Istanbul, not Constantinople

Turkish Delight on a moonlit night! Hooray we made it out of Russia ok! We heard lots of stories about Russian customs when leaving the country (don't be ONE minute late on your visa, make sure you're registered, etc etc), but made it out with no problems. The lady behind the immigration desk was covered from her eyes down, so you could only see her hair, eyes, and maybe her nose. In addition, the St. Petersburg airport only opened the check-in counter about 1 hr prior to our flight, and the gate only opened 30 min to our flight. Not a whole lot of time to eat or shop.

Either way, we made it to Istanbul and spent a total of 4 ½ days in the city. After 'Soviet' Russia (many of the stereotypes are true, although people – at least in the East – were nicer than we expected), it was refreshing to be in a country where most people speak a little English and the tourism industry is a little more developed.

Day ½

We arrived at Ataturk airport in the evening, and luckily got our bags quite quickly. We were picked up at the airport by our hotel (see Metin Han Hotel), and were taken straight there. Zeki was very nice and brought us and another Italian couple to his “friend's” (another case of someone knowing everyone ...like Erka our Mongolian driver) restaurant down the street. We had some dinner and retired for the evening.

Day 1

Today was our main touristy sightseeing day. We covered all the big sites that everyone recognizes in pictures from Istanbul. First was the Hippodrome, a park that used to be a sporting arena. Now there are two obelisks and various statues that have been collected since the 4^th century.

The Blue Mosque, also called the Sultanhamet Mosque, is still working and is closed during prayer times. It was very, very busy the day we went, perhaps because a large cruise ship was anchored in Istanbul. We waited about 15 min to enter the Mosque, where we had to take off our shoes and put them in bags. Strangely, though, I didn't have to cover my hair; in almost every Russian church we entered, I had to wear a scarf.

Blue Mosque, a minaret, and a long line to get in!

The Blue Mosque is huge, with 6 minarets and a giant dome that dominates the Istanbul skyline. Inside, the mosque is beautifully decorated with calligraphic images and hanging sconces. The prayer section is cordoned off to visitors, although on more than one occasion we noticed a few Muslims praying once or twice, followed by posing and taking photos of the front and ceiling. After admiring the lovely inside, Rich and I exited to a park, where the Hagia Sophia was waiting on the other side.

Blue Mosque

Inside Blue Mosque

The Hagia Sophia is a church that was built for Emperor Justinian I, but when the Ottomans took over Turkey they converted it to a Mosque (although was never used as such). During that time, the Byzantine Christian icons were plastered over and replaced with Islamic symbols. In the early 1900s, though, the plaster was removed to reveal beautifully preserved icons. Now, the church/mosque hybrid is a museum, so you must pay to enter. Inside, you can see Mary and child next to Arabic script. It is truly amazing to behold. You can climb a very steep ramp to the second level, where you can take a better look at the icons and Islamic symbols side by side.

Hagia Sophia

Inside Hagia Sophia - Islamic and Christian symbols next to each other

Up a ramp to the second floor

Inside Hagia Sophia

The Mausoleums where Sultans are buried

After you exit the Hagia Sophia, a little ways up a road is the entrance to the Topkapi Palace (wonderful how they all connect with each other). Through the walls are the gardens and a nice lookout at the Bosphorus (the river that separates Istanbul into the European and Asian sides). Again, the palace is a museum, so you must pay to enter. Inside is a fantastic example of Ottoman architecture, and was used by Sultans for 4 centuries! We went through every room, marveling at the exquisite paintings on the walls, the treasury holding a 36 karat diamond (we think, but maybe we forgot...either way it was the size of my nose! Haha), various swords and weaponry, thrones, and marvelous gifts from other nations, the clothing from past Sultans, and even a section that housed Prophet relics (they had Moses's staff, Abraham's hat, all perfectly preserved somehow...hmmm).

Bosphorus and outside wall of the Topkapi Palace

Entrance to Topkapi Palace and some paintings on the wall

Fountain and Library

Gardens of the Topkapi Palace

Terrace

Mother-of-Pearl and Tortoise Shell inlay on a door

Topkapi Palace Sporting Grounds and lookout

Detail of the interior

We paid extra to see the Harem section. Yes, this is where the Sultan went and engaged in some hanky panky with his ladies! It was a quite and dark section, no doubt meant to preserve the art on the walls and ceilings. First were the eunuch’s rooms, who were the 'guardians' of the ladies. Then there were various bathing rooms, living quarters, and sitting rooms. At the end were the Queen's rooms and a courtyard overlooking the Bosphorus. Not a bad place to be a lady!

Entryway to the Harem

A room in the Harem and a close-up of the wall. This is what all the walls looked like

The courtyard outside the Queen's rooms

The Harem's residence

Example of the painted walls

The Queen's residence

After we finished with the palace, we wandered the small streets of Istanbul, avoiding the multitude of restauranteurs beckoning us into their place. “Please come, we have good menu!” “We have heat!” “Take a look my friend!” “Hello, what's your name? Please talk to me!” “Do you want kebap? Baklava? Come here please!” It's fun at first, but after 4 days it got very annoying.

