We arrived in Istanbul yesterday mid afternoon. We were picked up After a hectic couple days of travel, we were pretty tired and weren't up for much site seeing. We were picked up from the airport by a representative of our tour company who dropped us at our Istanbul accommodation. Sue and Granddad were waiting for us when we arrived, so after dropping our bags we went for a short stroll and grabbed a bite to eat at a place called "Kofte" which means "meatball" in Turkish. Dinner was good and we finished it with some Turkish tea, which we later learned is often offered as a sign of friendship, and we have had a lot of it since. The tea is served in a small handle-less glass, which is very hard to hold when it contains hot tea, so that in and of itself was quite the adventure. After dinner we stopped into a corner store to buy a couple of bottles of water, which cost one Turkish Lira, or about 65 cents American. Wee then went back to the hotel, and after an exhausting trip, collapsed into bed.
Today was a jam packed day full of sight seeing. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we left on our tour bus for the sultan ahmed area of Istanbul which is home to many of Istanbul's greatest attractions. The first stop was the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was built by the 16th Sultan and is called the Blue Mosque because of the blue colored tiles that plaster the inner walls of the mosque. The color turquoise originated when the color featured on these tiles began to be referred to as the "color of the Turks". The Blue Mosque is surrounded by 6 minarets. The Sultan had originally asked for a minaret made entirely of gold, or "altin" but mistakenly the constructors thought he had said "altu" or six, hence the six minarets. The Blue Mosque is still a fully functional mosque and can accommodate up to 10,000 people praying at once.
After the Blue Mosque, we headed to the Basilica Cistern. The Basilica Cistern dates back to 532 A.D. and is the largest such cistern. There are more that 360 columns. The water in the cistern was brought into the cistern by aqua ducts from a forest approximately 20 kilometers away. The cistern took more than 2000 slaves to build and 76 of those slaves lost their lives during its construction. The water from the cistern was piped out and used for a variety of purposes throughout the city.
Next we went to the Hagia Sofia. The Hagia Sofia was completed in 537 AD and was originally constructed as a church and was operated as such for over 900 years. Then after the 15th century when the Ottomans conquered the region, the Hagia Sofia was converted to a mosque and the Christian frescoes which date back as far as the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, and which depicted Jesus, the virgin Mary, and various other Christian icons and symbols were covered as according to the Muslim faith these types depictions were considered to be distractions from prayer and thus they were covered with the more traditional geometric tiles. The Hagia Sofia was operated as a mosque for some 600 years before Ataturk turned the facility into a museum in 1934. Because of its Christian roots, the Hagia Sofia is very different from other mosques such as the Blue Mosque. For example, unlike the Blue Mosque which had more than 200 windows, the Hagia Sofia has very few windows. The Hagia Sofia however has more than 116 columns which have been brought in from various areas and from various famous structures via the Aegean Sea. The marble on the floors and walls came from Marmara Island, where marble got its name. The dome of the mosque itself has actually collapsed three times.
Finally, we went to the Topkapi Palace, the Sultan's domain. Topkapi Palace was established in 1478. The Ottoman Empire was in its prime from 1299 to 1699 and modern Turkey was established in 1923. The second courtyard was only entered by the Sultan during festivals, while the third courtyard is where the Sultan greeted his guests. The Topkapi Palace has an excellent collection of the Sultan's clothing and prize possessions, most of which are richly adorned in diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. The most interesting piece was a diamond, 86 Karats to be exact. The diamond was found in a trash dumpster and purchased by a peddler for 3 spoons. Later upon the discovery that the gem was indeed a diamond, it was turned into a ring and worn by the Sultan. Some people have all the luck! I have never found a diamond digging through the trash! In addition to the Sultan's possessions, Topkapi Palace is also home to some very important Islamic articles, some of which are also of importance to those of the Christian faith. The Topkapi Palace is allegedly home to such articles as the Prophet David's sword, the Prophet Moses staff, the turbin of the Prophet Joseph, and the arm and scull of the Prophet John the Baptist. While in the rooms feature the Islamic artifacts we were quickly rushed out of the room as some VERY important looking people were coming in from behind us. When we returned to our guide, we were informed that the gentleman was a famous politician and Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.
After a busy day of touring we had a rest before walking to find some place to have dinner. One of my favorite things about traveling is when you come across a place where no one speaks a word of English and you obviously don't speak a word of their language and some how having to work it out. Granddad was trying to find out what kind of soup their soup was and they had no idea what he was asking, finally they just brought him some to taste. Then Granddad wanted some bread and they brought us everything but bread including a bottle of what looked like vegetable oil (what they thought we wanted that for was beyond me), but finally we got some pida bread. It wasn't the best food, but it was just the type of adventure I enjoy so much.
Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for Gallipoli!
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