Monthly Archives: June 2016

Day 318 – Istanbul the second

Our second, and last, full day in Istanbul. Flo postponed his interview for various reasons so I could relax a bit. Trying to be back for the interview without any time for real preparations was weighing down on my enjoyment of the city.

Breakfast in our hostel was delicious again. This time, cookies and tiny slices of cake were added to the buffet which gives a great range of chocolate spread, honey, jam, two different kinds of cheese, sausage, fresh cucumber and tomato, olives and hard boiled eggs.

in the inner courtyard

in the inner courtyard

Our first visit was to the Blue Mosque. I prepared to wear hijab so I took Lina’s gifts with me to cover up as close to the mosque as possible…it was that hot already. Surprisingly, tourists are allowed to visit the mosque for free, outside prayer times. The tilework inside is pretty and it’s well worth your time but in comparison, some of the ones in Iran were even more beautiful. We shared the floor with many, mostly Asian, tourists. All of them had to cover up more and were wearing borrowed blue skirts and long cloths around head and arms. Even the men who came in shorts had to resort to blue skirts to be allowed in.

one of the 3000+ Mosques in Istanbul

one of the 3000+ Mosques in Istanbul

From here, we walked through a large part of the old town to get to the ferry terminal. Cruise tours are offered for all sorts of distances and times but most seem to be at least 4 hours, which is sooooo long. One company offers Bosporus tours which literally take you up the river for the distance of two bridges and then back down again. For our level of enthusiasm for a boat cruise that was perfect. All in all it took 90 minutes, leaving the afternoon free for other things.

I enjoyed our time on the boat, looking at Istanbul from the water. Flo decided to take an audio guide so I also got some historic tidbits about the older buildings we passed.

Variety of lamps

Variety of lamps

Once back on land, we walked through the Great Bazaar. Spices, dates and every other food imaginable are on offer alongside golden jewelry, carpets and many, many çay cups. Having kind of skipped lunch, I ate baked bits on the way and Flo had the traditional spicy kebab for the last time.

Truly tired from a full day out and about, we relaxed in our room (and blogged) until dinner time. Then, we tried another little eatery that we’ve seen around, close to our hotel, which looked like a place for us: Arch Bistro. A tiny restaurant in an ancient Byzantine arch, nowadays about two meters underground so it has a wine cellar feeling. Slow cooked food and organic olive oil was right up our alley. Completely satisfied, we stayed up till midnight to watch a frustrating football game which ended with a 0:0.

Day 317 – Holy Wisdom

Hagia Sophia, now a museum, from a distance

Hagia Sophia, now a museum, from a distance

Istanbul, Byzantium, Constantinople … Rome of the East. More than any other city has this place sparked our imagination. Rulers like Emperor Constantine and Justinian, Sultan Suleiman and even Mustafa Kemal Atatürk have made their mark.

Few places stand for the colorful history of this region like the Hagia Sophia. It was the third imperial church built on this spot. Later converted into the imperial Friday mosque for the Ottoman empire and finally turned into a museum in the new found Turkish Republic. If I ever had something of a bucket list, seeing this monument was definitively on it. So today, we did. It was only tainted by our apparently eternal sight-seeing companion, the scaffold. Well, needs must and renovations have to happen at some point.

The inner sanctum: Built as a church, used as a mosque, now a museum

The inner sanctum: Built as a church, used as a mosque, now a museum

All in all, those were two hours well spent. This building more than any other for me showed the marks of its impressive history. From the Roman era over the crusades up to the Ottoman times, each century has left a mark and left a piece that became part of the whole of what we see today. It feels like a great analogy for the city as a whole.

We went for a quite disappointing lunch afterwards, the second time in a row, and promised ourselves to ignore the Lonely Planet for the rest of the stay. We would rather check out the lovely looking places near our hotel on the southern end of Sultanahmet.

It ended up being just that for the rest of the day. After an afternoon rest in our room, we could not really muster the energy for more sightseeing today. Instead, we did check out a beautiful place up the road called mitara cafe & art. We had brilliant mezze and I had a huge glass of good Turkish red. A beautiful way to let the day fade out.