Turkey: October  21 – 26, 2012

Istanbul: October 21 - 24, Farewell to the Orient and Greetings to the West

We were not quite sure what to expect in Turkey when we added this country to our itinerary but we were pleasantly surprised. Turkey, along with Thailand, are both countries we would love to return to and spend more time exploring. 

Jeff & Mehmet, Owner of the Magnaura Palace Hotel

Inside our room

We arrived after a very long flight to Istanbul and settled into a great boutique hotel called The Magnaura Place located just across from the famous Blue Mosque.  What a great place, super location and the most gracious and friendliest of owners - Mehmet. 

Magnaura Palace Hotel

Istanbul is the only city that is on two continents, Europe and Asia, and its history dates back to the earliest ages; it is listed as one of the most distinguished cities of the world. This city was the crossing point for the oldest route allowing trade between East and West.  People settled in this region between 7000 and 5000 BC and the area saw a succession of conquers each leaving its mark. It was the Byzantines who first developed Istanbul into a city and built many magnificent buildings and temples.  Later when this area was conquered by Rome, the city was renamed Constantinople and became the second major city of the empire after Rome.  In 1453 the Ottoman Empire ruled this area and many beautiful mosques were built. 

Taken from Topkapi Palace over the Bosphorous, Asia on right, New Istanbul in Europe on left

We visited all the major sites:

In the Blue Mosque - head coverings required

Standing guard in the Mosque

Columns in the Blue Mosque

Column detail

Blue Mosque by day

Turkish lady in Mosque

Fully covered

Prayer seating outside the Blue Mosque

Blue tile walls inside

Blue Mosque by night - I climbed up on the roof of the neighboring hotel at 5am for this shot

The Blue Mosque (named for the brilliant blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior) was built during the Ottoman period by Sultan Ahmed;  an amazing structure with 6 minarets where the imams would call the people to worship 5 times a day. We were allowed into the mosque only when prayers were completed (shoes off, woman’s head covered).  We could easily hear the call to prayer from our hotel first thing in the morning and last thing at night too. This was a spectacular structure that you could spend hours photographing. We went early in the morning so it was not real crowded.

Jeff & Beth at Topkapi Palace

Separated by a beautiful park with a large fountain, called the German Fountain,( a gift from Kasier Wilhelm II) is Topkapi Palace. This magnificent  palace (built between 1460-1478 during the reign of sultan Mehmed II and used as the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans)  encompasses many buildings and has been turned into a museum of Ottoman artifacts- jewels, weapons, clothing and pottery- and naturally you were not suppose to take photos inside (they want you to buy the postcards instead). The palace is situated up on a hill overlooking the Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus ; the day we visited was sunny and picture postcard perfect.  Each successive sultan added to the buildings and grounds so this really is a magnificent place. The view of the rest of the city and surrounding water was breathtaking- I could have hung out for hours!

Taken in the Topkapi Museum - Opps....no photography allow, it slipped...honestly

Another slip of the camera shutter

Showing the worn marble flooring in Topkapi Palace

Entrance to the private rug showroom

Oh so many rugs

On the circular staricase

It's a tough choice, They are all so beautiful

Upon leaving Topkapi Palace, a Turkish man wearing a Miami Dolphins shirt (Dan Marino’s number), who claimed to live in Sarasota and was a carpet importer, amongst other things, started speaking to us in very good English. He started telling us about being a rug wholesaler and not a salesman and wanted to give us an education and not sell us anything. He said he was there waiting for some friends and just wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing if we were going to purchase a rug. That sparked Beth’s interest. I had read a lot on the internet about this approach and how the salesmen would tell you they are the best and would give you a good price. What was happening was exactly what I read about and told to stay away from. Beth was drawn in hook, line, and sinker, but I was carrying the credit cards! I told him we were not interested but Beth really wanted to see his goods. He called his niece (who he said was trying to improve her English) who appeared in less than 1 minute (imagine that). She escorted us on a 5 minute walk to a very old narrow 4 story building where Beth was immediately adorned with an antique Turkish hat. The inside was like a Turkish museum with antiquities and old rugs everywhere and a rickety circular staircase. We were given some apple tea (absolutely delicious) and given the education on rugs that we were told we would get.

