Ignited by Istanbul

Apologies before you start reading - We get very verbose (wordy) (not that we weren’t before) as this is the last kick at the can. Sorry.

The Turkish bus network continued to do itself proud as we had an “airline-like” ride from Selcuk to Istanbul (leaving at 9:30pm and arriving in Istanbul at 8am). The massive bus station in Istanbul set us on the right course by getting us a free shuttle service to the area of our hotel (Sultanahmet which is the district that houses the Aya Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi palace). We ran into our first an only negative Turkish experience with a shuttle driver who didn’t communicate very well and became frustrated with our inability to understand him. After missing our stop (it turns out he wouldn’t take us to our area but would drop us in a neighbouring area where we could catch the metro to the Sultanahmet), he retraced his steps with a full busload back to the Otogar (bus station) and stopped briefly to let us off. “Briefly” meant that as he became frustrated with how long it was taking to get our packs off of the mini-bus, he began to drive away with Marla still on the bus passing the last of our luggage to us. It left us with a bad taste (especially given we had been traveling all night) and we didn’t make any more friends on the sardine packed metro (but we were only on this for 7 minutes). Barely pushing our way off the metro, we began the 10 minute hike with all our packs (and extra baggage) to the hotel. We invoked Murphy’s law and completely validating the notion of “bad luck” occurring in 3’s as both of Trevor’s shoulder straps snapped on his back pack when we got off the metro (the pack doesn’t owe him a thing as it has seen 5 continents and over a dozen different countries). Holding his pack like a pregnant women, the Connor clan made their way to the hotel. Truth be told, we were operating on trust as we did not have a hotel secured for the night but trusted that our original hotel contact had made arrangements as we added this extra night at the last minute. As usual, they had taken care of everything. Research had paid off as well and we were in an amazing area just minutes from the heart of Istanbul with beautifully vibrant, renovated pensions and mini-hotels up and down the street. We were also 5 minutes above the Bosphorous (the waterway that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmaris leading to the Mediterranean). The view from our roof-top was to die for.

Istanbul is a truly amazing city that is a must for anyone who wants to experience a culture that displays so much of the roots of western civilization. Walking the streets is a magical history lesson that changes at every corner. Modern Turkish culture rubs shoulders with century-old traditions: a lady in full “burka” (the Muslim coverings that leave only the eyes visible) making a cell phone call, attending a 300 year old Turkish bath and then dining on Dominos pizza, and touring the Aya Sophia (a grand church that became a sacred mosque) while sipping on a Starbucks coffee. We loved every minute of our time in this amazing city and we barely scratched the surface.

Our first day was really just spent catching up on sleep and then soaking in the atmosphere of the Sultanahmet. This blog will show pictures but nothing really captures the feeling of standing at the impasse of two of the most magnificent man-made structures that you have ever seen. The Blue Mosque truly captures the essence of a Muslim place of worship. You simply turn 180 degrees and you are unraveling the majesty of one of the most beautiful Christian churches ever built. On the surface, one might think that these two building are battling it out, metaphorically and physically. In actuality, there appears to be an understanding of co-existence that transcends what they represent and you can simply enjoy them for what they are: two attempts by men throughout the ages to try to bring honour to their God.

Our three days in Instanbul were spent exploring, experiencing and simply enjoying all that the city has to offer. Our first evening, we headed down from our hotel to the water. We were met with an area with only Turk’s eating and socializing. We used sign language and our minimal vocabulary to secure a great dinner of kebaps and chips (eating for 1/3 the price we would have paid with the tourist up in the square). Sufficiently satiated, we continued down to the walkway and enjoyed the splendor of the Stanley Park seawall (Istanbul style). The water was flooded with people walking, fishing, cooking and swimming (the flow of the Bosphorous into the Sea of Marmaris was incredible and people were jumping in and floating down this waterway that was 3 times the width of the Fraser river). The energy was wonderful and we had a long conversation with one gentleman who we saw come out of the water near us. Conversation might be exaggerating but I am sure in our 20 minutes of talking, there were 2 or 3 concepts that he understood from me and vice versa. We even saw a group of dolphins playing for a bit and saw one do a great leap out of the water.

Our next day, we decided to stay close to home and got an inside look at the captivating Blue Mosque. Such a grand and open structure inside, we were taken aback with the expanse of the interior and its pure size. Covering shoulders and heads, we spent ½ an hour contemplating our creator in this building where so many do the same thing from a completely different theological foundation. Sometimes there are too many questions to ponder that are left unanswered, especially from the children who are so very real in their desire to understand these deep questions and the differences between people’s faith.

Leaving here, we entered a realm that is completely at polar opposites to the reflection of one’s faith. Well, maybe there are some that come to the altar of shopping in a sort of religious catharsis. For Trevor, it is more a lesson in self-control. To quote the Lonely Planet, “if you are going to the Grand Bazaar, make sure you are in a GOOD mood and well rested.” Being in that state of mind, the naïve Connors headed to what was truly an experience that only Istanbul can offer. Over 4,000 shops divided into 8 sections in a 5 sq. kilometer area all under one roof (the most ornate roof you have ever seen). This makes the shopping experience incredibly cozy and intimate as every one of the 4,000 shop owners personally invites you into their store promising to give you the best deal that you can get. Final tally, Connors 5 - Grand Bazaar 0. Didn’t lose a single child and didn’t get lost (well, not really) and also had the bargaining power of Marla Connor in our back pocket. The quote of the day goes to Matthew who was securing something for himself to remind him of his time in Turkey (a nice chess set): “Boy I love Mom, she can bargain her way around ANYONE!!”

