We are getting old
Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
June 01, 2013
We had a great breakfast at the hotel. There was lots of varieties of meats and cheeses, my favourite part was the honey comb. So delicious!
We were taking the tram and it went out of service two stops before our destination, so we went exploring. We followed the hustle and bustle toward the water. Local people were out everywhere and going about their daily business - having tea, coffee, breakfast, shopping, working... We started heading toward the Blue Mosque through winding, cobblestone streets and came upon a mosque, Kucuk Ayasofya Mosque (Little Hagia Sophia). The mosque was very simple, white walls with blue and gold ornamentation. It was originally build for Emperor Justinian I in 527 and was converted to a mosque in 1505 and was rebuilt in 1871 Blue Mosque.
After our brief tour, we miraculously found our way to the back of The Blue Mosque. We had to wait in a long line outside, but it moved very quickly. I learned from the tour guide with the family behind us that there is no significance to the number of minarets and that chanters used to be positioned in them to call people to prayer instead of the modern day loudspeakers. You would expect that the outside of the mosque would be blue because of the name, but it was in fact gray. It is known as the Blue Mosque because of the 21,043 priceless Iznik (Nicaea), mostly blue, tiles in the interior of the mosque. I also learned that the Mosque was completed in 1616 and was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet.
We entered along the right side as tourists are not allowed through the front. Once inside we had to remove our shoes and I had to cover my head and shoulders (even though I had a short sleeved top on) Inside Hagia Sophia. We wandered through the very crowded mosque, we were not allowed to access the front 2/3. Inside it is very large and the tiles are beautiful. My only distraction (other than the hordes of other tourists) was that the floor was incredibly sticky. Ewww!
We walked across to Hagia Sophia, again there was a long line, while I was taking photos Bill waited in line. He spoke with a guide and thought it would be a good idea to hire him instead of getting the audio tour. Our guide, Selahattin Kartal, was going to cost 75 lira instead of 30 lira for two audio guides, we thought it was worth the extra expense. He led us to the front of the line to purchase tickets. While paying, Selahattin spoke with Ana and Erwin from Switzerland and asked if we minded if they joined too. This way it would only cost 40 lira per couple. It sounded good to us, so they joined our tour. Hagia Sophia is a large contrast to the blue mosque Snacks with a View. You can definitely tell that it was a Christian Church prior to becoming a mosque. There are many rooms instead of one large open room. It was very fascinating and the tour was an incredible history lesson. The beautiful Hagia Sophia was originally erected in 404. It was rebuilt for the third time in 537 by Emperor Justinian and still stands today. It was converted to a Mosque in 1453 and became a museum in 1934.
When it was converted to a Mosque the Christian Byzantine style artwork was covered with Muslim artwork. Over time the Christian artwork has begun to show through, so it is a blend of Christian and Muslim artwork in the museum. Selahattin did an amazing job of pointing out the similarities and significance of numerology, astrology, ect that exist in many religions such as Hinduism, Islamic, Judaism and Christianity. It was really so overwhelming that I need to go back and listen to the video that I recorded to try and sort it all out Negotiating for Fabric. If you ever plan on going, I highly recommend a tour guide. It was worth the few extra dollars.
After the tour he took us for tea which "happened" to be in a carpet store. It was our first time having apple tea and it was delicious. The owner of the shop showed us camel, angora, cashmere and silk carpets that were all hand stitched and very beautiful. The colour changed depending on where you stood. He said it would take four months for someone to make the angora carpet that he was showing us. He quickly assessed that we were more interested in the tea than the carpets, so he politely excused himself.
We then parted with our guide and tour mates and went to Topkapi Palace. It was after 1:00 and we wanted to power through, but were hungry. We decided to have Magnum ice cream instead of stopping for a meal. Tickets were more expensive here, 25 lira each for the Palace and 15 each for the Harem Spice Market. We opted to pay 25 lira each for the audio guides. If we were to do it again, we would have been just as happy to read the signs or hire a guide.
The Palace was built by Mehmet II in 1459-65. The Palace was his home, the seat of the government and a college for officials. Inside the main gate there was a large outer courytard with paths, trees and flowers. To the right of the courtyard was the kitchens and to the left was the Harem (home to the Sultan's wives, concubines, and children). We were not able to tour the kitchens with the collection of ceramics, crystal and silver nor the imperial wardrobe with 3,000 embroidered robe (I think we were ripped off, these displays would have been interesting), but were able to view the throne room, the treasury with a massive 86 carat diamond and many other items with large rubies, emeralds and pearls, and some of the pavilions.
The Harem contained the Barracks of the Black Eunuchs (Sudanese slaves), courtyard of the concubines, the salon of the Sultan's mother, the Sultan's apartments, Imperial baths, Imperial hall, Favourite's apartments, wive's apartments and the Golden Way Fish Dinner. We did not see the Golden Cage...
At one point we sat down on the grass to listen to the audio guide. My hip was killing me and I thought I was not going to get up again. Bill had similar complaints about his legs. When did we get so old!?
As we were coming out of the Palace and were trying to orient ourselves, we ran into a local and his wife who thought we were American when he heard us speak. He told me that he initially he thought I was German by my appearance, I guess my heritage is showing through. He gave us directions to the grand bazaar, spice bazaars and then walked us to the carpet area. He suggested that we go to the spice market in the morning when it is not as crowded. He also suggested the Seven Hills Rooftop Restaurent. The restaurant turned out to be a really good suggestion. The view is incredible, there was a great breeze and we needed to refuel and rest Theresa on the way back to the Hotel. Efes beer and hummus hit the spot!
We toured the Grand Bizarre and did a small amount of haggling. We ended up sampling and buying some Turkish Delights. The salesman was not happy that I did not take the tea too, but in our estimation, he did not give us "best price".
We walked toward the river through markets. These ones had more of a local flare. We ended up at the Spice Bizarre. We purchased our tea and evil eye bracelets and key rings there at a much better price than the Grand Bizarre.
We walked across the bridge to a local restaurant that was recommended by a couple of people, Akin Balik, and found it with a small bit of detouring. We had a few small dishes of eggplant, yogurt with peppers, some greens (sounded like he was saying sea bream) and sardines that were amazing. We had an order of really good calamari and two fish dishes (several small fish and two larger ones). It was all very good. We sampled the local alcohol Yani Ravi. Essentially, it is moonshine similar to ouzo that you mix in a small glass with water (it turns from clear to cloudy white when you add water).
We got hit with what we call the Tourist price - A word of advice if you want to go there and sample the local fare. Either be prepared to haggle or ask for prices up front. We did not have menus and the cost was more than what we paid the previous night at a restaurant in the tourist area.
We walked back across the bridge and took the tram back to the hotel around 9:00. We were both asleep by 9:30.
