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Published: June 19th 2014
Today was a day for new experiences. After getting up on Wednesday at 4:15, 3 flights, the last being 10 hours long, we arrived in Istanbul tired and jet lagged. While it was 9 AM here, it really felt like 1 AM back home. We found ourselves on a crowded TRAM full of frowny people, made it to our hotel, cleaned up and resisted the urge to sleep. We ventured out without much of a clue as to where we were going, but with a sense of adventure and learned some things.
Istanbul is a ancient city full of all kinds of people, just like anywhere you might travel. The difference here for us is that not many people speak English, so when exploring we are pretty much on our own. While Turkey is a secular country with freedom of religion, it is primarily Muslim. There are literally Mosques on every corner. We saw Mosques of every shape and size. One of my favorite experiences today was "Call To Prayer", which happens 5 times each day. The call is still sung, but instead of climbing the minarets, the voices are sent out over loudspeakers. So, with so many mosques, there
are calls to prayer echoing everywhere for several minutes. It hauntingly beautiful.
While exploring some backstreets, we saw authentic local neighborhoods and got some stares, but saw some cool things. For instance, there was a beautiful old building that was kind of sunken off the street, with a plaque on it that said the building was from the year 920. It was now a very small library. I wandered down the stairs, the door was open, and I asked the man some questions. We couldn't understand each other, so I just pointed to my camera and he waved yes, so I took a couple of photos.
The Grand Bazaar is HUGE. We found it by accident. The part we wandered into was full of book stalls, hundreds of them. Ancient books, new books, text books, mysteries, all in languages I couldn't read. When we entered the covered part of the bazaar, the largest and oldest indoor marketplace, it was overwhelming. It just never ends. You could get lost in little alleys, or stalls. There are aggressive salesmen, and passive ones.
After that, we finally found the Hajia Sophia. I was so interested in it, so we hired
a local history professor who doubles as a tour guide to take us through. He said he had done his thesis on the history of the building, and I believe him. So interesting. I won't bore you here with everything he said, but will post some interesting things next to the pictures I am posting below.
We ate dinner at an outdoor cafe next to the Blue Mosque, with rain dripping on us from the awnings, and cats running under our feet. We were dead tired, but wanted to see the Whirling Dervishes before we left. They had a show in an ancient Mosque that had been converted into a performing arts center. The music fascinated me, but the actual performance was a religious event with no applause or pictures allowed. It was solemn and so unlike anything you would ever see in Missouri.
Off to bed now after posting pictures of the day. I hope anyone following this blog enjoys the pictures we took. Adios....John
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
New experiences
Turkey is a place we hope to go to soon. Glad you are blogging your impressions. We will travel along on your journey.