An Extended Easter Weekend in Turkey: Between Continents, Cultures, and Contrasts
- Nour El Houda Bouzaffara
- May 10
- 5 min read
I went back to Turkey for the first time since I was 11 years old. This time, I was accompanying my husband on a business trip over Easter. My sister, her husband, and their baby were also in Istanbul at the same time. It turned into the perfect combination: part family reunion, part cultural discovery, part slow holiday.
First Impressions: Istanbul is Massive
We landed at Istanbul Airport, or simply IST, and immediately understood why it’s considered one of the largest airports in the world. It took us more than an hour just to exit the airport.
While waiting for our transfer outside, one thing immediately caught our attention: almost everyone was smoking. Men, women, young people, older people: cigarettes seemed omnipresent. Little did we know that this would become one of the recurring observations throughout our trip: smoking culture in Turkey is still incredibly widespread, just like in Tunisia.
Then came the drive into the city. Another hour and a half through endless traffic before reaching the Besiktas/Nisantasi area where our hotel was located. Istanbul instantly felt enormous : a city overflowing with movement, noise, people, and energy. It didn’t help that Turkey happened to be playing Romania that same evening for World Cup qualification, and the stadium was located right next to our hotel. Streets were buzzing with excitement, flags everywhere, horns blaring. Can you imagine that our 560-room hotel was fully booked that night due to the football game?
Our room was on the 17th floor, overlooking the Bosphorus, and the view was breathtaking.
Watching the majestic strait separating Europe from Asia from our window felt surreal, especially at night when the city lights reflected on the water.
We had dinner at the hotel and collapsed into bed, exhausted from the journey.
Falling in Love with the Bosphorus
The next morning, we walked down toward the shore where my sister’s hotel was located. I was especially excited to see my adorable seven-month-old nephew again.
We spent the morning strolling along the Bosphorus promenade until we spontaneously came across a small stand offering boat tours of the strait. Within minutes, we were onboard.
Sitting on the deck with the spring sun warming our faces, we admired the elegant waterfront mansions lining both shores, the ferries crossing between continents, and the silhouette of the historic Fatih peninsula where Istanbul was born centuries ago.
There is something deeply cinematic about the Bosphorus. The city feels suspended between worlds: European and Asian, modern and ancient, secular and conservative.
Kadiköy: The Istanbul I Wasn’t Expecting
The following day, my sister, my nephew, and I took the ferry from Besiktas to Kadikoy, a neighborhood on the Asian side that several Turkish acquaintances had insisted I visit.
Nothing could have prepared me for how much it would surprise us.
The moment we arrived, our jaws dropped. Kadikoy felt like an entirely different universe from the rest of the city we had seen so far. It was vibrant, alternative, youthful, artistic: full of cafés, bookstores, vintage shops, tattoo studios, musicians, students, and creatives.
Honestly, it was one of the most unexpectedly refreshing neighborhoods I’ve visited in years. In a country often perceived from the outside through a conservative lens, Kadikoy felt like a sanctuary of individuality and freedom.
We sat in a tiny café surrounded by cats, another unmistakable feature of Istanbul, sipping coffee while gossiping for hours as locals drifted in and out around us.
That evening, we had dinner at #Gunaydin, a Turkish restaurant chain that I would genuinely recommend to anyone visiting the city. Delicious, affordable, and consistently good.
That’s also where I discovered my obsession of the trip: ezme.
I ordered it once… and then every single day until I left Turkey.
Ezme is a spicy tomato and pepper salad that reminded me so much of a Tunisian dish we call tastira, except without eggs.
One thing I realized throughout the trip is that Turkish cuisine has so much more depth than the clichés of kebab and döner that dominate its image abroad.
A small warning, though: while most people we met were lovely, we did encounter several situations where people tried to overcharge or take advantage of tourists, especially around tips and taxis. At one restaurant, a waiter subtly tried to increase the tip amount while processing the payment. Nothing dramatic, but enough to stay alert.
The Historic Heart of Istanbul
On our third day, we headed into the historic center to revisit the Grand Bazaar, a labyrinth of endless narrow streets, tiny shops, spices, lamps, carpets, jewelry, and hidden corners that seem frozen in time.
Later, we met up with an acquaintance from China who has been living in Turkey for more than ten years and speaks fluent Turkish. We had lunch together at Galataport before walking back toward the Bosphorus.
One of the most unexpected moments of the trip happened later that afternoon: we attended a traditional Chinese tea ceremony led by a kung fu tea master at my sister’s hotel. Sitting there, overlooking Istanbul while participating in a centuries-old Chinese ritual, felt strangely symbolic of the city itself: a crossroads where cultures continuously overlap.
The Most Beautiful Library in Turkey
The next morning, before flying south, we woke up early to enjoy Istanbul one last time.
A colleague had recommended a library café so we decided to stop there before heading to the airport. And honestly, it exceeded all expectations.
We ordered coffee and lunch and spent our last hours in the city eating surrounded by towering bookshelves and quiet conversations. It was the kind of place that makes you want to slow down and stay forever.
Antalya and the Luxury of Doing Nothing
The second part of the trip took us south to Antalya, more specifically to Belek.
And there, I did something I hadn’t done ever: We stayed at an all-inclusive resort doing absolutely nothing, and apart from accompanying my husband to a few business dinners, I barely left the hotel.
Normally, I feel guilty traveling without constantly exploring, but this time I realized how badly I needed rest. I spent my days doing yoga, listening to podcasts, eating alarming quantities of Turkish food, reading, and simply existing at a slower pace.
Belek was perfect for that: calm, green, warm, and deeply relaxing.
There Is No “Typical” Turkish Person
One thing that fascinated me throughout the trip was the incredible diversity of Turkish people themselves.
There is no single “Turkish look.” Some people looked Arab, others Russian, Italian, or even Spanish. The same diversity appeared in personalities, lifestyles, and attitudes.
Turkey constantly challenged every simplistic idea I had unconsciously carried about it.
And maybe that’s what stayed with me most after this trip: Turkey is not one thing. It’s many worlds existing simultaneously, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes in contradiction, all layered on top of each other between Europe and Asia.
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