Beth with our salesmen

It then proceeded to become an all out sales pitch for about 45 minutes. Yes, the rugs were outstandingly beautiful, but I was still having nothing to do with it. When the salesman could not close the deal, all of a sudden the original man from Sarasota shows up and tries to work his magic. Long story short, we left without a flying carpet but a great education on Turkish/Persian rugs, a great cup of tea, and a very entertaining time. Off to Hagia Sophia and our original plan. 

Hagia Sophia at night from the neighboring hotel roof

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia Museum is located at the Sultanahmet Square opposite the Blue Mosque. This structure served first as a church for 916 years and then became a mosque for 481 years. Construction began during the reign of Constantinius I, 324-337, and was completed in 360 during the reign of Constantinius II. As a church it was called Megali Eklesia, the Great Church, and later changed to Hagia Sophia- Holy Wisdom. This church was destroyed twice and finally rebuilt a third time by Emperor Iustiniaus I (527-565).  Since 1935 it has served as a museum and continues to be the most important monument depicting the architectural history of the city. The church/museum has rich mosaics and frescos of its Christian roots.  This building represents the ultimate in recycling; the conquers recognizing the beauty of the Byzantine church repurposed it into a mosque without destroying the beautiful Christian works of art.

Outside the Cistern

The Basilica Cistern (built during the Byzantine period), also called the Underground Palace, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that still lie beneath Istanbul.  The cistern contains 336 beautiful marble columns arranged in 12 rows with 28 columns in each row and the lighting gave it an eerie glow. There were large fish swimming in the waters and two huge Medusa heads were mysteriously placed there, one on its side, the other upside down. In my imagination, I merged the Terra Cotta Warriors within the columns of the cistern for a real east meets west in my head.  This was such a cool place and had a very mesmerizing effect!!!

Inside the Basilica Cistern

Outside the Grand Bazaar, more crowded inside

Gold shop in the Grand Bazaar

Anybody for some hanging lights

We also saw several other mosques, visited the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. The Grand Bazaar has a rich history but now it is a labyrinth of small alleys, covered walkways filled with shops, coffee bars and tea shops. To us it seemed more of a tourist trap with each vendor trying to sell you something. If you dared to stop and look at anything, someone immediately hounded you to buy. For us it was a turn off and we eventually found our way out (reminded us of a Las Vegas casino where you can get disoriented in and have difficulty finding the exit!).

Inside the Spice Market

Oh so many spices to choose from

The Spice Market was a little more manageable- a real feast of the senses. Using the metro was easy and so we ventured into other parts of the city including going across the Galata Bridge (billed as the second widest bridge in the world) to the old European side of the city where we explored a cool fish market. 

Turkish delight

Peppers and more

Kabob Lunch

Pizza and Lamb Stew

In the beanbag chairs

We found some great places to eat near our hotel with the Palatium being the most interesting. We sat  on very comfortable “Turkish beanbags” with high backs around a low table with a great view of the street for people watching. It was cozy, the beer cold and the food delicious. Many of the other tables were enjoying a smoke using the popular hookah pipes. It had a very laid back atmosphere.

Some really good Lamb Goulash baked in a clay pot

Although Turkey is considered a secular country, 98% of the population is Muslim.  Most of the women had their heads covered at least by a scarf. We encountered many women who wore the black burka where you could only see their eyes. I was wondering how these women eat and drink. The next morning, a young couple sat at a table near us for breakfast and I was fascinated to see how she managed a hot cup of coffee by lifting the veil near her mouth just enough to slip the coffee underneath. You never saw her neck, chin or mouth as she did this. 

Fish market from the bridge

Red gills mean fresh fish

Street Musician

Flag salesman

It seemed that most of the men were smoking. The city, at least the parts we visited, was very clean- very little litter and no graffiti. People were extremely polite and many spoke English. At one restaurant, the young man thanked us and shook our hands when we left his establishment.  Public transportation is excellent and we only encountered one time on the metro that reminded us of the crowded Chinese subways. It was a very affordable city; we loved it and were sorry to leave. But we were excited to fly to Ismir where we had a transfer to the port city of Kusadasi.  From there we would visit the ancient city of Ephesus whose ruins have been preserved.