Irresistible Istanbul, Turkey

We were both excited and sad to leave our furry friends in Cesme house sit. Excited to be spending a week in Istanbul so it was an early start and big sad hugs to Pip and Pamuk. It was a longish drive but the motorways were good. We left around 8 am arriving in Istanbul around 2 pm. We were forewarned about the city traffic and we weren’t disappointed. As soon as we hit the outskirts everything slowed down and just to add to the confusion we got lost a little, just for 30 minutes.

As you come into the city from the south the first landmark you hit is the Osmangazi Bridge. Built in 2016, this steel suspension bridge carries 6 lanes of traffic over the Gulf of İzmit and certainly gives you an eagle-eye view over the southern part of the city. Fabian kept shouting at me “keep your eyes on the road she said” Then we disappeared into heavy traffic and got a little waylaid before finding our way into the Eurasia Tunnel. This tunnel connects the Asian side of the city to the European side under the Bosphorus strait.

We picked our hotel because of its location right slam-bang in the old town and within walking distance to all the best must-see, Grand Bazaar, and the Blue Mosque to name a few. It was a bit of a crawl through the old town but we managed to find our hotel and were able to park outside. After a long day driving and settling into our hotel we headed out for refreshments and food.

The List 😂

Although we had “The List” it usually got left behind at the hotel in all the excitement to get out there. But we did have a map. Well, when Fabian looks at a map she doesn’t know which direction is North so it’s a bit of a problem. Me not much better so we decided to just walk towards the Bosphorus strait. This is where all the action is anyway and close to the blue mosque. When we got close to the waterfront we came across an optician and across the road Apple repair shops. Now all site seeing got sidetracked as we got fabian two pairs of new glass (we had the prescription) ready in one hour, cost 80 euros.

Now to repair the Apple phone and Fabians Apple laptop. A quick trip back to the hotel to collect the laptop and drop it off. Picked up the next day with new batteries and a new motherboard. Cost 120 euros. If you need anything done in a hurry at the best price ever, then go to Istanbul. However, we still found time to check out the blue mosque and spice markets in between pickups.

The Blue Mosque

Unfortunately, the blue mosque was under repair during our visit so we were unable to look inside. The Blue Mosque was built at the request of Sultan Ahmed 1 during a 15-year war with Persia from 1603 to 1618. It is said he built the mosque to reassert Ottoman power. As there were no spoils of war for Sultan Ahmed 1, he funded the build from the treasury. This caused anger from the Muslim brotherhood, but then Sultan is the boss.

The architect of the Blue Mosque was surprisingly from Albania. His name was Mehmed Agha and his first love was music. It wasn’t until he reached middle age before he studied Architecture under the Royal Architect, Mimar Sinan. From 1609 until 1616 Mehmed worked exclusively on the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, called the Blue Mosque because of the color of its tile work.

The Blue Mosque has one main dome, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. The design is the culmination of two centuries of Ottoman mosque development. It incorporates some Byzantine Christian elements of the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical period. This mosque is more than 500 years old.

Now as we left the Mosque we encountered our first engagement with local Turk salesmen. While standing outside the blue mosque looking at our city map upside down as usual. And not really looking like two fish out of water tourists, two local gentlemen start up a conversation with us. All very friendly and cordial. Where you from they said, can we help you? Our Frist mistake was talking to them.

Spice Markets

We have spice herbal tea and Turkish delight shop in the markets. Come over and have a nice drank of pomegranate tea. We would love to show you around. So being the kind and respectful people we are we said, Yes, let’s do that, will be fun we thought. Mistake!

When we got to the shop we were offered pomegranate herbal tea and some assorted nuts. No doubt the tea was scrumptious and the Turkish delights just month watering. So we were hooked line and sinker. I did ask about the price but they were pretty shrewd and would just change the subject. Anyway, we decided to buy some tea and delights. Not a lot we thought. All wrapped up and vacuum packed so can’t argue with that eh!! 30 euros they said 😂 and as soon as the sale was complete are new found Turk friends were gone to find the next tourist mug. So beware of the friendly Turks in Istanbul. But we got their picture eh!!

It was getting late so time to head back to the hotel. A quick shower and a refreshing glass of wine and it was back out for dinner. A five-minute walk and you are in the thoroughfare of Divan Yulo CD. Lots of places to eat here so we picked one called Lito Bistro. It’s a good idea to tip the waiters in Istanbul as the service instantly moves from ordinary to smiles and extraordinary. The meal was great but not very Turk.

Istanbul Marathon

So we were up early and ready for the big Istanbul Marathon, well not really we just walked into the big race after breaky. You couldn’t miss it the music was so loud and so many spectators. We were heading for another couple of historical sites called the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace.

Holy Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque formally the Church of Hagia Sophia.

Now, this was a special place with a special history so buckle down and read. It was first built by the Greeks in 537 as a Patriarchal Cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople. It was the largest Christian church in the eastern Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261 when it became the city’s Latin Cathedral. In 1453 after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire it was converted into a Mosque. In 1935 at the direction of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (first President of Turkey), the secular Republic of Turkey established it as a museum. In 2020, under the direction of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (President today), it re-opened as a mosque. This one we were able to get inside. in the first picture, you can still see the original Christian mosaic above the entrance door.

The Topkapi Palace

The great palace of Constantinople was largely in ruins when Sultan Medmeh’s 11 successful conquests in 1459. The Ottoman counts were first set up in the old Palance which is now the site of the Istanbul University. Medmeh 11 ordered the construction of the new Topkapi Place that same year (1459) and it has played a major role in not only being the home for the Ottoman Sultans but also the administrative center, Haram, Treasury, and Mint at that time.

As the Ottomans were Muslim the Sultans demonstrated modesty in the design of the palace. For some that believe in the Quran, the Hijab is used to denote a partition a curtain and is generally used for the Islam rules of modesty of dress. There are lots of opinions on the Hijab but the general belief is more about respect. One of the most visual signs of wearing the Hijab being observed by women is covering the hair.

However, Hijab involves much more than this. Hijab is defined as ‘that which covers and conceals’, whether it be clothing, words, actions, etc. The Hijabs extend beyond clothing to include moral conduct, behavior, attitude, and intentions of both males and females. Furthermore, it includes the ‘Hijab’ of the eyes, the heart, thoughts, and intentions. Men and women are both required to dress modestly and hence cover certain parts of the body. As with the palace, it was definitely modest compared to European palaces and never more than two floors.

Surprise Suprise

On leaving the Topkapi Palace we ran into a bit of a photoshoot either for a wedding or maybe a wedding dress fashion shoot. Three beautiful Turkish Ladies just being beautiful and entertaining the crowds milling around outside the palace. Which one do you like the best?

Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is one of the largest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops. It has a total area of 31,000 sqm attracting between 250,000 to 400,000 visitors every day. In 2014 it was listed number 1 amount the world’s most visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 visitors annually. the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls in the world.

So we were pretty pumped to visit, and we weren’t disappointed. So what did we buy? well it wasn’t gold or silver nor was it a magic carpet. We just don’t buy stuff for the sake of it but just as we were leaving we realised that over the last few days our feet were just starting to say “you’re killing me mate”. So we relinquished and bought a couple of pairs of Skechers slip-on shoes. Best and most comfortable walking shoes ever, great buy.

So that’s about it for Istanbul we simply loved the place and if you haven’t been then put it on your bucket list. Yes, there were places we didn’t get to see but then again there is always next time. From Istanbul, we were heading to Sofia in Bulgaria so until next time bye from us anotherdaymeanders.