Conquering Constantinople!

Two times lucky!  This time, we got in, AND, out of Turkey without any major hiccups, sauf, a 2hr delay on the tarmac leaving Heathrow.  We were afraid it was another omen.....

Turns out, we must have front-loaded our problems as it was smooth sailing after that.

Getting in...

Hey, we've landed!!  And they're welcoming us.... this time!

We've got our visas!!! 

Didn't have to go to the "down" arrow.  Subliminal messaging?

Action!

Istanbul is an intense city packed with residents, tourists, cars, markets and lots to see.

Stimulus overload in the Grand Bazaar with over 3600 shops!  Most of the souvenir stuff is repetitive, and then you get paralyzed for choice in scarves..... I think we need a tea.

Tea in the Bazaar with our son E.

 

E was enjoying her alter identity as a boy in Turkey.  I guess short hair is not common for girls as old, well-meaning men would pinch her cheeks and tell her that she was a nice boy.

Doing the top 10

 We hit up the main tourist sites. 

Blue Mosque from a distance

New Mosque and a full moon near the Egyptian Spice Bazaar

Hagia Sophia from the side

The Hagia Sophia, or Ayasofya dates from 537 where it served as a Greek Orthodox cathedral and as a Roman Catholic cathedral from 1204-1261.  It was a mosque from 1453-1931 and then secularized and opened as a museum.

We were impressed but a little let down after all the hype.  It is kind of a bare shell of a building where there is so much potential for interpretive material - say on Judeo-Christianity and Islam since the building has served as a church and a mosque.  We made up for it with other sites!

Inside the Hagia Sophia.  

Very cool tiny, itty-bitty gold leaf mosaics

Ayasofya

Flying-buttresses holding up the former church with minarets from the mosque.

Being fans of Roman ruins, we were intrigued with the Basilica Cisterns.  They are known as the sunken cisterns and were built in 6th C Byzantine era.  The underground cistern is held up with 336 columns, including 2 Medusa heads.  There are still theories abounding on why the reservoir was built and why the Medusa heads are on their sides.....

Up until the 1970s, tours were conducted in row boats!

Not sure what those big fish are eating....

My head hurts

Yeah, well, my face hurts.  

You try this for 1500 yrs and see if you don't get a few wrinkles.

Blue Mosque - the Sultan Ahmet Mosque was completed in 1616.

Beautiful blue and white tiles.

The main dome

Family selfie!

E in the courtyard of the Suleymanie Mosque

Suleymanie (Suleiman) Mosque was completed in 1558 and has a light airy feel to the interior with beautiful tile work.

Beautiful domes

  


Traditionally, the Turkish baths, Hammams, were set up near the mosques so people could wash before entering the mosque.  Now, with everyone having ablution facilities at home, the Turkish bath is less ritualized or frequented by Turks but certainly exploited for tourists!  

We spent an enjoyable time sweating and bathing at the 600 year old Suleiman family hammam near the mosque.  The traditional architecture and marble baths were worth the entrance fee.









Topkapi Palace was one of the most impressive tourist sites we saw, yet only hit #7 on Trip Advisor!  
It was one of the major residencies of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years until 1856.  

It has some pretty impressive displays with Muhammed's cloak and the forearm of St. John the Baptist in a gold covering.  The Royal jewels were pretty impressive since you can get up pretty close... except I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures.  oops.

Think if I ask Santa Claus for emerald earrings I could get something comparable?

  

Getting around

We used various forms of public transport from taxis, dolmus (a mini-bus named after the stuffed grape leaf appetizer), trams, metro, ferry and the reliable bi-ped method.

 

The animal restrictions on public transport had us befuddled.  Does this mean I can't take my pet lizard? Can I take my ferret?

The Bosphorus by ferry.  Lovely relaxing ride to the Asian side of Istanbul.  Men come around with trays of tea and orange juice for purchase.

Good eats!

Markets and eats - sometimes hard to distinguish!  The Turks certainly like good food.  I loved the assortment and quantity of vegetables that were available even in restaurants.  Even many of the meat dishes had a lot of vegetables incorporated into them.  The Mediterranean Diet at its best!

Free grub!  Arriving on the Asian side, they were giving out the delicious barley and apricot porridge at the square.  We weren't sure if it was a soup kitchen or a political demonstration, but the welcoming folk encouraged us to queue up.

First night in Istanbul having dinner outside!

First yummy kebab outside the Grand Bazaar

Fabulous contemporary Turkey cuisine.  Our favourite restaurant the whole trip - PeyderPey

The "self servis" lokantasi cafeteria-style eateries offer fabulous value and huge variety in homestyle cooking.  It was a great way to experience many different types of dishes.  Healthy, tasty, convenient food at affordable prices - what a concept!

Our favourite "cafeteria" on the Asian side

An "upscale" lokantasi/ gourmet food shop popular with well-heeled locals where we had brunch.

Family style fish restaurant far away from the tourist crowd. 

Sometimes you just have to try it.... turnip juice.  From the look on Adrian's face, I don't think it will be a regular libation

The pomegranate juice proved to be more palatable.  

Mounds of spices in the markets. Beautiful colours and aromas.  E honed her urchin skills pestering shop keepers for samples of Turkish delight.

Wouldn't want to encounter the numerous fish markets on a hot July day.

We discovered "grilled" olives with a lovely smokey flavour.

 Its raining cats and dogs!  Stray cats were everywhere!  Locals tend to the strays, feeding and watering them, so there were no skinny strays.  There were also stray dogs that weren't bothersome and seemed to just flop for a snooze anywhere on a pedestrian path - rather than curl up in a park.  Its been years since we've seen strays in Canada, but it was nice to see that these homeless animals were still cared for. 

A few coins for a picture...

Kitty in a basket.  

I took this stray tom-cat home.  

Sultanahmet square

The trip isn't over until E falls asleep.