More from Istanbul

The last week has been all about Kelly & I talking about how much fun we had in Istanbul. We can't stop it, we had a great time !

Our hosts, Z & PWe have loads of pics, the hard part is picking which ones to put on the blog.

The Ortaköy mosque (below) is in a lively neighborhood ( Ortaköy )on the Bosphorus and home to a lot of night life...which we sampled...and enjoyed.

Another highlight from the trip was just walking around and shopping. We really didn't buy anything, although we were tempted to buy enough rugs for 7-8 houses and lights for another 12.


There were cats and dogs all over the city, especially at the bazaars. I spent half my time looking at cool stuff and half my time preventing Kelly from picking up flea infested Turkish kittens.

It seems every place we go, you always come across those things that people do for "luck'.

Theres always a statue with its nose/toe rubbed shiny, or a fountain you have to walk around 3 times, a rock to touch, or a monument you have to throw coins at etc etc

At the Hagia Sophia there is a hole in a column that you jam your thumb in and make a circle with your hand whilst making a wish. Its called the "sweating column" and if your finger comes out wet, your wish will come true

Hopefully with all this thumb jamming and statue rubbing that we have been doing, we're banking a lot of good luck for the future.

I think what sticks with me most about Istanbul, is the magnificence.




Much like a visit to Rome, we found ourselves just gawking at some of the sites. In fact our first stop downtown on day one was the Basilica Cistern. Just one of several HUNDRED sisterns the Romans built under Constantinople to store water.

Its not that big.... only 100,000 sq ft ! 336 columns and enough room to store almost 3 million cubic feet of water !


Then you walk outside and BAM ! Your looking at the Hagia Sophia

and across the way from that BAM ! The Blue Mosque.

Every time you peek out a window, BAM! Wheres the camera.

The place just oozes Ottoman glory.

Add a sunset and you have some breathtaking stuff.

Of course, our experience was greatly enhanced by Zeyneps family's hospitality, which included providing us with a car and driver for the extent of our vacation....

and , of course, Patrick's enthusiasm is priceless

Istanbul !

If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.
-Alphonse de Lamartine

We arrived in Istanbul the day before Thanksgiving, and were met at the airport by old Florida friend Patrick. He has recently moved to Turkey with his wife, Zeynep, who grew up there and whose family still lives there.

Zeyneps parents generously had offered for us to stay at their beautiful home on the Asia side of the city. The house is on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus and Europe !

On Thanksgiving morning, we went out to see all the major sites....and boy did we hit them !

As soon as you get into the old city, you are confronted by extremely impressive sites to remind you of the amazing history of Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul

The Blue Mosque - built in 1616 by Sultan Ahmed I

Hagia Sophia - built in 537 by the Roman Emperor Justinian

Finally seeing the Hagia Sophia in person was....amazing. Originally built as a church, it was the largest cathedral in the world for 1000 years. After the Ottoman Conquest in 1453, it was converted to a Mosque. These days, it is a museum.

It is absolutely breathtaking.

Just a few hundred meters opposite of the Hagia Sophia, is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque for the many blue tiles inside.

Everyone is welcome to enter the mosque in between prayers.

Still reeling from the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque is a knockout punch.

We were in Istanbul for 5 glorious days, and got to explore all sorts of nifty nooks and crannies.

Our trip coincided with Kurban Bayram (Eid al-Adha in Arabic) a Muslim holiday. It is the festival of sacrifice celebrating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.

Unfortunately, this holiday weekend meant lots of traffic and the Grand Bazaar was closed !

We did walk around some of the shopping streets in the Old City and had lunch at this place, which not only made fresh (made by hand in front of you) cheesey pita things, but also had a house band that acted like they had been waiting their whole lives for us to show up !

We all shared a good laaugh, especially when Kelly came back from the ladies room and I was dancing about with my new Turkish backup band.

We did some shopping in the bazaar behind the Blue Mosque, where you could spend all your money on nifty Turkish decorative items...lamps, rugs, souvenirs.

Sultanahmet, The Old City, is a magical place.

The Blue Mosque at Night.

I could devote several bog posts just to the wonderful food we had on our trip.

Zeynep made a full blown Thanksgiving dinner, and bombarded us with all sorts of pies, cakes and traditional Turkish dishes the entire time we were there. We ate like Sultans !

We, of course, had to have REAL Kebabs. Not the kind you shovel down at 4am all over Europe from late night stands..... no, authentic, delicious, mouth watering kebabs from the best place in Istanbul,

Garaj Bursa Kebabs

Words cannot express how delicious they were.

They bring over hot melted butter and pour it on top just before you get started....good lord.

We also got to enjoy the nightlife of Istanbul, with Zeynep & Patrick being the most accomodating tour guides.

We had a blast.We also were able to sit and enjoy many glasses of tea at one of the multitudes of Tea houses that line the streets.

..and what goes better with a glass of tea then some fruit flavored tobacco smoked through a Nargile, a Turkish water pipe.

Zeynep also taught me how to play backgammon...and when I say taught me, I mean wipre the floor with me.

It was the perfect trip, we can't wait to go back.

above, the busy Bosphorus Straight at Sunset

Zeynep waves goodbye and as is a Turkish custom, pours water behind the car to make sure we have safe travels and find our way back to Istanbul.

We will definitely be back Istanbul !

East meets West

-Chris

Its been almost 20 years since I have been to a Muslim country, and I was looking forward to hearing the Call to Prayer (adhān ) 5 times a day. Istanbul didn't disappoint, you can hear the call from different Mosques echoing throughout the hills and across the water.

(the first video is the loudest so check your sound first)

The Blue Mosque

The Bosphorus from our friends house on the Asia side.

The Blue Mosque from the entrance to Topkapi Palace