Advertisement
Published: April 5th 2015
Edit Blog Post
Safe to say there is not a lot of Easter celebrating going on today in Istanbul. Maybe there are some religious observances in churches somewhere but all the colored eggs and chocolate rabbit silliness is nowhere to be seen.
This is my third, and hopefully not last, visit to Istanbul. It is such an exciting city full of life and movement and 14 million other people. The first time I came was in 2000 with a Grand Circle tour that went over 2,000 miles in Western Turkey to Ephesus, Cappadocia, Pammukale, Kusadasi, Pergamon, Myra, Troy, and, well, I' m sure I've left out a few. I had no impression or even idea how fantastic Turkey was but I vowed to return. The culture is ancient and modern at the same time. Ataturk, who led the revolt against the Sultan in the 1920's, pulled Turkey into the 20th century. He forbade men to wear the fez, women to wear veils and burkas (today some do and many wear head scarves), and changed the language to a Romanized script. Turkey today is economically hurting and caught between being a western country with several American air bases on its soil but Islamic at
the same time. Some of the last few leaders have been more conservative but it seems the majority of the people want to move forward not backward.
The second time I came was in 2010. My friend Val and I had gone with Overseas Adventure Travel to Egypt. We did our own air and routed ourselves through Istanbul so we could stay for a few days - which turned out to be 10. I had seen a recommendation in a travel magazine, International Travel News, for an inexpensive hotel within walking distance of the Haj Sophia and Blue Mosque. It was a win- win all around as with a 3 night booking they provided free transportation from the airport and with a 6 night booking a return ride back to the airport. Sweet. The place, the Stone Hotel, was not grand or shi-shi in any way ( and still isn't) and some, who like that kind of thing, may not have liked it but we loved it. The included breakfast was served in an 800 year old cave. Yes, you read that right. It was amazing to walk down the stairs into it every morning and look around. If
only those walls could have talked! The guys who were in the reception area, and there were always 3 or 4 of them, were kind, helpful, and very protective. They looked out for us and made sure we knew where we were walking, told us where not to go, and gave us good tips on where to eat. It is in the shadow of several of the biggest mosques so the call to prayer goes on and on all day and night. It becomes barely noticeable after a few times and I find it is strangely haunting. These are not the recorded tapes heard in some places but actual singers. At times they are answering each other and, in my imagination, challenging each other in a game of one upmanship.
When I decided to do this trip it was listed as starting in Athens, followed by a Greek Island tour, and ending up with a day or two in Istanbul. I was very excited to be able to see Istanbul again. But I was told that the dates I had chosen were fully booked and the next trip started in Istanbul and ended in Athens. Oh joy, I could
go a few days ahead and stay at the Stone Hotel again. And that's what I did. This time I was welcomed as an old friend and had long chats with Aziz, who was celebrating the birth of a new son, and a new worker, the very handsome, Yunus, who loved to talk about almost anything.
I revisited the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. It was built between 1609-1616. It is way more than just the mosque. There are tombs, a theological school, fountains, a health center, homes, and other buildings. It is so beautiful that when Val and I were there we spent many hours sitting on the benches that are set between it and the Haj Sophia just gazing at the incredible structures. I did the same marveling at the elegant domes and 6 minarets. It is also known as the Blue Mosque as the interior in lined with blue and white tiles from Iznik from floor to ceiling.
Directly opposite is the Haj Sophia. It was originally built somewhere around 600 a.d. as the 'mother' church for the Christian Orthodox religion and used for 1,000 years until in 1453 the Ottoman Turks seized control of Istanbul and
turned it into a mosque. It remained a mosque until 1935. Now it is used as a museum.
It is amazing to see the huge dome and the vaulted ceiling that soars above four arches (on which it rests). I remember seeing a PBS show that described how the architects figured out how to do that. I am always in awe of these ancient structures built before computers, cranes, and all modern equipment we have at our disposal.
Whew! After so much culture I needed a 'sit down' so I bought a tkt on the Hop On-hop off bus. It is a great way to see a whole lot of a city without having to deal with public transportation, etc. My seatmate was a slim young woman from Canada who I mistakenly assumed was on Spring break from college. Well, she was on a break but it was a work break. She looked 16 but was a UN pilot working in Sudan. She was on her way to Greece and we might meet up in Mykonos. Her question to me was where could she buy shoes? It was 120 degrees when she left Sudan and she thought it
would be a lot warmer in Istanbul so had on flip-flops. It was about 45 degrees in Istanbul. I assured her that if she went to the Grand Bazaar she could find anything she needed and they would be more than happy to sell something to her.
After my lovely days on my own I'm going to meet up with my tour group in about fifteen minutes, please forgive all the mosque pictures but as anyone who has been here knows it is hard to stop taken just one more shot.
Carolyn/ Gunga
Advertisement
Tot: 0.356s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 11; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0811s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
taracloud
Tara Cloud
Never too many mosques!
I'll take a mosque over a chocolate rabbit any day! How lovely that you got to visit amazing Istanbul again, stay in that charming boutique hotel and be surrounded by beauty and the haunting call to prayer. Enjoy your tour!