To describe Istanbul hotels, one will need not a single article, but a separate book, perhaps. There are as many hotels, in Istanbul, as historical places, ancient ruins, old churches and mosques. Each Turk having reached age of 50 will surely try to found his own business or a hotel. Often, these two coincide. The owner will then deal with everything barely related to it. It sometimes happens to be so that a man selling cigarettes or a shoe-black standing by the doors of a luxurious hotel is… its owner!
Surprised, eh? Impressed? Well, on one hand, it can. Such people can be shown to kids as the paragons of industriousness. But on the other hand, does not he simply lose his money by doing so? Time of a millionaire costs much more than the money gained from selling cigarettes. Well, that is where Turks’ charm comes from – process for them is more important than the result. Such sort of charm, indispensable for this country, will reveal itself for you bit by bit.
Owner of the hotel where I stayed (hotel “Orsep” in the historical area of Istanbul, near Hagia Sophia) neither sold cigarettes, nor served the guests. Most probably, his staff did well without his help. By the way, it is also typical for Istanbul: service in every hotel is nearly on the same level. Interior can be different: depending on star-wise level, and on room price there might be air-conditioning, and satellite TV, or all this stuff can be absent. But whatever the hotel, your room will be cleaned everyday, and waiters will take away the used dishes or bring you bread immediately. Therefore, to choose a hotel in Istanbul is simply a problem of aesthetics. Just view from your window and interior details will be the main criteria for your decision.
Prices, like hotels themselves, differ here very much. My double room in Orsep Royal Hotel, half-board, costed 20 USD per day. A real luxurious double in a little family hotel (four rooms per floor), with the Bosphorous view, will cost 60 USD. There will be bathroom, shower, air-conditioning, satellite TV, slippers, bathrobes, balcony, mini-bar, brand new furniture (half-board again). Oh, yes, no matter how low the price is, breakfast will ALWAYS be included in price.
If you have really little money, stay in a hostel. Lots of them in Istanbul. You will live with two or three neighbours in your room, and there will be common shower and WC on each floor, but anyway, it will be very clean. “What will be the advantages?” you can ask. Here, new acquaintances – it is a safe bet to claim that your neighbours will be a tourist from New Zealand, a student from Austria, and a hippie from Amsterdam. At least, something similar. So, you will study new languages automatically. And finally, you will be highly mobile.
Not only students stay in hostels. In Troy (other than the legendary one, I will explain it later) I met Peter – a British man from London. This 64-year-old lad was jumping from stone to stone and investigated the ruins using his traveling guide. He was not retired, and had enough money to stay in a most expensive hotel. Yet, he always preferred hostels.
“If you intend to travel”, he said, “And if you want to discover new things, do not get distracted by anything. Hostel is an ideal place to stay the night and leave. You do not get accustomed to it as to a hotel”.
I can forestall that many of the hotels I stayed in are worth being accustomed to. These are so cosy! Do not forget to give a tip, if you like a place. Tips are a usual thing, here. Normally, these comprise 10-15 per cent of the whole sum, or 1,5-2 Liras (a little more than 1 USD)which you live in your room for the room service. Besides, you should leave a tip to rest of the hotel staff. Special glass cubes are on reception desks for the thing. No matter how much you leave for them – nobody will watch you. Turks say on this occasion,
“Rich give a part of what’s in their wallets, poor give a part of what’s in their hearts”.
In both cases, the personnel will be thankful to you.
One more thing. If you hide your money in the room, be careful where you put it. In Turkey, tips for the room service are put under a pillow. One tourist did not know this, and hid his 100 USD under his pillow. When he returned in evening, he was shocked. The whole his room was adorned with flowers! Room personnel, having found the money, decided to thank the generous guest for such a big tip. The confusion was eventually solved, and the money was returned to its owner. Therefore, do not hide anything under your pillows, when in Turkey.
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Other special things about Istanbul are chest-nut sellers and black-shoes. Fried chest-nuts, costing 3 Liras for 100 grams, are rather specific food. They taste like baked potatoes, hairy under the peel… Black-shoes have special banks by which they wait for their customers. Not only tourists, like one might think, but locals as well love to exploit their service. In addition to licensed black-shoes, there are their “nomadic” colleagues. One of the latter spent a lot of time on Golden Horn embankment trying to persuade me that my shoes should be cleaned although they had been cleaned an hour before. Like all the Turks dealing with service market, Osman was a great psychologist. He rejected to take those 2 Liras I wanted to give him gratuitously. “Bahshish no!” he told me (meaning something like “Turks have their pride!” He just wanted to have a chance to work. Osman explained that he could only take this money if he did his job.
“Two babies”, he told me mournfully. Well, after that I simply could not do anything but put my foot onto his bank, he cleaned them of dust with a special cloth, applied the cream, and the special mixture that makes your shoes shine. While working, he told me that he himself lived in Ankara, coming to Istanbul to earn some money. Then he told me that he once had worked in Russia as a worker in some construction, and so forth. I lost my vigilance, and he asked… 10 Liras from me! Then, he accepted to decrease the sum to 5 Liras, and I gave him 3. Well, such is Turkey...
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