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By Root 1086 0

“sofa” is appropriate for a hotel (it refers to the central room in traditionally built Ottoman houses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), the Sofa has virtually nothing in common with a sofa: it’s one of the sleekest, hippest hotels in all of Istanbul. I didn’t find the lobby very welcoming, but the front desk staff was exceptionally helpful (I was looking for a Nişantaşı address, and one young man gave me a map and nearly escorted me to my destination). Guest rooms (there are eighty-two) are as stark as the lobby but definitely warmer and highly designed. Café Sofa seems comfy, with its books and couches; the restaurant, Tuus, has round, podlike booths and serves contemporary Mediterranean dishes (there’s also an outside terrace). The hotel has proven popular with business travelers as the ICEC convention center is nearby, and the Sofa has five highly equipped meeting rooms of its own.

When asked to share her most memorable moments in Istanbul, my mother-in-law, Sheila, immediately came up with four, all at the Çırağan Palace: “the infinity pool, which melts into the Bosphorus; the magnificent iced tea that was served that day—never in my long life has it been equaled, not even close; the wedding guests arriving by boat at the hotel dock dressed better than at any glitzy New York society wedding; and dinner with a view of the Bosphorus and being shown a gorgeous, whole turbot before it was served in a mouthwatering dish.”

A la Turca

Turkish style is what the singular shop A la Turca has in spades. Owner Erkal Aksoy, who has been described as the self-appointed mayor of the newly hip Çukurcama neighborhood, moved his lovely shop here from Ortaköy and in so doing he single-handedly transformed what was a rather seedy neighborhood (a number of his friends followed). There are now approximately sixty antiques stores here, as well as other neat shops, though none are as atmospheric or beautiful as A la Turca. Even if you have not come to Istanbul looking for antiques or interesting objets, browsing the four floors here is like walking around someone’s private home, except that nearly everything is for sale. Aksoy warmly welcomes every visitor, and you feel like a special guest while in his company. In addition to carpets and kilims, Aksoy displays what I can refer to only as treasures, unusual things that are difficult to describe except to say that you may want all of them. You may also want to move in so you may learn the stories about all these decorative treasures and be surrounded by such Turkishness. A la Turca is open by appointment only; one day in advance is usually sufficient (Faikpaşa Yokuşu 4, Çukurcuma / +90 212 245 2933 / alaturcahouse.com). Aksoy happily arranges mail orders and ships worldwide.

Alexander the Great

Beginning in Anatolia a mere nine years after being named King of Macedon, Alexander (known as Iskender in Turkish) conquered the Persian empire and beyond—all the way to India. He never set foot in Byzantium, and his empire didn’t last beyond his death in 323 BC, but remnants of his time in Anatolia (and on three continents) are numerous. These can be found most notably at three different sites in Turkey, At the Archaeology Museum in Istanbul: a statue and bust excavated from the site of Pergamum and, in Room 3, the marble Alexander Sarcophagus, which is one of the most accomplished of all classical artworks, so named because it depicts Alexander on horseback battling the Persians, even though it was actually sculpted for King Abdalonymos of Sidon. At Ephesus: the Ephesians were already building a temple when Alexander arrived in 334 BC; he offered to pay for the cost of it in exchange for the temple being named after him, but the Ephesians declined by saying it was not fitting for one god to dedicate a temple to another god. And at the temple of Priene, which Alexander did pay for, in Ionian Turkey.

Michael Wood says of Alexander’s journey that it “was by common consent one of the greatest events in the history of the world, opening up West and East for the first time; an extraordinary