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| Beautiful sunrise off the coast of Turkey |
Istanbul was one of our
‘must-have’ stops when we were selecting our cruise
itinerary. Yes, we were a bit nervous with
all of the news reports of the unrest in Turkey and half expected that the
cruise line could drop it from the itinerary as other lines were doing. We decided that if the ship stopped there, we
would take that as a sign that we should get off the ship and explore…and leave
our safety in God’s hands.
I was SO excited about this stop and was up
extremely early to try and get some photos coming into port at Istanbul. I was up so early that there was not much to
be seen so I had time to have breakfast and read more on Istanbul from Rick
Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports travel guide before the city started to come
into view.
The view, as we made our way to berth, was
just awe-inspiring. We passed the Blue
Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace.
My stomach was full of butterflies as I tried to get my head around the
fact that I was seeing Istanbul with my very own eyes!! The morning was slightly hazy and everything
was washed in a pale yellow-orange glow from the sunrise.
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| The Blue Mosque from the water |
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| Galata Tower |
We were off the ship not long after
9am. Mom and Dad chose to stay on the
ship this day, which was a good idea because there was an immense amount of
walking that was done. We knew that we could use our credit card
for some entry fees but also knew that we would need some Turkish Lira for
other spots and some shopping at the Grand Bazaar. The first order of the day was to find an ATM
with the PLUS (Interac) sign so we could get some cash. We walked out of the cruise port, turned right
and headed toward the Tophane tram stop.
(NOTE: the ship was docked at Sali Pazari). It took several tries to find an ATM with the
PLUS sign but neither our credit card or our debit card would work. Our friend from the UK used her card and got
out enough lira for all of us and we headed to the tram stop.
It wasn’t too difficult to figure out how
to work the automated machine to buy our tram tickets with the Turkish Lira and
it was not very long before the tram arrived to take us into the old area of
the city. The tram costs 4 Turkish Lira
(TL) per trip and we had figured out that we would likely only use the tram to
get into the city and return to the cruise terminal and would walk the rest of
the distances between the sights. We
purchased two tokens each as we had heard that sometimes the token machines did
not always work and did not want to get stuck with a broken machine when we
needed to catch the tram. We found we were
able to use the tram tracks to orient ourselves as the day went on. You always knew you could follow the tracks
to get to where you wanted to go.
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| How many people does it take to get tram tokens? |
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| The tram |
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| Blue Mosque aka Sultanahmet Mosque |
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| Open and closing hours for the day we were there |
We first went in a front entrance that led
to an interior courtyard. We wandered
around until we saw the entry queue through a far door. Our hearts sank when we saw that the line
snaked out from the back entrance, around the corner and almost to the front
corner of the building. We walked down
to the end of the line and were relieved to see that the line was moving along quite
quickly. It probably took us about a
half an hour to reach the entrance. We
knew that women could not show shoulders or knees and needed to have their
heads covered so we had dressed accordingly and brought along large scarves to
cover our heads. They do hand out large
blue pieces of fabric that drape over your head and shoulders for those who are
not properly attired. You also have to
take off your shoes and they provide you with a clear, plastic bag to put your
shoes in while you are inside the mosque.
Once inside the mosque, you are restricted to a fenced off area as non-Muslims
are not permitted inside the main section as it is an active mosque and they
don’t want people to interfere with any who may be praying. Entry is free, however there is a spot for
donations just outside the exit doors.
The interior is impressive, spacious and a
feast for the eyes. The ceilings are
high with dramatic arches all around.
Pretty much every square inch of wall and ceiling is tiled with
thousands of handmade ceramic Iznik tiles with lots of brilliant blue and touches
of gold shimmering in the light coming through the stained glass windows. We only spent about 15 minutes inside the
mosque. You are permitted to take photos
but are not allowed to use a flash.
Photos just cannot capture the colour and beauty of the tiles.
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| The stained glass was equally impressive |
After leaving the mosque, we walked across Sultan
Ahmet Park which runs between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya). We bought some water and took time to sit for
a moment and appreciate the beautiful view of the mosque. It was a great set-up to be able to take a full
view photo of the mosque and of the Hagia Sophia.
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| Hagia Sophia |
I had read on several websites that the
Hagia Sophia was closed on Mondays so we resigned ourselves to missing out on
seeing it. We got chatting with some
folks on the tram who said that we should check anyway because they thought it
was open, but that the wait would likely be quite long to get in.
We found the entrance and it was indeed
open for business, which made us very happy. Even better was that there were very few
people in line and we waltzed right in with no more than a two minute wait! Entry cost 30TL per person (just under $14
CAD) and we were able to use a credit card for payment.
We spent about an hour and a half wandering
through the museum. At one point in
history, the main dome was said to be the highest in the world and that the Notre
Dame cathedral in Paris could fit inside the dome. Marble and stone was everywhere…on the
floors, the walls. There are several mosaics to be found along the upstairs galleries. Each tells a story and it is helpful to have a
travel book with you so you can learn the story behind them. On the main level, at the far end nearest the
exit to the ramp that takes you to the upper gallery, there is a column that
they call the ‘sweating column’. You put
your thumb inside the hole and run your index finger around in a full circle
and your finger is supposed to come out damp.
