otel which at the time was next to the American Consulate. The story of the Pera Palas, what it was built for, and who stayed there is a story in itself (see above). Dinner would be at the Four Season's Restaurant. This was a local restaurant owned by a Turkish man and his English wife. Their "Steak Diane" was to die for and the meal would always be capped off with a drink at the infamous Pera Palas Otel Bar. We were first guided to Istanbul by a book written by Tom Brosnahan, entitled, "Istanbul on 10 and 15 Dollars a Day". The Four Season's Restaurant was mentioned in his book and that is how we found out about it and came to love it. It was a great respite from the hustle of the detachment.

The photos are fairly self-explanatory.

Hope you enjoy

Dale