Our middle day, we chose to see how the Black Sea got its name. Walking across town, we caught an early ferry that takes you up to the mouth of the Back Sea (1 ½ hours). If you are going to take a trip this way, don’t let any travel agent sell you some line that it is Black. We had three disappointed children find out that it is in fact bluer than any water we have in B.C.. The trip up the Bosphorous again is a continual history lesson as you see beautiful palaces that Sultans built because there were bored with living in Topkapi palace. The area is filled with incredible waterfront homes that the elite of old lived in centuries ago. The Bosphorous itself forms the border between Europe and Asia and there are distinct types of architecture on both sides as their development happened in different phases over the years. When we reached the mouth of the Black Sea, we disembarked for 2 hours, had lunch and then hiked up to the castle which overlooked the entrance. A 30 minute steep hike to the headlands was rewarded with a breathtaking look at the gateway to Russia. If you thought that Vancouver had a busy harbour, it is 1/50th of what happens in this European portal to the Russia and the Orient. Standing at the castle, we could make our 15 freighters that were moving in our out of this incredible shipping lane. When we were back in the general Istanbul harbour, we lost track of anchored freighters at the count of 40. Needless to say, the beauty of the area is fully appreciated through the lens of how incredibly important this seaway is (and always has been) for trade and commerce in this global region.

As has become commonplace on our trip this summer, we were met with another unique experience on our return ferry trip. On the horizon, we spotted two distinctly different large fires back towards town. There was a moment of uncertainty when we saw the extremely large smoke billowing above what we thought was the airport area of Istanbul. Within minutes, however, there were two water bombers in the air and one of them made 4 or 5 pick-ups of water within 100 metres of our boat. We spent the next ½ hour watching one bomber drop bucketloads on the smaller of the two fires. Within this time frame, we saw that the second (and larger fire) was off in a heavily forested area away from the city. The bombers continued dropping water well into the evening as we watched them continue their efforts while we enjoyed our dinner on the roof top (it has never been dull on this trip).

Our last day in this wonderful city was a catch-up day. We wanted to make sure that all of the “must-do’s” got done. We started with the massive, beautiful, and extraordinary Topkapi palace, the residence of Turkish sultans since the 1200’s. Within the palace walls, you can see the extravagance and decadence that was achieved for sultans and their harem. It is hard to believe the amount of money and labour that went into not only building this massive structure and compound but also what it took to maintain it. There were many interesting conversations over the course of our exploration of this beautiful palace including needing to define harem, concubine, eunuch and castration (not necessarily in that order). “Their ways are not our ways” was how we came to understand some of the different traditions.

Three hours in the palace and the crew was ready for a change. As we have shared previously, we enjoyed the Turkish food but stomachs and minds had grown tired of the perceived monotony of the tastes so it was off to Dominoes pizza for lunch and then back to the hotel to rest. Our last venture out in this fantastic city was back to Sultanahment square to see the huge church/ mosque/ museum of the Aya Sophia (also known as Hagia Sophia, Sancta Sophia and many other names). This was a gorgeous church that sits opposite the Blue Mosque that had been turned into a mosque in the in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople (later called Istanbul by Ataturk). The Aya Sophia is famous in particular for its massive dome and is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. For those that are interested, we learned that Byzantine is a term that historians use to talk about the era approximately between the 3rd century A.D. and 1453 A.D. (the fall of Istanbul to the Ottomans) and refers to the Greek speaking Roman empire). The Aya Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. As billed, the massive dome is an amazing feat of engineering and your breath is taken away as you move through the entrance into the large dome that reaches to the sky in front of you. It is very interesting to see how the restoration of the building has blended the two uses of building, with the interior adaptations of the mosque giving way in parts to the Christian frescos and mosaics that have been uncovered under plaster. This is a holy place for both Christian and Muslim alike as both fill its walls to see what this building can share with us about our faith.

Leaving the church, we headed to the long anticipated Turkish bath (this particular establishment is quoted to have been around for 300 years). For those unfamiliar with the process, women and men are separated and led into large open marble areas where people are in various states of enjoying the cleansing process of massage, bathing and “exfoliation” otherwise known as scrubbing to the bone. You spend a bit of time warming up, in the steambath like temperatures, sweating like you have been for the last 5 weeks in the muggy, hot Turkish summer. You are then instructed to lie down and have every last muscle in your body poked and prodded until you realise that you have paid for this pain and start to question your sanity. You are then led over to a wall tap and sink (all brass and marble) where the removal of the first 3 layers of your skin proceeds without interuption. Once your tan has been removed ( didn’t realize half of that colour was dirt), you are left to pour buckets of water over your head in an attempt to bring you internal body temperature back to somewhere in the 98 degree realm. We left the bath feeling fully refreshed and felt that we were now ready to have someone sit beside us without keeling over on our 13 hours of plane travel the following day.

Our time in Istanbul was spent finishing off the last of our Turkish lira on dinner and ice cream while sitting on the beautiful terrace of our hotel. The trip has been an incredible collection of experiences and memories that we will never forget. We are a thoroughly blessed family who give thanks for the opportunity we have had to travel together this summer and who look just as forward to coming home as we did leaving 5 short weeks ago.

---

---