We have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is that we have copious opportunities to travel and a wonderful life together in Zurich. We are also very thankful for the health and happiness of our families. I am very, very lucky to still have all four of my Grandparents around and although there have been some serious health scares recently, they are all doing relatively well considering they are all in their 80s. My only wish is that I could spend more time with them. Phil's Grandpa Anderson is in his late 80s and last I heard he is still working! His Great Aunt Tete is also doing well and emails every once in a while to stay in touch and keep us up to date. We are, indeed, very blessed.
Many of our friends and family have gotten married or had children this past year as well and we are so happy to have these special additions to our lives. Living on the other side of the world makes us appreciate everyone a bit more since we miss out on some of the important moments. I have to say that being able to see pictures on Facebook of the weddings and children growing up helps! I could definitely keep going on about everything we are thankful for, but it is time to get on with the Istanbul post!
Istanbul feels like a different world for many reasons. I think the main one is that it is such an old city, and it is so huge! It is the 5th largest city in the world with nearly 13 million people. Everywhere you go, from the trams to the streets are packed at most times during the day. Istanbul has been a part of several ancient empires and changed hands so the influences are very different and the buildings and culture reflect that. To learn more about the history of Istanbul visit this site. The city is also mainly Muslim which means that there are minarets dotting the skyline in every direction you turn and the beautiful call to prayer echos through the streets 5 times per day. The city is also overrun with stray cats. It is the strangest things I have ever seen. We stayed in an apartment on a small street in the Beyoglu district and just up the street was a group of 10 or more cats which were being fed by the neighbors. We were at an outdoor bar/restaurant one night and people were holding some cats and seemed perfectly fine with the fact that they run wild. Strange indeed, but they are well fed, not too mangy, and basically accepted and maybe even beloved by the residents.
We stayed in the city for 5 nights. During this time we tried to hit as many sites as we could and eat as much local food as we could find. The food in Istanbul is delicious and very diverse. Between eating and drinking LOTS of Turkish tea, we went to see the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, Aqueduct, Spice Market, Turkish Bath, Basilica Cistern, enjoy some nargile, and visit Asian Istanbul. Here are the pics!
Istanbul panoramic looking across the river from the Galata Tower. The haze that you can see was with us for the majority of our visit and, in fact, delayed our arrival by over 4 hours.
Phil and I on top of the Galata Tower
The Galata Tower
Hagia Sofia or Ayasofia Church/Mosque. This was originally built as a church between 532 and 537 A.D., but converted to a Mosque in 1453.
Walking in the main door used to be reserved for Sultans only as the sign in the picture states. These days it is one of the tourist entrances.
Check out the size of the door! I had Phil stand next to it for scale purposes.
Look at the thresholds worn down from all the years of use. I am obsessed with looking at the thresholds of buildings because I feel like they best show the age of buildings like this.
The inside soars and looks completely surreal.
In some parts of the building they have uncovered original mosaics that were plastered over during the changeover to a Mosque. It is really neat to see the history and the Christian and Muslim symbols together in one building.
Gabriel in mosaic.
The whole ceiling is covered in mosaic in some parts. Here is a close up.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or Blue Mosque is located directly across the park from the Hagia Sofia and is very similar in silhouette. Here is a view of it from the second floor of the Hagia Sofia.
And another from the park
A couple of photos from the courtyard of the Blue Mosque
The interior of the dome.
We visited during a service. I think it was one of the most beautiful religion-related experiences of my life. There was an imam leading the service by chanting and speaking and I think I could have kneeled and listened for a long time. If you want to learn more about the Islamic Religion, services, and beliefs, visit this page.
Nearby is the Basilica Cistern. This is where the water from the Belgrade woods is stored after traveling 19 km via aqueduct.
Medusa Pillar
Aqueduct which carries the water from the forest
STOP in Turkish
The Topkapi Palace was the primary residence of the Sultans of the Ottoman empire for 400 years. The most impressive part was the tile work.
The view from the palace
We also snuck into the Harem - which was home to the Sultan's mother, concubines, wives, and children. At one time there was a sultan with close to 300 concubines but he decided he was sick of them and had them all put in sacks and thrown into the Bosphorus! It cost extra to get in so we decided it was worth the risk! This was my favorite part of the palace.
One of the Harem's pools.
Courtyard of the Favorites
Imperial Hall
Ancient Toilet
Stained Glass and Tile
The Grand Bazaar! This was the craziest place we visited. It was packed with people and there were tons of shopkeepers trying to get us to check out their booths. It was fun to look at everything, and Adam haggled to get a backgammon board.
Tiles and Lanterns and tea oh my! Phil got hooked on tea when we were there which makes me so happy.
Next stop was the spice market. We didn't buy anything here but we were able to taste some Turkish Delight!
"Turkish Viagra" at the spice market. Loved the sign for it!
Turkish Delight
On the ferry to the Asian side of the Bosphorous.
We also decided to indulge in a couple of Turkey's greatest traditions. We went to a Hammam to enjoy the Turkish Bath experience. This consists of wrapping yourself in a peþtemal (printed cotton wrap) and laying on a hot marble slab and sweating until it is your turn to be scrubbed down with a rough mitt and lathered up with some suds and rinsed after you are clean. I decided to pay for the traditional bath where a large Turkish woman scrubbed me from head to toe. Phil opted for the self service treatment where he washed himself. There are separate chambers for men and women but they are designed the same. After being washed, I went to sit in the jacuzzi tub and then went to the cool room to get some towels. I sat wrapped in towels and drinking tea until I was fully relaxed and ready to change and meet the boys. I would love to go again! Here are a couple of photos from the web to show you what the hammam looks like. Obviously they don't allow cameras in the bathing areas!
After our ultra relaxing bath experience we went to an outdoor cafe close to our apartment and enjoyed some hot tea, nargile, and backgammon while sitting on bean bags. It was a fabulous way to spend our last full day in Istanbul.
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