I was excited to visit Istanbul because it is so different from any other place I’ve ever visited. Just flying into the city allowed me to see how vast, sprawling and crowded it is. There are people everywhere. Given the travelling we had to do to get there, we decided to have an easy first day after checking into our hostel. We took the tram across the bridge to Taksim and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset from the Galata Tower balcony. This city is truly breathtaking and the Tower provides a wonderful panorama of the entire landscape.
Wednesday was our sightseeing day in the old part of the city, Sultanahmet. Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia. First, a Byzantine Church originally built in 360 AD, then a mosque from 1453 until 1931. I spent most of my visit trying to rack my brain for the date of the Nicene Council, 325 AD for those of you wondering, to know if the original Church was built as purely Christian or as Orthodox after the split from Rome. I was correct in my guess that it was originally an Orthodox Byzantine Cathedral. The building itself is mind-blowing. I could easily see how it was the largest cathedral in the world for thousands of years. The inside is a peculiar melding of Christian and Islamic elements, from the ancient mosaics in the upper gallery to the large Arabic language paintings attached to the unbelievable domed ceiling.
While waiting for the Blue Mosque to open from one of the five daily sessions for prayer, we wandered around Hippodrome Park. It was amazing to see an ancient Serpent column from Delphi standing next to an ancient Egyptian obelisk and the Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain. The juxtaposition of these items made me feel just how old this part of the world is. We had a light lunch and then found the Basilica Cistern, which is an underground water system. Of note, the mysterious upside down Medusa head sculptures. There is so much influence from Rome and Greece in Istanbul. It truly was and is a place where East meets West.
The Blue Mosque and the Süleymaniye Mosque, which we visited the following day, we extremely interesting since they are both beautiful historical structures as well as continue to be fully functioning religious meeting places. When prayers are not taking place, visitors are welcome to enter and gawk at the beautiful and intricate Iznik tiles that decorate the walls and ceilings. It was especially wonderful to be outside the Mosques when the call to prayer started. It was interestingly calming and surprising every time we heard it.
On Thursday, we decided to brave the Grand Bazaar and do some souvenir shopping. By this point we were pretty used to saying no to carpet sellers and we knew what we wanted to buy before we entered, ready to haggle ourselves a good deal. Aisles and aisles of scarves, rugs, leather goods, and jewelry; the Grand Bazaar is a place you can easily get lost in. After some success, we ventured to the Spice Bazaar, as we were told there were more touristy wears to be bought there. The colors and crowd of the Spice Bazaar were overwhelming and very much what I had imagined. We made some quick purchases and escaped back over the river to Taksim for dinner.
We left a major attraction for our last morning in Istanbul: Topkapi Palace. Once the residence for Ottoman Sultans, now it is a museum where you could spend hours closely examining tiled and painted murals, the royal jewel collection, and a collection of royal garments, all on the beautifully manicured grounds of the palace. I could have spent all day there exploring. My favorite highlights included the tiles of the Circumcision Room and Baghdad Kiosk in the fourth courtyard, which also displayed beautiful views across the Bosphorus to the Asia side of the city. Another favorite was the Privy Chamber which housed many holy relics including Moses’ staff and Joseph’s turban; the cynic in me questions the legitimacy of both these items.
This short visit to Istanbul was enough to whet my appetite for the region. I would love to explore more of Turkey and its intricate and varied history and culture.
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