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Published: October 24th 2012
Galata Tower
Where we climbed up to get a view of IstanbulMerhaba! Today was definitely a good day - we got to do a lot of different things. To start off, I will remind you that tomorrow is the Muslim Festival of Sacrifice which is a holiday that lasts four days. Even though it is a religious holiday, it affects some national things as well (banks are closed, the bazaars are closed). So, we had a tour planned to see a Jewish synagogue tomorrow and the guy that arranged the tour for us weeks ago called us today and said that they cannot do it because of the Muslim holiday. (Last time I checked, Islam and Judiasm are not the same thing - but like I said, this holiday does affect certain national things - probably similar to Christmas in the US.) Since we are primarily a group of Jews, there was a great deal of disappointment about this, but Gazi, our tour guide told us that during his 15 years in the Turkish army, he learned one thing very quickly: "Always be flexible."
And flexible we were! Instead of seeing the original synagogue that we were going to see, he took us to see one that a friend of his
Top of the Galata Tower
A little cloudy, but backdrop of Istanbul agreed to open up for us. I need to stop here and explain that it is very difficult to get into a Turkish synagogue if you are not a member of the congregation. For the original synagogue, we had to give our passport numbers ahead of time and they have high security getting into the building. When we walked into the new synagogue today, we entered into the first steel door and had to wait for that to close before the second steel door opened to let us in. They also had a metal detector device that they let us forgo because we were with a person they knew and trusted. It was a small synagogue, but it was very pretty inside. They had a pretty stained-glass Star of David as you walked in and a dome at the top that was navy with gold stars leading up to another Star of David. It was very pretty. We found out that the congregation is made up of about 200 families and they do about 10 bar/bat mitzvahs a year. Very small, but all in all, very nice. They invited us to come on Shabbat and some of the family may
Synagogue
The interior view do that on Friday. It was a nice little excursion. Afterwards, we walked a little way down the street to the small Jewish museum that was opened five years ago. I also should add that before the synagogue stop, we were able to stop and go up the Galata Tower to see a beautiful view of the city, which was on our way to the synagogue (being flexible can be awesome!) and was just an added bonus. 😊
After the Jewish museum, we went to our first of two palaces for the day - the Dolmabahce Palace. Oh man, I can't wait to talk about this one. So here is the thing: most people will tell you the must-see palace in Istanbul is the Topkapi Palace. We are going to the Topkapi Palace tomorrow so I can't possibly compare the two, but I have got to tell you, I have never in my life seen anything like the Dolmabahce Palace. I honestly can in no way possibly do this place justice, it's laughable to even try AND to top that all off, we weren't allowed to take pictures, so I can't even show you. However, I will try my
Dolmabahce Palace
I attempted to get a picture of part of it, but it was huge best. So this palace was built in 1856 by Sultan Abdulmecid I, although he only apparently had five years to live in it before he died. Super unfortunate for him. Several sultans lived in this palace after him, but the last resident of the palace was Ataturk (the man who secularized Turkey) and he actually died in the palace. (Random fact: all the clocks in the palace are set to 9:05 because this was the time that he died - slightly creepy.) Ok, so the palace itself has 285 rooms, 68 bathrooms, and 6 turkish baths. Just try to wrap your head around that for a second - it would probably take you a month to use all of those bathrooms. The palace was built mainly in the rococo style (which basically means it was super, super ornate) and they used over 14 tons of gold to decorate this palace (and let's stop and think about this one too - THAT IS 28,000 POUNDS OF GOLD). Holy Sultan of Turkey!!! I honestly do not think I have ever seen something so rich in detail in my life and it was like this room after room. From floor to ceiling (and
Abrams Family!
