Istanbul #2: Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace

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An early start today as I wanted to get out and beat the queues, if they existed. I am still not used to venturing out in the dark in the mornings. It felt like the middle of the night and watching people do their daily commute in the dark made me relieved that I wasn’t. First stop was the nearest Starbucks for coffee. The cafe was home to a cat, which seemed to have the run of the place. It has really impressed me, all the animals that are on the loose in the city, that they are well cared for and just do their own thing side by side with us humans and neither bother each other. It says good things about the citizens of Istanbul. Once the coffee was consumed, I walked down the hill to the tram stop. I took the tram to the same stop I had yesterday, admiring the city as we went through it. I loved going over the Galata Bridge.

I made my way to the Hagia Sophia. I had read that there could be huge queues so it was best to get there early. I arrived just after nine am and had a bit of walk around the perimeter to take some photos of the outside. It was another cold and drizzly day so my pictures were a bit washed out. I would love to visit when there is glorious sunshine. I headed to the entrance and through the security. There were a few people in front of me, but far enough ahead that there was no queue. Istanbul keeps surprising me with how quiet it is, everything I’d read suggested that it would be busier. January is definitely off peak. I tried to get some close up pictures of the outside, but they weren’t very good, so I headed inside. I took my shoes off and put them in one of the boxes. I like that the sections are alphabetised and numbered, means I could take a snap to remember where my shoes were. A bonus was that the floor wasn’t wet like the Blue Mosque had been yesterday.

The Hagia Sophia had been a church when it had first been built and was known as Megale Ekklesia (Big Church) and was the biggest operational cathedral in the city during the Byzantine period. The first church building that stood on the site dates back to the 4^th century. I just find it really hard to comprehend that something has in some shape or form has been there for so long. It is amazing. When Sultan Mehmet the Conquerer conquered Constantinople he had the church converted into his imperial mosque. It later became a museum and had since been converted back into a mosque. However it will be converted back to a museum a week or so after my visit. The mosque was nice inside and I enjoyed taking a look around the small area that was open to the public. I like how it is quite dimly lit and has all the candlesque lights that give the place a glow and cosy feel. There were quite a few other tourists around, not too crowded. The calligraphic roundels that are up high were beautiful, I just wished that I could understand the writing on them. The dome in the centre of the ceiling was absolutely stunning. The mosque was beautiful, however I am glad I got in before the 25 euro entrance fee was introduced. I hope that more of the place is open to the public as only the main hall was when I was there. Also it would be nice if there was some information about what is on display and that the charge isn’t just a cash grab.

I was feeling hungry when I left the Hagia Sophia and saw that there was a guy with a little cart selling Simit just opposite the exit. Simit is a Turkish bread covered with sesame seeds. It looks similar to a bagel but a lot less dense, more like a baguette. I ordered one and the guy sliced it open and added some cream cheese to it, before putting it back together and handing it to me. I can’t remember the exact price, but it was pretty cheap. I really enjoyed the Simit. It was tasty and made the perfect late breakfast. I hoped that I would have more opportunities to each them on my trip.

Next on the agenda was the Topkapi Palace. This was only a five minute walk away from the Hagia Sophia. I did take the wrong route though, so ended up going on a longer walk which took me through Gulhane Park. I passed through the security and headed to the ticket office. The ticket was, in my opinion, very expensive. It was 40 euros and did include an audio guide and access to all parts of the palace. I had read that you could buy differently priced packages that were cheaper and didn’t include all the different parts, but didn’t see them on offer. It didn’t matter to me as I probably won’t revisit the palace, but it does seem like they are trying to get as much money out of you as possible. After buying my ticket, I headed to the audio guide place and handed in my passport as deposit for the guide. There was a small queue there, but nothing too bad. The palace wasn’t dead, but it wasn’t too busy either. As I headed to the main entrance, I passed a middle/high school group. I hoped that I wouldn’t end up stuck near them on my route through the place. I headed through the Gate of Salutation and into the second courtyard. The gate was beautiful. I really wished that I could read the golden Arabic writing around it. The palace was built in the 15^th century and was the main residence of the Sultans and the administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire until mid way through the 19^th century.