We tried it out just because it was quite unique and the brass around
the hole is worn to such a smooth finish by the many thousands of people who
have run their fingers over it.
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| Even the ceilings/arches were works of art |
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| A mosaic |
On exiting the museum, we located the
washrooms nearby. Take every advantage
of washrooms when you find them, as they are not in great supply as you travel
around the old city. We took some time
and found a spot to sit to have a snack and rehydrate.
Our next stop was the Basilica Cistern
(Yerebatan Sarnici), located just across the road from the museum. Entry was 20TL per person (just under $10CAD). Built in 532BC, it was used to hold over
100,000 gallons of water and had over 300 columns supporting the ceiling. You take the stairs down below street level
and there are pedestrian boardwalks running throughout the cistern. It is quite dark and the columns are lit by
orange lights from below. It is at once
eerie and strangely beautiful. You can
see fish swimming below you in the dark waters.
We explored the walkways and found the ruins of the two Medusa pillars
at the far end. We probably spent about
a half an hour underground.
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| One of the Medusa pillars |
We had three more spots that we wanted to
see so we did not go to Topkapi Palace but headed to find the Grand Bazaar
instead. This was the most difficult
time we had finding a spot. We even stopped
to ask directions from some locals but their instructions did not get us there
either.
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| Friendly local photobomber |
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| We tried to imagine a café in North America having these little tables and chairs :-) |
Finally, as a last resort, my
husband used his iPhone to get guidance
from Google maps and we eventually found it.
It is located in the middle of a warren of streets and it is easy to get
lost as not everything is marked very clearly.
The bazaar was organized chaos wherever we
went. There is stall after stall of
merchandise and after a point, it seems that there are a lot of similar shops
repeated over and over. I was so
overwhelmed by the sheer volume of offerings that I could not even think of
what I might want to buy.
Since it had
taken us so long to find the bazaar, it was now mid-afternoon and we were
ravenous so we decided that we should find a spot to eat before we ran completely
out of energy. We explored the various
little restaurants and stalls until our friend spotted one that she felt had
the ‘proper Turkish vibe’ and offered a variety of menu options that would
appeal to all of us. It was called
Bellihan and the food was absolutely delicious…and I don’t think it was just
because we were famished. I ordered a ‘chicken
sandwich’ that turned out to be roasted chicken, a variety of fresh veggies, herbs and
spices inside homemade flat bread with a side of fries. It tasted spectacular!! Everyone else tried a Turkish coffee and agreed
it was strong and very flavourful.
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| Yummer!! |
Rejuvenated and re-energized, we oriented
ourselves and headed in the direction of the spice market. There is a small mosque, called Rustem Pasha,
near to the market that allows you to go inside and explore without being
restricted to a roped off area. The Iznik
tiling at this mosque was said to be even more beautiful than the Blue Mosque. Google maps had to be used again as we
trailed down street after street packed very fully with people and shops.
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| This was one of the less congested streets |
There was not a lot of room to move to jump ahead of the crowd and by the time we
got to the mosque, the call to prayer was echoing over the area and the mosque
had closed for the next ninety minutes.
It was disappointing to not get to see the interior but we were able to
see some of the beautiful tiling that also adorned parts of the outside wall of
the mosque.
Our final stop was the spice market (Misir
Carsisi), which is just across a large parking lot not far from the mosque and
also not far from the Eminonu tram stop.
We walked around taking in stalls full of dried fruits, fresh spices, baked
goods, essential oils, jewelry, candles and on and on. I really wanted to pick up some baklava but
we had used pretty much all of our Turkish lira so I had to settle for looking
longingly through the bakery shop window.
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| One of the entrances to the spice market |
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| Fresh spices were very aromatic |
By now, it was late afternoon and we had
been walking pretty much non-stop since 9am so we were getting quite
tired. The tram stop was not far away
and we caught the tram at Eminonu and were back on the ship by 5pm. After checking her pedometer, our friend told
us that we had walked over 11km that day so we changed into our swimsuits and
hit the hot tub to ease our tired and sore muscles. We went to a late supper and had an early
night as we were having a hard time keeping our eyes open.
We were so glad that we had the opportunity
to see and experience Istanbul and all of its history, even though it was a
complete assault on the senses. The
sights, smells and sounds surround you wherever you go. Beautiful tiles, stunning architecture, lush
fabrics, and shimmering gold. The smell
of roasting chestnuts and corn, incense, rich coffee and spices. The warbling call to prayer, the sound of
hundreds of voices chattering in the streets and the bazaar, clanging of the
trams and beeping car horns. It was
truly a dream come true to be there and have the memories of our wonderful day in
Istanbul!
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