Family trip to Istanbul

Visited: July 2022

Duration of visit: 5 days

Capital city: Ankara

Population: 85 million (2022)

Istanbul travel blog reading time: 3 minutes

• Driving through Istanbul’s chaotic roads.
• Dancers in a trance during the Whirling Dervish ceremony.
• Crossing to the Asian side through the undersea tunnel and returning over a bridge across the Bosporus.
• Watching the Sunset from the Great Çamlıca Mosque.

I’ve had the chance to visit Turkey several times: as a backpacker, for business, and in 2022 I even drove my own car around Istanbul during a family trip through the Balkans.

In this article I describe my family trip to Turkey in 2022:

• Rediscovering Istanbul in 2022
• Whirling dervishes ceremony
• Exploring the Asian side of Istanbul

More articles about Turkey are available here:                 

In 2022, I visited Istanbul again with my family during a road trip around Eastern Europe in my car.

Not much has changed in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul since my last trip. I noticed more tourist services and people offering tours. The ice-cream tricks were the same, I still saw cooked corn on every corner and the famous fish sandwich in Eminönü.

This time something was new for me. I crossed to the Asian side of Istanbul through the undersea Avrasya Tunnel and then returned to the European side by driving over a bridge across the Bosporus.

One of the top things to do in Istanbul that I missed on my earlier visits is the whirling dervish ceremony.

Sufi whirling is physically active meditation through which dervishes aim to reach the source of all perfection or dharma.

Dharma is achieved by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one’s body in repetitive circles.

This symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the sun can last for a few minutes or even an hour when men dressed in white skirts, accompanied by simple, repetitive music seem to enter in a trans.

The group I observed consisted only of men, dressed in a sleeveless white frock, a long-sleeved jacket, a belt, and a black overcoat. They removed the overcoats before the whirling began.

Dervish orders used to be much larger in size than they are today and, therefore, most of the performances are actually tourist orientated shows. Nevertheless, some of them can still be authentic and follow the original purpose.

The Asian side of Istanbul has been developing fast and without much restrictions. Contemporary shopping malls, modern residential areas, wide streets and modern lifestyle offer much better conditions for permanent residence. The traffic flow is smoother, and the infrastructure is more accommodating for drivers, while offering less commodity for public transportation options.

If Galata tower is the best observation point on the European side, the Great Camlica Mosque on the Asian side certainly provides a perspective that reflects the current identity of Istanbul.

The largest mosque in Turkey with capacity of 63.000 worshipers was inaugurated in 2019 by president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Designed by two female architects, Bahar Mızrak and Hayriye Gül Totu, the complex incorporates an art gallery, library, and conference hall.

The mosque’s size makes it challenging to capture an adequate photo. Its six distinctive minarets rise prominently from the hilltop, making them visible from a great distance.

The sunset was perfect and I enjoyed the view over the Bosphor to the European side with only a few dozens of people around. Although the mosque itself offers panoramic views of Istanbul, it is not easily accessible, since the surrounding area remains under construction.