The Turks were not happy when we arrived in Istanbul. By that, I mean the Turkish nation collectively, as represented by its leading voices in the news media.  Everyone was fuming about the European summit taking place in Lisbon, at which the French (allegedly) had managed to move Turkey's application for membership of the EU back a stage or three. They would prefer the Turks to have 'friendship' status or some such nonsense. If you want my opinion, it would be a totally retrograde step to block Turkey. Europe's population is ageing and falling. Turkey, by contrast, has a young, well-educated workforce which would give the existing EU a much-needed shot in the arm. Turkey is also one of the fastest developing economies in the world - currently powering ahead at ten per cent a year - and would be a welcome addition to the single market, in much the way the Poles or Czechs have been. And it would also show that the European project is not about religion or race, and do more to improve our relations with the Islamic world than anything I can think of. Seems like a no-brainer?


Ok, enough politics. We spent a week enjoying Istanbul's thriving economy, staying at one its most celebrated new designer hotels, Sumahan. Voted one of the world's best new hotels by one magazine recently, you will find Sumahan in a quiet nook on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, looking across at the sparkling lights on the European side. There is a small terrace here which would be an excellent place to sit for hours at the end of a warm spring or summer day. It wasn't so attractive an option for us in the middle of December, but there was a lot more to keep us occupied.

Sumahan was created from the shell of a 19th century Ottoman distillery. It has been renovated with a great deal of care, and sits in perfect harmony with the quiet little village next door. The loft suites are on two levels, with a spacious lounge and bathroom on the ground, and the bedroom and main bathroom upstairs. There is a fire in the lounge for colder winter nights, and a set of French doors for opening in summer. Turkish breakfast is served in a bright little cafe which leads onto the terrace. Special mention must go to the outstanding spa (for a hotel of this size). I guess you would expect the Turks to serve up a decent Hammam, but they had clearly put more investment into this than they needed to.

For those who know Istanbul, you are probably thinking that being based on the other side of the water would present horrific transport problems, given that most of the attractions are on the European side, and Istanbul rivals Bangkok for the title of 'world's worst traffic'. However, the owners of Sumahan were smart enough to build their hotel just five minutes' walk from a ferry stop. Once on board, it was an easy (fun) ride to the main attractions within half an hour to 45 minutes.

As first-time visitors to Istanbul, we did our tour of the main attractions: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (the Byzantine Church of 'Holy Wisdom'), and the Topkapi Palace. All of this is marvellous and well worth visiting out of season when the crowds have vanished. I'll let the pictures of these historical sites speak for themsselves and concentrate on some of the newer aspects of Istanbul, especially those connected to wining, dining and shopping.

As you might expect from a thriving mega-city, Istanbul is opening some fairly splendid new restaurants in a variety of styles.

First on the list for us was Cezayir, which has to be one of the most chilled-out restaurants I have been to recently. Found in a backstreet of the bustling Beyoglu district, Cezayir is housed in a sprawling early 20th century schoolhouse.  Apart from the restaurant, it has a cafe, lounge and garden. The renovation of 2005 was extremely creative, with an eclectic mix of the old and the new, the camp and the trendy, the hippy and the yuppie. I loved it! The cuisine is predominantly modern Turkish, with European touches here and there. KB had a fine time with his grilled, fine-sliced fillet mignon, milked eggplant mash and crispy pita bread. An indication is how good this place is that, even though we sat alone in the restaurant for about an hour after arriving at 7 pm, it did not lack atmosphere at all. What it's like when packed, I can only imagine. It will appeal to Istanbul's urban boho set: fashion designers, media creatives, tech entrepreneurs, and the like.

Next up was Changa, in the central Taksim district. The culinary creative genius behind Changa is none other than Peter Gordon, the Kiwi chef who made himself a favourite in London with the Sugar Club, and then the Providores. Changa is in much the same vein as the latter: ultra modern, ultra chic, with a menu full of surprises. Once again, Changa arose from the renovation of a 100-year-old building, in this case a four-storey Art Nouveau townhouse. It's an outstanding job, as the designers have managed to create an urban, industrial-factory feel in a surprisingly intimate setting. The food is (you guessed it) fusion, but this time with a capital F, as Gordon has mashed up the best of Turkish-Euro-Asian-Kiwi cuisine to serve his diners something truly unique and memorable. Just saying 'Duck confit with raisins, pomegranite, pistachio pilaf and damson sauce' makes your head spin. The reality was even better. Where would we be without that little Kiwi genuis??

Last stop was the ultra-trendy Ulus 29, where Istanbul's beautiful people go for a night out, dining and clubbing, at a spectacular spot looking out high over the Bosphorus to Asia. Ulus was the only place not to reply to my email request for a booking. Frankly, they don't need to. Thanks to our Sumahan concierge, we managed to sneak in. It's the atmosphere which makes Ulus worth a visit. It's a stylish place, if a little on the 'Footballers' Wives' side. The food is much more traditional Turkish than the other places we visited, but none the worse for that. We gorged on  small Turkish delicacies and lamb kebab in a rich yoghurt, all washed down with a very good bottle of Pomerol. If you do want to go to Ulus, remember that there is also a Club Ulus on the other side of the river. The restaurant is very hard to find anyway, so make sure you get yourself a very good taxi driver.

Taxis, and the endless traffic they sit in, are, of course, the major downside to visiting Istanbul. It takes forever to get just a few miles. And we did suffer from being at Sumahan when going out to eat in the evening. There were no ferries, and we were forced to endure horrific cab rides, including one who promised he would take us back from Taksim, and ended dumping us in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, a friendlier face stopped by within a minute or so.

To offset all of this wining and dining, we also had a fine evening of music, dance and spirituality at Istanbul's new concert hall. It was a performance by the Sufi dancers, commonly known here as the 'whirling dervishes' - an insulting term which does nothing to convey the beauty of this very old art form. As they spin round, slowly picking up speed, with the elders chanting in the background, the dancers are trying to connect with God Himself. They say that the dancers really do achieve this sense of touching the Divine. My experience of watching it will stay with me for a very long time.

Goodbye Istanbul. I hope it's not too long before we are welcoming you as fellow European citizens! You have one of the world's great cities, in the middle of a fascinating renaissance which would be worth twenty visits.

We flew Lufthansa business class from Munich to Istanbul. Once again, this was a very basic service, and not worth paying extra for the upgrade. The least that can be said is that it was clean and reasonably efficient. On our return flight from Istanbul to London, the transfer at Munich was comical or infuriating, depending on your point of view, as we were offloaded to go through no less than three full security checks in the airport, before being bused back to exactly the same plane! What fools we have ruling over us, what fools.


Accomodation
****
Service
****                                                                  
Dining
***                                               
Location
****