I decided to venture off to the right and visit the Palace Kitchens area first. Whilst this wasn’t the prettiest part of the museum, I enjoyed walking up the small narrowish street, visiting the different parts of the kitchens and seeing everything on display. There was a lot of information to take it. It was interesting to learn that there was a mosque especially for the cooks and that the kitchens, at one point, contained three mosques; one for the cooks, one for the confectioners, and one for the pantry men. The kitchens also had their own hamam (bath house) giving the place a city within a city feel. There was a great exhibition about coffee with lots and lots of information about the history of Turkish coffee and intricacies of how it is served. I really liked the idea of a confectionery kitchen, a place to make all the sweet treats for the palace and I was surprised to learn that medicines were also made there under the supervision of the royal physician as well as soaps and candles. While walking around one of the exhibitions in the confectionery kitchen, there was a cat laying on heater having a snooze. S/he had the perfect spot for it and I was a tad envious of their life, snuggled up on the heater on this cold and rainy winter’s day. I also had a look around the porcelain displays and loved seeing the old trunks that were used for transporting and storing goods on display. I love to think about all the places they’ve been.

I made my way from the kitchen area back into the Second Courtyard. I passed by the water fountain and what I presumed to be some kind of ceremonial block, which did have a sign explaining what it was but I was a little too far away to read it and I don’t think any of the staff would have appreciated me stomping through the grass to get a better look. I crossed the courtyard, looking up at the Tower of Justice, to have a gander at the buildings on the other side. The first of these was the Imperial Council Chamber. The first building had been a wooden structure constructed during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror (1451-1481) and the present hall was built in the following century and had been added to and restored over the centuries by succeeding Sultans. Important decisions were made and court cases were heard here. The council met four times per week. Documents and registers were also archived here. The building was absolutely gorgeous, very ornate and covered in lots of gold and intricate detail. Normally, I would find something like this too fussy, but I really liked it. The next room I entered was the armoury, I think its official title is the Outer Treasury, which was filled with old weapons on display. From there I continued on to the Audience Hall. This was built in the 15^th century and here the Sultan would sit on his throne and receive foreign ambassadors as well as viziers (high officials) who would present the Sultan with the decisions that had been taken by the Imperial Council. I really liked the Sultan’s throne (divan), it was like a giant bed. A much better option than the uncomfortable thrones I have seen in Europe and Asia.

I made my way into the Third Courtyard. I headed over to the buildings on the right first. The first one I entered had been the Dormitory of Campaigners and now houses the Imperial Clothing museum. The museum displays clothing and accessories that had been worn by the Sultans. It was great seeing all the different items on display. The some colours were nice and vivid, oranges and pinks, and I was surprised at how padded some of them seemed, but it makes sense given how cold I felt when I was out and about in the city. The next building I went into was the Imperial Treasury. This one felt a bit more special as you had to queue up and follow the barriers to enter. On display in here were all the precious items from the royal collection. While it was nice to look around, nothing really wowed me as I only have a couple of photos on my phone. I made my way out to the Fourth Courtyard and the terrace that was out there. I loved the terrace area as you got amazing views over the Bosporus and the city. The views wowed me on this cold, wet and dreary day, so to see them on a sunny clear day must be amazing. I spent a while watching the boats crossing the river. If only it wasn’t so cold, I could have spent hours taking in the view. Speaking of the cold, it was absolutely bitter, so windy and rainy, I was so so cold. I thought I had been cold yesterday, but this was worse. There was a big building here and I had a look inside. It was very European looking and it reminded me of a royal palace or stately home that you would find in the UK or a former colony. There were also a couple of pavilions that I had a quick look around but it was too cold out here, so I retreated back to the Third Courtyard. Here I visited the rooms on the other side of the courtyard. These rooms were filled with sacred religious paraphernalia and there was an imam reading what I presumed to be the Koran aloud.

