Istanbul, Turkey. July 2023.
We ran in Old Istanbul, up and down their narrow cobblestone streets amongst the magnificent wonders of ancient Byzantium and Constantinople, and along the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus strait. We were in Europe, yet we had Asia in sight.
📷 The trip
Istanbul, the ancient Byznatium, the magnificent Constantinople, is a marvelous and vibrant city between two continents: a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures, and a source of both mythical stories of art and beauty, and tales of conquest and cruelty. While researching its rich story, I even stumbled upon a woman poet from the Hellenistic period: Myro!
We had visited Istanbul before; we had toured their streets, got lost in the Grand Bazaar, with its stalls selling jewelry, ceramics or spices, went up Galata Tower and took pictures of its impressive views, cruised in the Bosphorus strait, and marveled at the world renowned historical landmarks of the city.
Out of the many gems that Istanbul has to offer, maybe the most famous is Hagia Sophia Mosque. Formerly a Byzantine cathedral, an Ottoman mosque and a museum, now again a Mosque, is a marvel of Byzantine architecture. Its interior is decorated with mosaics and marble pillars. And, a few meters away (300 exactly, as we ran them 🙂), there is the Blue Mosque, which is known for its striking blue tiles and six minarets.
We also visited the Basilica Cistern: this “Sunken palace” is hidden below the city, like a secret palace indeed, is an old underground water reservoir that features impressive columns and atmospheric lighting.
And finally, two very special places I particularly like, because of their connection to good literature:
The Palaces
The first one is Topkapi Palace, which was the home of the Ottoman sultans for centuries, and, as such, is richly decorated; it is a mix of Islamic, European and Ottoman styles. You can visit the Harem, which was once home to more than 300 concubines. An Harem in which a young girl is murdered in the book “The Janissary tree”, which I include later.
And the hotel Pera Palace, in which, as I also mention later in the “Books” section, Agatha Christie was a frequent guest.
This time, I marveled again at Istanbul’s controlled chaos, their colorful vibrant life and its strange quality of having too much of too many things at once. In Istanbul there are too many items displayed in shops, in way too many colors, and in way too many places: the footpaths are impossible to walk on, as you stumble on displays of water pipes, kaftans or jogging pants, and as a consequence, people use the pavement. In some façades there are flamboyant ads in absolutely every balcony, and in the historical center, you see hotels with silly names like “palace” or “grand hotel” tucked in very small streets.
Oh, it felt good to be back in lively Istanbul. Especially as we got to see the magnificent view that you get in a commute from the airport to the old Faith district. It was 7pm and golden rays of sun illuminated the hills: a chaos of architecture similar to all Mediterranean ports, with beautiful minarets appearing here and there.
🍜 Eating: carboloading and recovery
For carbo loading, Turkish cuisine offers multiple options: Pide, also known as Turkish flat bread, is not only super high on carbohydrates, but also vegetarian. Here is a recipe. And the wheat-based Pilaf has 60-70 grams of carbohydrates for a 200g serving, and only 5g of fat!
And after your run, the famous Kebabs are high on protein, although my favorite dish is chicken’s Tavuk şiş. If you are vegetarian, the lentil soup Mercimek Çorbası, made with red lentils, onions and various species, is a fantastic source of plant-based protein.
There are so many restaurants or stalls in the streets, where you can sit at almost any time during the day, that there is never shortage of options, both for carbo loading or recovery.
🏃♀️ The run
For our run, I drafted a route which was based on Istanbul’s Half Marathon course, because it starts in the historical Fatih District, where we were staying, and I thought the city authorities were likely to know what they were doing 😉.
Btw…: The course for the Full marathon is super cool, because it goes across the Bosphorus bridge between Europe and Asia, making the marathon the only intercontinental one!
Unfortunately it was not an option for us, since the Bosphorus bridge is not open to runners, or pedestrians in general: only vehicles are allowed to cross.
I include the full 21k course of the Half Marathon in the “Map” section.
In the city centre
We ran the first couple of kilometers in the old streets, to be able to run in the square before the two magnificent marvels that are Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, and then a big part in Kennedy street, which allowed us to both run along the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus strait.
I knew we had to run very early as it was going to be literally impossible to run in the narrow streets of the city center when it gets busym as I have mentioned before.
So we set off at 6am. It was nice and breezy (later it turned out to be a very very hot day, as it was the end of July). The streets were deserted, apart from a couple of sweepers cleaning the streets. Without people, Istanbul is so nice!
