Istanbul is a magical seal which unites Europe and Asia since the ancient times. Without a doubt, Istanbul is certainly the most beautiful place of the world - Gerard De Nerval.
We arrived in this Jewel of the Bosporus after crossing the Atlantic and the whole of Europe in two flights.
Atlantic crossing by A380
It quickly became apparent that we had arrived in Turkey during Ramazan Bayrami (the three-day holiday that follows the end of the holy month of Ramazan). In Turkey, it is an official national holiday. The three-day holiday itself begins at sunset on the last day of Ramazan, and lasts until sunset on the third day.
Although museums and other visitor sights close for the first full day of the holiday, they are all open on the second and third days, and were particularly busy with locals and visitors alike.
Gatica Bridge during Ramazan Bayrami
Ramazan Bayrami is a time for paying visits and giving gifts to friends and loved ones and enjoying a lot of sweets. A shop just across the street from the hotel was stocked up with chocolate and other treats.
Boxes of chocolate and sweets for sale
Brushing aside the jet lag issues we struck out for Sultanahmet (the Old City) and Galata to get our bearings and to discover how to get around Istanbul by public transport. The simplest thing had us completely stumped. To catch a bus you needed to buy your electronic ticket (AKBIL) ticket or a regular ticket from the kiosks near bus stops. But, it was holiday time so they were all closed!
Istanbul's markets are world famous but apart from the Grand Bazaar what we discovered is that in the areas we visited the shops seem to specialise in a particular type of product. The spice bazaar near Galata Bridge is the best known of these specialist shopping markets but we also saw and explored markets and streets of shopfronts dedicated to;
heating and cooking appliances
kitchenware
hardware and tools
home lighting
LED lighting
fish
pets
carpets and rugs
musical instruments and
artist supplies
Hardware market
Then there were the ubiquitous souvenir traders with their astounding array of ornaments, cheap jewellery, t-shirts, scarves, caps. Street vendors sell grilled or boiled corn on the cob and simits - chewy bread rings coated with sesame.
Street vendor selling simits
We also saw many vendors selling Turkish dondurma ice cream. The business of selling dondurma is a type of Turkish Street Theatre. A man in a colourful Ottoman-esque costume reels you in as he stirs ice cream with a long metal pole. You choose a flavour and wait for your cone, only to be suddenly part of a frustrating game of " Piggy in the Middle" like the poor fellow in the video below. All over Istanbul, ice cream peddlers put on this show for unsuspecting tourists and bemused locals. The show is part of the experience and something to be enjoyed at least once, or repeatedly as long as you're not the target.
Dondurma ice cream street vendor
The ice cream is made thick with salep, an orchid flower, and mastic, a gummy resin. The result is so thick it can be eaten with a knife and fork and so stretchy it can be dangled from a pole in front of bewildered customers.
Apart from window shopping in the markets and side streets, we visited and were enthralled by a bunch of fascinating historic visitor attractions. There are far too many to mention them all in any detail or even to post a photo of each so perhaps let's just focus a couple of the highlights.
The Grand Bazaar should be renamed the Magnificent Maze. It is suggested that if you want to get back to where you started it is important to take a photo of the Gate (including it's number) so that you have something to show the locals when you need help to find your way back to the rest of the group.
Grand Bazzar
The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets and 5,000 shops, and attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily and has been an important trading centre since 1461. The complex houses two mosques, four fountains and two Turkish baths.
Grand Bazaar
Hagia Sophia has an incredible history first as an Orthodox Christian basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople (except in the 13th century when it was a Roman Catholic cathedral). The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931. It opened as a museum in 1935.
Hagia Sophia
Famous for its massive dome, it was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. The current building constructed in 537 and was the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years and is where the Great Schism originated.
Hagia Sophia interior
When Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks the building converted into a mosque. Many of the mosaics were plastered over and Islamic features, such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets were added.
Mihrab - indicating the direction of Mecca
Sadly, despite conservation of this archaeological colossus being continually undertaken since 1931, earthquakes have damaged many of the mosaics and mildew caused by poor ventilation and rising ground water is continually damaging the fragile frescoes and mosaics.
Imperial Gate mosaic (Christian iconography)
Because of its long history as both a church and a mosque, a particular challenge arises in the restoration process. The Christian iconographic mosaics are being gradually uncovered. However, in order to do so, important, historic Islamic art would have to be destroyed. Restorers have attempted to maintain a balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures.
Blue Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque more popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior is just a baby compared to Hagia Sophia. The architect was apparently aiming for "overwhelming size, majesty and splendour". Our conclusion - he achieved his objective!
Blue Mosque interior
While still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction. Sadly the atmosphere within this busy mosque is severely lacking a quiet, calm, tranquil sense of reverence with a lot of background noise created by the thousands of visitors from Turkey and beyond.
When the mosque was built, it rivaled the Kabaa mosque in Mecca and the six minarets were equal in number to those of the Kabaa. In order to keep the peace, Sultan Ahmet built a seventh minaret in Mecca in order to show that he wasn't moving the centre of Islam to a new capital.
Blue Mosque
There's so much more we could describe to you about our visit to Istanbul but we fear dear reader that by now you've probably fallen asleep at the computer.
Next up is our Turkey Tour which covers visits to the Gallipoli Peninsula, Troy and Cappadocia.
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That's all for now BUT before you leave -
Have you read the previous post titled " Caribbean Cruise " yet? (click on the link to take you there)