The Harem was the last place I visited. I probably should have visited it earlier as I had seen so much that I was getting into information overload by this point. Harem means ‘forbidden’ or ‘private’ and I read that people took it to mean the first meaning and that the Sultan engaged in acts of debauchery in the harem, but it was also the second meaning of private as it was the imperial family quarters. It was also the training place for women in the palace. The harem is huge and each Sultan added more to it and now it has almost 300 rooms, nine baths, two mosques, one hospital, one laundry room and numerous dormitories. I would just be getting a glimpse at some of these areas. I also read about the Black Eunuchs that guarded the harem. They came from the Central African region of the Ottoman Empire and were mostly Abyssinians. The Black Eunuchs were very influential due to their close relationships with the Sultans and their families. I loved wandering around the Harem. It was utterly gorgeous. I loved the different shades of blue and turquoise that adorned the tiles on the walls and contrasted nicely with the salmon pink coloured walls. There was quite a lot of gold too, especially around the door frames and on written inscriptions above them. All the colour and patterns were very tastefully done. I am surprised that I liked it so much as normally I am a less is more person. The bathing area was gorgeous and if I lived somewhere like that I would be happy to take baths everyday. It definitely gave off the vibe of being a nice place to relax and not just for bathing as an obligation.

After visiting the Harem, I had seen everything to see in the palace so made my way back out and into the first courtyard. My ticket included entrance to Hagia Eirene Monument, which was at the other side of the courtyard. The monument had been a church and after the conquest of Constantinople had not been converted into a mosque. Instead it was used as an armoury. This meant that the structure had been left largely intact internally and externally. It was okay to have a walk around, but there really wasn’t anything to see. I think it would have been better to have visited with a guide or someone who knew more of the history of the place and could make it come alive. I just didn’t have the imagination or knowledge to do the place justice.

I was starving by the time I left Topkapi Palace. I decided to have a bit of a walk around and find somewhere to eat. To be honest, my walk wasn’t very successful. I did have a nice walk though and passed a gorgeous ginger cat in the park. I walked down some small streets which were cute and eventually ended up near the Spice Bazaar and took a look at the mosques near there. I did pass a few restaurants, but nothing really floated my boat. A lot of places looked empty or the staff were just a bit over eager and pushy, which is a massive turn off for me. One thing that annoyed me was when walking past some restaurants the waiter/tout outside would say hello and I would smile back, not wanting to engage in conversation avoiding the inevitable declining of entering their establishment, and then they would demand that I say hello back. It just made them come across as rather petulant and put me off even more from going into their restaurants. I made my way to the nearest tram stop and took the tram back across the water. When I got off the tram, there was a seller with his cart and I bought myself another simit style bread. This one was a bit different though. It was still shaped like a bagel, but it was softer, more like a normal bread bun/roll and instead of being topped with sesame seeds, there were only a few baked into the bread. It was also filled with chocolatey nutella type spread. It was really nice and I would order one again if the opportunity arises. It also gave me the strength to walk up the hill home.

I was still hungry and remembered seeing a restaurant on the corner of the main road near my hotel that looked pretty decent so I headed there. The restaurant was called Beyoglu Bereket Halk Doner. I thought it might be like a fast food place, but it seemed more of a canteen style as there were lots of different foods on display behind the counter. I picked a chicken dish and a side of rice. I also couldn’t resist the look of a purple yoghurt dip so grabbed a bowl of that too and a bottle of ice tea to wash it down with. The rice was nice, and made a good change for me as I am used to eating plain white rice in China. This had another grain mixed in it. The dip was lovely. I probably should have had some bread with it, but my tray was already filled with carbs and I am happy to eat dip off a spoon like it is yoghurt. I think the dip was a form of cacik (Turkish yoghurt and cucumber dip) as that it what it tasted like. I presume beetroot had been added to give it its purple colour, but I couldn’t taste it. The chicken dish was a bit underwhelming. On the bottom there was a piece of chicken on top of it a scoop of mashed potato and then on top of that some melted cheese. It was just bland and needed some more herbs and spices to give it more of a taste. Once done, I headed back to where I was staying to rest up for the evening, too tired to venture out again.

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Photos

Simit
with cream cheese

Second Courtyard
Topkapi Palace