Life's Journey

When I booked this trip my only hesitation was visiting Turkey. Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents - Europe and Asia. I had images in my head of a very dirty, crowded, violent city. Needless to say, my expectations were very low and I felt very guarded when disembarking and entering Istanbul. We hired a private guide to take us through the city (no car, just walking). The plan was for him to meet us at 8:30a at the port. We were able to get off the ship by 15 after 8 and our guide was no where to be found. We waited about 20 minutes before getting frustrated. By 8:45a I decided to go back to our cabin to look up his number. By the time I got back to Roy the guide had appeared - not a great start but at least he showed up. His name is Borat and he seemed a little stand offish at first. I was hesitant… not only because of the image I had of Istanbul but now our guide seemed a little cold so my expectations of this being a good day were even lower.

We walked a couple blocks to catch the train into the main area of the city. There were people around but not shoulder to shoulder - I was relieved by this, but Borat was still awfully quiet. Once we got to town and off the train he started opening up a little and we discussed our plan for the day. There is a ton to see and do in Istanbul so we needed to narrow it down to our top must see sights. Borat suggested we start with an ancient aqueduct so off we went. To my surprise the city was not dirty and not as crowded as I anticipated.

He took us to a small brick building (I mean SMALL) and we purchased tickets to enter, this was The Basilica Cistern Yerebatan Sarnici. The building basically housed two flights of stairs - up and down. As we started down the stairs I heard calming turkish music playing and then we saw it… It was beautiful. There were over 300 marble columns and dome like ceiling between them made of brick. There was about 2-3 feet of water throughout. The lighting was dim but just enough to highlight the beautiful architecture and carvings on each column. This was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justian between 527-565. It has the capacity to hold 100,000 tons of water. Many of the columns were repurposed from older structures while some were built specifically for the cistern. It was beautiful. They built a walkway throughout and as we explored Borat began teaching us about not only this place but also the history of Turkey. So far I am extremely impressed with the extent of information that each of our guides have shared with us. As we walked further into the cistern there were 2 columns that were completely exposed from the water.  They had sculptures at the base of the columns that were medusa heads. Mythology of Medusa says if you look her in the eyes you would turn to stone so they placed one of the sculptures upside down and the other on its side so the workers would not look her in the eye. This was a great way to begin our adventure in Istanbul.

From here Borat walked us over to the Hippodrome. This is where they held chariot races. It was cool to be able to go to these places and while Borat would explain the history and tell us about the area I would try to envision everything as it was back then. It's amazing to think of all the history that happened in the very spot we were standing. They have 3 pillars now standing in the area, each having its own purpose and history.

Next we walked to the Blue Mosque. This was a beautiful building from the outside I was excited to see what the inside held. The mosque was built for Sultan Ahmed between 1609-1617 (the construction took about 7.5 years). Sultan Ahmed ascended to the throne at age 14 and was only 19 when he commissioned to build this great mosque. There was a short line to enter the mosque and it was required that all women wear a scarf over your head and shoulders and knees could not be bared. I knew this ahead of time and brought my own scarf and dressed appropriately. All I can say is Wow as we entered the mosque. It was a piece of art! The ceilings were huge and covered in beautiful tile mosaics. At the time this was built hand painted art was not allowed so they used various sized and colored tiles to create these masterpieces. The mosque is still being used today for prayer so tourists were only allowed in about 1/3 of the space for viewing. There were arches, domes, art, writings of the Koran throughout. Borat educated us on not only the structure but also the religion and practices. They are required to cleanse themselves before entering the building for prayer and they must pray 5 times a day. There were people praying while we were there.

From the Blue Mosque we walked to Hagia Sophia. This was originally built as a Christian church but was eventually taken over by the Ottomans and converted to a mosque. Today it stands as a museum. Again the structure of the building from the outside was amazing. As we entered I was in complete awe. There were beautiful tile mosaics with more detail than we saw in the Blue Mosque. There were quite a few tourists here but the building was large enough that we never really felt crowded. Borat had opened up a lot more by now and we were learning a ton from him. Apparently the mosaics were placed by the Christians and when the ottomans took over they did not want all the depictions that were in the existing art so they covered all of it in plaster. I can't even imagine! So, as the building was restored they found these mosaics and began the process of removing the plaster. In some regard the plaster actually helped to preserve the tile work. It was like nothing I've ever seen before - absolutely breathtaking. There was some restoration in process but we were able to explore the first and second floors. This is definitely a must see if you ever visit the area.

Next up was a short walk through some of the residential areas. There were beautiful cobblestone pathways throughout. The buildings were close together but very pretty and flowers blooming everywhere. We arrived at Topkapi Palace which is now a museum. Having Borat was awesome here not only to explain to us what everything was but there were huge lines to buy tickets and he was able to go directly to the front of the line. So far we really have not had to wait in lines very often. The Palace had three main gates each leading to a different area of the palace. We were able to tour a majority of the buildings. It was said that there were up to 5,000 servants throughout the palace for the sultan and his family. Some sultans had up to 60 children and many wives! I could envision the fat lazy bastard lounged out on his royal pillows being pampered and served whatever he wished. Lol It was quite the palace, full of anything you could imagine. As we went from room to room the crowds began catching up with us. What I figured out was that we had been staying ahead of them until now. And when I say crowds I mean hundreds of people from all over the world together in this palace. Some cultures are quite aggressive meaning they would literally shove me out of the way to stand right in front of me. This was extremely frustrating to me and slightly claustrophobic. This was the shoulder to shoulder experience I was dreading. I also know that this is a huge area for pick pockets and thieves so I was on guard at all times. By now I was getting exhausted and this was becoming less enjoyable. I have been pushing myself pretty hard this trip and this was an all walking day. We found a balcony area with gorgeous views of the city and sea where we took a break and enjoyed the scenery. While we were standing in Europe we could look across the water and see Asia - this was pretty cool. There was a nice cool breeze that came through and we were in the shade - I could have stayed here all day just taking it all in. But after about 20 minutes it was time to continue on - still more to see.

We left the palace and headed to the Spice Bazaar. It was Sunday so the Grand Bazaar was closed but Borat explained this was kind of the next best thing. I've heard of the Spice Bazaar many times and was excited to see it in person. Before we entered the bazaar we stopped for lunch at a little Kebab place just outside the entrance. The food was good not great but it was a good experience and a nice break to get off our feet for awhile. The Spice Bazaar was really cool. Long hallways of high brick ceilings in dome and arch structures. There were vendors on both sides one right after the other. There were spices, foods, scarves, clothing, knick knacks, and almost anything you can think of. When we started in the bazaar I was happy to find that it was a little more open and not so many people. I wanted to pop my head into almost every shop but Roy and Borat were not as excited about this idea so I limited myself to only a couple of stops. Borat was kind enough to do the haggling of prices for us and get us a good bargain on our purchases. I picked up a few items.

After the Bazaar it was time to head back to the ship. We took the train back to port. I was so glad we had Borat with us for this adventure. I can't imagine touring the city on our own and as I mentioned we don’t really have the patience for the big bus tours of people. This was the perfect way to experience the city for us. My vision of Istanbul was quite different than the real thing. The people were not aggressive (for the most part and not including the tourists) and the city was clean. It was a pleasant surprise and a lovely day.

*I have to add now that we are home and I have been watching the news and everything that is happening in Syria I feel lucky that we were there just in time. This was the day before the violence started in Syria. Borat educated us on the history between Turkey and Syria and because it is so close it continues to have an impact on the country today. I think we visited just in time

Hugs and Smiles,

Sarah