Outside of the Dolmabahce Palace with background of the water then on the ceilings as well), every room was outdone with so much rich detail. There were paintings on the walls and up the walls, chandeliers in every room bigger and more intricate than you've ever seen in your life, furniture styled with the most elaborate fabrics, gold plating EVERYWHERE (everything with a groove had gold in it I swear), wooden floor patterns that were different in every room, a crystal staircase AND THEN the grand finale! Ok, so when I said my mouth dropped open when I saw that first mosque, that was definitely a figure of speech. When I walked into the grand ceremonial hall of this palace, my mouth actually physically dropped open. I was one of the first people to walk in and when I looked back at the family I saw multiple mouths physically open as well. Here is where I won't do it justice: the room itself is over 6500 square feet and has a dome in the center that is 118 feet high - every inch of this space (every inch!) is covered with intricately painted detail and gold plating everywhere. There are 56 massive Corinthian columns outlining the room and a 4
Bosphorus Bridge
Taken on steps of Beylerbeyi Palace on Asian side 1/2 ton chandelier in the center of the room. I wish I had a picture, but I don't even think you'd get the full extent of it. I cannot believe a room like this even exists, it was just unbelievable. Breathtaking.
Ok, deep breath, new subject. So after the Dolmabahce Palace, we drove over to the Asian side of Istanbul to have lunch and see another palace. I think I found this "crossing of the continents" (via bridge) to be much more exciting than everyone else I was with because I had never been to Asia before! Now I can say I have! (Albeit only for a few hours.) Anyway, we stopped at a local place with our tour guide, Gazi, who ordered us a bunch of meze, which of course, was delicious and Grandma and I split a very tasty meatball platter for our main meal. Yum yum, I don't even think I need to elaborate here - we already know the food is good. After lunch we headed over to the Beylerbeyi Palace which was another palace of the Sultans (I'm pretty sure they had 11 total). This "summer" palace (which is technically just a few miles
Whirling Dervishes - Before Show
We couldn't take a picture of the whirling dervishes but this is where it took place from the Dolmabahce Palace) was supposedly used mostly for guests, but I think the highlight of this palace was the proximity to the Bosphorus. The view of the water was visible through the windows of so many of the rooms - it was very nice. This palace was significantly smaller than the Dolmabahce palace, but it was definitely still very ornate. The chandeliers were quite pretty and there was a large room that had a huge pool in the middle of it. (Gazi told us this was not for people to go into, but what on earth is the point of having an indoor pool if you aren't going to use it - I don't know about you, but I'd be the Sultan's kid who got grounded for late night swims.) It was a nice palace, but didn't even compare to the first one. I'm not complaining though, I got to go to Asia! Woo! 😊
After we got back to the hotel and rested, we went out to see the famed Turkish "Whirling Dervishes." Hmm... how do I describe this in the best way possible? I happen to know that most of my family members that are on this trip with me right now are probably going to see this blog post and I can tell you that after the show, many of them commented to me, "Can't wait to see the blog post on this one!" Let me start out by saying that none of us really knew what the "Whirling Dervishes" actually did. I think that in my head I kind of equated it to men in white flowing skirts doing a Fantasia-Mushroom-Dance-esque sort of show. Not so. Apparently, one of the things we seemed to have largely (and by largely, I mean enormously) overlooked was the fact that the "Whirling Dervish" dance is actually more of a spiritual ritual in which the human becomes one with divinity and the viewer of the show comes to meditate while the dervishes whirl themselves into this divine trance. Yeah... oops. I am tempted to leave it at that to spare the Abrams family any judgement of what others might say was an insensitivity to other cultures' spiritual traditions or just downright immaturity. Let's just say that it was an experience and we will certainly be prepared for next time!
After the show, we walked around the streets a little bit, popped into a little restaurant for some dinner (good as always, obviously) and spent the rest of the night winding through the streets looking at more little shops. I really am enjoying myself here, it is such a great city. I'm sad that I only have two full days left. (Also, apologies for the lack of palace photos in today's blog - we were not allowed to take pictures inside!) Anyway, that is all for now! Iyi gelecer!
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Jeanie
non-member comment
Ditto
If it makes you feel any better, I would've been freaking out crossing into Asia as well. Quite frankly, I'm surprised no one else thought anything of it. Crazies.