I went to Istanbul last weekend and I loved it! I've been trying to upload my photos all week, but it's not working. So I'm going to write all about my trip and keep trying on those pictures!
Last Friday I woke up ridiculously early and flew to Istanbul. We landed around lunchtime and I spent the afternoon with a group of people from my tour group exploring. We went to the Istanbul Crafts Centre, it was located in a beautiful building with a pretty garden courtyard. There were little shops for different Turkish crafts with artisans demonstrating their skills. We saw calligraphy, ceramic painting, and more. After an afternoon snack, we were right by the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia so we took lots of pictures, they are beautiful! We explored a few carpet stores, Turkish carpets are beautifully handmade.
Our next adventure was a Turkish bath! We went to Cagaloglu Hamami, a famous bath that was featured in a 007 movie. Basically in a Turkish bath you have a long, narrow towel that doesn't cover anything (luckily we were in an old-school bath that was gender segregated) and everyone sits in a big beautiful marble room with sinks along the perimeter and bowls with which to fill with water and dump on oneself. In the middle is a raised octagonal slab of marble, that is where the bathing occurs. The scary Turkish lady grabbed me, had me lay in the middle of the room, and scrubbed me down with an exfoliating cloth. She walked me back and forth from the faucet to my spot in the middle to rinse me off. She washed me with soap, massaged me, and then washed my hair (and face and eyeballs). Then she sent me back to my corner to continue dousing myself in water and sit in the steamy room. It was quite an experience!
Our last event for the evening was a performance of the whirling dervishes. They twirled and whirled and made me dizzy, but it was neat. The musicians had very interesting instruments, I wish I had been able to get closer.
Saturday was our big culture day. Our first stop was the Blue Mosque, it was so beautiful! The outside is pretty and has a large courtyard. There are 6 minarets (towers) and 16 balconies total on the towers, representing Sultan Ahmet as the 16th sultan. To enter the mosque we had to remove our shoes (to protect the carpet and keep it clean). We also had to be sure to cover our shoulders, upper arms, and upper legs. Inside the mosque had lots of domes which were tiled and painted, there were lots of beautiful designs and colors. It is called the Blue Mosque because of the predominant blue color in the tiles (I personally didn't think blue was the dominant color, it could have easily been the Red Mosque or the Ivory Mosque).
Our next stop was the Topkapi Palace. It was huge! We explored the harem, where the sultan's wives and concubines lived guarded by eunichs. There were pretty baths and courtyards, though the women rarely ever got to venture outside. We also walked through the treasury. There were lots of fancy gold jewel-encrusted objects. My favorite part of the treasury was a courtyard overlooking the Bosphorous, it was beautiful. We saw pretty black tulips and learned that tulips originated in Turkey, they were imported to Holland from Turkey.
For lunch we ate at a Turkish meatball place. I can't tell you how the meatballs were, but the rice was yummy. Turkish food is definitely weird. Chris likes to get doner kebabs in Germany, I didn't know they originated from Turkey. I had a doner on Sunday, it was interesting...
After lunch we explored the Haghia Sophia, a church converted into a mosque. It was interesting to be in a place with both Christian and Muslim influences. There were crosses and beautiful golden frescoes of Jesus, Mary, and other influential Christians. There were also the added Muslim features, such as the mihrab (door facing Mecca), minbar (pulpit used for Friday sermon), muezzin mahfili (raised platform for prayer) and more.
A Turkish carpet factory was next on the agenda. We watched a Turkish woman weave her carpet, and learned about the different materials of carpets. I of course fell in love with the silk carpets, the most expensive. They are beautiful and the most particularly detailed, wool and cotton designs are not as fine as the silk.
We had a little time on Saturday in the Grand Bazaar! It was huge, with over 4000 shops. I haggled for my goods!
Sunday we started with Pierreloti, a scenic hill in Istanbul that locals go to. It overlooked the Golden Horn and the Bosphorous, so we could see the Europe and Asia sides of Istanbul. It was neat looking out over the city and easily pointing out the mosques by finding domed buildings with minarets. The hill was covered with graves, it was a big lush graveyard. We walked among the stones for a bit and found a tomb with the birth date in 1322 and the death in 1967. Apparently the birth date was in the Islamic calendar, and they had switched calendars by the time of the death date.
Next was the Hippodrome, well, what little remains of the stadium. We started at the fountain given by Kaiser Wilhelm II from Germany as a gift during his visit. There is an Egyptian obelisk from the 4th century AD and the pictures show a chariot race. The Serpent column was from Delphi in 479 BC. It was 3 entertwined serpents, but the heads were knocked off by a drunken Polishman a few centuris ago. The last obelisk is the Column of Constantine which looked very old, and may have been sheathed in bronze.
Off to the Turkish jewelry store, we saw pretty things. The salesman that followed me around was very nice. He asked about my husband, and was alarmed when I said he was in Iraq. It was refreshing to have someone in Turkey, a bordering country of Iraq, be concerned. I never know what the reaction is going to be about us living here serving in the US military. Some people are all for it, but there are lots of others who don't want us here. The salesman let me try on a 2.4 carat diamond solitaire, it was very very nice ;-)
We spent the early afternoon in the Spice Bazaar! I loved it! There were spices, teas, and nuts everywhere. It was so fun to explore. We had lunch at a fancy restaurant (where I tried my doner). The New Mosque was right by the bazaar, so we walked around it's courtyard amazed by the alarming number of pigeons hanging around. Walking around the side of the Spice Bazaar we found the pet section! There were chicks, bunnies, and fishies oh my! There were also several leeches for sale, the vendor plunked them into water bottles for the purchasers. Eww.
The late afternoon was our sea voyage of the Bosphorous! We sailed along the Europe side looking at the buildings and beautiful water, then we sailed back along the Asia side! We stopped on the Asia side for half an hour! I was so so so excited to go to Asia! I was in the same continent as Chris for half an hour!!! There's pictures of me in Asia, and we walked around the block and saw Asian stores, cats, and streets.
After the boat ride we walked along Taksim square, where the locals spend time. The Turkish word for taxi is taksi, I liked it. I bought Turkish ice cream and the crazy vendor did tricks with my ice cream. I was not expecting it, nor was I in the mood. I didn't know what he was doing to my ice cream! It was very thick, more like pudding than ice cream.
In the evening we had our cheesy Turkish night. Weird food and silly entertainment. There were folk dancers, belly dancers, and a singer. The belly dancers were good, that was neat. The singer was super cheesy, I almost couldn't take it. Luckily the tour guide decided we could leave early.
Monday we spent the morning at the Grand Bazaar and I bought lots of fun things! It was great to be in a country where the dollar was worth more, not less. It was a really neat place to shop, and there were so many different things and choices around every corner we turned.
In the afternoon we walked back over by the mosques and explored the Basilica Cistern. It was really neat, and I kept getting drips of water on me but that was okay :-). The columns were all different, and one had a swirly pattern and two had Medusa heads at the base. I cannot imagine how this vast structure was built in 532.
Back to the hotel, we packed our last purchases and made our way to the airport, flying back to Germany that evening. I had a great trip! Istanbul was the most amazing place I've been so far!