The tramway that ran down the center of Sultanhamet

Day 2

The second day we spent exploring the northern part of Istanbul, called Galata. We crossed the Galata Bridge which connects the two parts across the Golden Horn (the river that separates Galata from the historical Sultanhamet). On the bridge were hundreds of fishermen easily catching small fish that looked like anchovies. They would drop their line in the water, shake the rod for a few minutes, and pull the line out with up to 10 small fish attached to it. We later found out that this is the time when the fish migrate up the Bosphorus, so perfect fishing time! It was fun to watch them as they would catch the fish nonstop all day.

Crossing Galata Bridge. Lots of fishermen and restaurants

Enjoying Turkish coffee on the Bosphorus

We walked along the riverfront for some time, when finally the sun came out and we grabbed a cup of thick Turkish coffee. We walked up to Taksim Square, full of people bustling about. Apparently this is also where a lot of scams happen to single travelers, so we left after taking a few photos. There was a nice pedestrian street called Istiklal, so we wandered down the street and through the backstreets. Here is where most of the nightlife takes place, as there were bars and hookah restaurants everywhere. A small tram line ran down the street (one car at a time), so among the cafes, shops, and bars it was a nice walk.

Taksim Square

Lady making flat bread and the stew that went along with it!

Along Istiklal Street

At the bottom of the hill it began to rain, so we walked across the bottom of the bridge where there are a multitude of restaurants, and of course men outside attempting to bring you in. On our way back we wandered the streets again, ate some dinner, and called it a night.

Istanbul at night and yummy baklava

Day 3

Today was our shopping day. We explored two of the largest Bazaars in Istanbul, the Grand and the Spice. We also walked around the markets between the two, which were mostly everyday-living type of stores. It was interesting to see where normal Istanbulites go, as the other two Bazaars are mainly tourist destinations now.

Fish sandwiches. This man would grill the fish on a boat as the boat would rock back and forth!

The Spice Bazaar is as it's name suggests – a place for purchasing spices. Nowadays they sell souvenirs too, so its not so much fun as it probably used to be. Still, large piles of spices and nuts sit alongside Turkish pottery and scarves, and its fun to walk through and see what is for sale.

Inside the Spice Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar is huge, with crisscrossing streets filled with cafes, souvenir shops, antique shops, gold trade shops, jewelry shops, and anything else a tourist might need. We got lost once or twice, but under the painted ceilings it was always an adventure. Zeki from our hotel told us not to buy anything in the Bazaar as the prices were inflated, which we found to be true. Smaller shops along the back streets had better prices than the Bazaar.

Inside the Grand Bazaar

After being shopped out, we found the Basilica Cistern, a place we wanted to see the first day but never found. The cistern was built in 532 to provide water to the city in case it was sieged. The underground cistern was breathtaking, with huge pillars holding up an arched roof, and the water reflecting the lights. The cistern is also well-known for two Medusa heads, which are placed very randomly in the rear of the cistern. They're not sure why they are there or why they are placed like that, but they're fun to look at.

The Basilica Cistern

Two heads of Medusa

The Basilica Cistern, reflected

After we exited the cistern, Rich and I again wandered the streets (it's very easy to do so), ate dinner, and called it a night. All this traveling is exhausting!

Chocolate baklava!!

Day 4

This day we visited the Asian side of Istanbul. There are two main parts along the Bosphorus: Kadikoy and Uskugar. We went to Kadikoy. The problem, however, was that it was raining, and it rained the moment we stepped off the ferry to the moment we got back on. The Bosphorus Bridge can take you across from Galata to the Asian side, but the only way from Sultanhamet is via ferry, either car or passenger.

On the Asian side - taking the ferry across and doner kebap

We didn't do much on the Asian side, mainly because of the weather and we were both in not-so-good moods after walking so much the past few days. We ate lunch, stopped in a cafe, looked at the waterfront, but that was it. Most of what is on the Asian side are everyday-living things like markets, eye glass shops, banks, clothing stores, linen stores, electronic stores, etc. Things you can get anywhere you live. So it didn't seem too exciting. If (more hopefully when) we get back to Istanbul, we'd like to visit the Asian side again, when it's not raining, to see it more properly. As we were tired and sick of the rain, we didn't do much that night and instead had a lazy, couch-potato evening at our hotel.

And that concludes our Istanbul trip. It was wonderful and amazing, and we would go back in a heartbeat. The restauranteurs with their annoying yelling (“Come here!”) we can do without, but everything else was magnificent! We highly, highly recommend you visit Constantinople, no it's Istanbul, not Constantinople (I guess they liked it better that way)!