The streets are actually quite wide 🙂, and you run next to history itself.
There are ancient wonders at almost every corner!
This first / last part (as we did a loop) is not easy: very hilly and with hard pavement. Also you can get lost very easily if you do not know the area, and end up checking your phone for directions. There were also a lot of stray dogs, but they paid no attention to us. They seemed accustomed to people, and were busy looking for food in the garbage.
Then we went down to Kennedy street and the conditions for the run improved. Kennedy street has a wide, pavemented sidewalk. The course here is completely flat. The only problem is that you need to watch out (I mean, really watch out) for motorbikes. They use the sidewalk in both directions, and they go fast.
The Golden Horn
Kennedy street goes along the Golden Horn and around the border of Old Istanbul’s peninsula. You can run many miles in it. Plus you get the view of the Bosphorus strait.
One of the things I love the most about going for a run in a foreign place is that you see and experience things that you can never plan for. You get a taste for local life in a way that you normally don’t, just by visiting attractions when all tourists are still sleeping, or by choosing places tourists normally do not go to.
In this case, we discovered a local sport that we had not imagined, and that it was apparently very popular… although just for men 😢… (we did not see a single woman). We saw groups of local men of all ages jumping into the water from a very wide breakwater that lines the coastal road. Some with life vests, and swim with the current. Some even prepared tea on the rocks while their friends swam.
After seeing the swimmers, we continued to the Seraglio point, past Topkapi palace. There is the option to cross the Galata Bridge, as well. All in all, a very good course that allows you to see a bunch of Istanbul’s landmarks.
Useful information
🏃♀️ Course along the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus Strait (Kennedy street) in Istanbul, Turkey.
⛰️ Difficulty: Easy. Most of the course is flat, although you can add more dificulty, and even a stairs workout, by running in the streets of the old Fatih district.
👟 Regular city shoes.
✅ Most of the course is flat and in a wide street.
✅ Run in Europe while seeing Asia, and next or in front of marvels like Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque or Topkapi Place.
❌ You can only run very early in the morning if you want to run in the historic old district.
❌ Watch out for crazy motorbikers that run on the sidewalk of Kennedy street.
Map
To know more…
| 📖 “Murder on the Orient Express”, Agatha Christie. 📖 “My name is red”, Orhan Pamuk. 📖 “The Janissary Tree”, by Jason Goodwin. 🎬 “Murder on the orient express”, Sydney Lumet, 1974. 🎬 “Midnight at the Pera Palace”, 2022. |
For Istanbul I have chosen three books that are murder mysteries, a genre I truly love. Three books which are quite different in style and concept, but that I have enjoyed thoroughly.
“Murder on the Orient Express”, Agatha Christie.
The first one is the famous and brilliantly conceived “Murder on the Orient Express”. It’s also one of my favorite books by Agatha Christie.
Hercules Poirot embarks on the mythical Orient Express train, and, during the voyage, a wealthy but surly man is murdered. Soon it is revealed that he hid a gruesome past, and that many travelers knew about it 🙂.
The book exudes the glamour and mystery of those times in a way only Agatha Christie was capable of.
I have selected two movie adaptations of the book:
Although Kenneth Bragah did a good job with his 2017’s one, with a bunch of stars like William Dafoe or Michelle Pfeiffer, my favorite is still the 1974’s one.
A fascinating piece of art with the most amazing cast, including the magnificent Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Harriet Hubbard and Ingrid Berman as Greta Ohlsson.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“My name is red”, Orhan Pamuk.
This murder mystery is also written by a favorite author of mine.
In this case, Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk, who was born in Istanbul himself.
“My name is red” is an interesting, well written and incredibly well documented. It describes the world of Ottoman miniature painters during 16th’s century Istanbul.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The Janissary Tree”, by Jason Goodwin.
The third book is by author Jason Goodwin, and it is the first book in the “Investigator Yashim” series. It is set in 19th century Istanbul, when the Ottoman empire was fading. Yashim is a very interesting character, an eunuch who investigates a series of murders.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Midnight at the Pera Palace”, 2022.
A guilty-pleasure, I have watched the Netflix miniseries a couple of times. I love that it is set in the Pera Palace, the hotel where Agatha Christie stayed and where she supposedly wrote “Murder on the Orient Express”.
It’s a fantastic time-travelling tale which has Ataturk as a character, and I love the relationship between the beautiful Esra and Ahmed, and the love story of Esra and Halit.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
