Why is Istanbul the city of a thousand colours, smells and tastes?

Because this is a place where different worlds collide.

Istanbul is the only city in the world which lies on two continents. It is a city which lies in Europe and in Asia as well. From a city, which looks like European city, you can suddenly find yourself, after a few steps, in the enchanting corners of the Orient. It is a city where different worlds collide.

It is one of the important maritime strategic corridors in the world, one of the most important transport and commercial crossroads. This city is a fusion of millennia of Christian history and centuries of Muslim history. A city with a legacy of Eastern culture, a cultural centre of beautiful monuments and charming corners, a gateway to the Orient, also a modern, vibrant metropolis. Istanbul seems to be the gateway to travel through time and space.

The historical legacy, as well as today’s modern concept, can be perceived in almost every corner. To order any traditional dish of any European cuisine and to find out, at the first bite, that the local chefs know how to prepare the same delicious spaghetti carbonara as the Italian chefs. At the same time, feel the variety of colorful local dishes. To perceive the smells that permeate our whole body, to perceive tastes so diverse, so unidentifiable. Flavours whose origins we cannot guess. At some point, to forget the outside world and just enjoy this unrepeatable and often full of contradictions experience. The cuisine of thousand smells and tastes refers to the diversity of this city. Having dinner in a traditional restaurant is indeed an experience. To discover new tastes and to experience an incredibly friendly approach to guests like never before.

To be enchanted by colours, smells, tastes, by the unknown. To be stunned by chaos. At least, by the apparent absence of rules, the absence of rules on the road, of the marine transport. Hundreds of vehicles are all driving in their own direction. To be passing through the city by taxi and to be thinking about how it is even possible to get to our destination without an accident. To be thinking about how so many vehicles can speed through the city and not collide. How so many cars can be circulating in one place and not paying attention to the rules. How everyone can move in a way as if there are no rules, but with mutual respect. And, at this moment, when we have an idea that there are no rules, we can hear the call to prayer. Those calls to the prayer that we can hear on a regular basis, several times per day. To have the feeling that this vibrant metropolis has no rules, and, at the same time, to notice the regularity set by the religion. An infinite number of monuments from different periods and cultures reflects history in every corner. Being located near the mosques when they call to prayer. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia call to prayer. They call to prayer with such urgency that the whole space between them is permeated by this sound. They are in perfect harmony, the first one calls to prayer, then the other one, and this is repeated several times. This sound may seem to be so exotic, so unfamiliar to us, but still we understand, we are aware of what is going on. And when we do enter the mosque, the interior enchants us. We are amazed by the size of the mosque, we are mesmerized by the hundreds of chandeliers that seem to float above our heads, creating a luminous sky.

To go out on the streets. To be part of the noisy crowd. To be part of a pulsating metropolis, a city of two continents, a city that perhaps never sleeps. At midnight, we can buy fruit, vegetables, clothes, shoes. In Istanbul, it is so easy to get the impression that we can do anything, at any time of the day. The Grand Bazaar, a labyrinth of sixty alleys with over three thousand shops, where we can spend several hours. Walk through the local markets and see thousands of spices. Thousands of colours and smells. So intense that we can remember them vividly even a few days after this experience. To fix the eyes on the mosaic lanterns and never look away. To be caught by the sparkle of jewels and elegant robes studded with thousands of beads. To walk through the local markets and be part of the noisy crowd. And then to watch the sunset later in the evening. To get on the roof of a high-rise building and be impressed by the sunset, by the setting sun that colours the whole Istanbul in a rosy-golden tint. For a few moments, the city becomes a jewel. Such a rosy-golden jewel, of which there are thousands in the Grand Bazaar. Breathe in, hold the breath and in breathless wonder to wish to hold the beauty, to stop the time. With breathing out, the sun goes down. The city welcomes thousands of lights, in the sky, in the streets. Istanbul is lighting up. To take the elevator back to the ground floor, step out onto the main avenue which starts on Taksim square. To be taken back to a vibrant metropolis.

Every day, to feel the contrasts. The fusion of many cuisines, both familiar and unfamiliar to us. The chaos which dominates the streets, but the regularity of religious ceremonies as well. The hustle and bustle of the local markets, the calm, as if time has stopped, which we can notice on the roof of one of the many high‑rise buildings. A beating modern metropolis, but also a city full of religious traditions. Istanbul, a city which connects two continents, divided by the Bosphorus Strait. The continents are both connected and divided by the Strait. The Strait by which all is united and divided at the same time. Every year, population of the city increases by 300,000 immigrants of different regions and ethnicities. Their mutual respect and admirable tolerance, this is what has not been changed. It is as if Istanbul doesn’t connect only the sea and the two continents, but also the people. All this will literally take our breath away. And that’s what Istanbul is like.

We can spend there several days and it can be so intense. We can live it so fast that all that’s left is an impression. An indeterminable impression. We discover so many new colours, smells, tastes. Harmony and hurricane of contradictions at the same time. We can have dinner late in the evening, and when looking out the window, we can see people they are shopping clothes and food at midnight. Children are playing with a stray cat at night in the street. We will probably wake up early in the morning, with the first call to prayer. Maybe, everything will pass so quickly that there won’t be time to gather the thoughts. We may not understand some things even after we come back home. What’s left is an experience, an experience so intense that it cannot be forgotten.

And why should we try to understand Istanbul? It seems that we need to understand everything and if we are exposed to something extraordinary that is not so easy to reflect, we are lost. Many of us desire to live something so special, so different and so memorable, but when it comes, we can be confused. We can be terrified by the fact that this kind of experience doesn’t fit into our scheme of thoughts. But why we should try to understand everything? So as with Istanbul, we won’t fully understand more things. Why not simply enjoy them? Just like everything in life.

May every journey, even the journey of a lifetime, be incomprehensible, but unforgettable.

V.