istanbul (part 1 of turkey, croatia, and bosnia)

in september pete and i spent two weeks in the turkey/croatia/bosnia area with our friends jenny and andrew. our first, very brief, stop was istanbul, turkey. we arrived late on thursday and flew to croatia early saturday morning - so we had a lot of ground to cover in a very short amount of time!

stop #1 - a delicious breakfast overlooking the sea of marmara in one direction and the blue mosque in the other. breakfast is the most difficult meal of the day for me with all my food limitations, but i had so many options here i could hardly contain myself!

pete and jenny enjoying breakfast overlooking the sea of marmara...

while andrew and i take photos of the spectacular view of the blue mosque

stop #2 - the hagia sophia. once a cathedral, then a mosque, now a museum - the hagia sophia is beautiful and full of history. the scale of the place is hard to judge once you are inside, but rick steves told us that the statue of liberty could do jumping jacks inside the hagia. that gave us a pretty good visual! many of the mosaics from the christianity-era were well preserved because when the hagia sophia was converted to a mosque they were plastered over rather than destroyed. it was neat to see the christian and islam religious stories and symbols side by side. to get to the second level of the museum you walk up a stone ramp that is approximately eight feet wide, twelve or so feet tall, and gently sloping. we were trying to figure out why the ramp was made like this when pete had a flash of brilliance - the ramps were made so you could ride your horse up there!  

 islam meets christianity inside the hagia sophia

 candelabras provide light to the lower floor;
natural light flooded the upper floor

 pete learning about the hagia so he can tell us all about it

 looking across to the blue mosque from the hagia sophia

an example of the intricate tile mosaics from the christian era

stop #3 - the underground basilica cistern. the cistern was used to store water from a forested area outside of istanbul but was forgotten about for quite a long time. the underground cistern is filled with roman columns and other artifacts, including a medusa head as the base of two columns. 

columns in the cistern

medusa head base on one of the columns

stop #4 - the spice market. chaos meets beautifully arranged spices, teas, and turkish delight. the rows and rows of goods were a feast for the senses.

tea offerings

spices abounding

just outside the spice market was a mosque and the ritual washing area  

stop #5 - topkai palace. the palace was the home of the ottoman sultans for over 400 years. the extravagance was impressive - particularly the tile work in the harems. the treasury draws a big crowd - and for good reason. two of the most impressive pieces in there included a bowl FULL of uncut emeralds (some nearly as large as my fist) and two solid gold candlesticks that weigh 100 pounds each. 

the footpath leading to the harems

beautiful tile work in the harems

even the exterior of some buildings were covered in tile 

(i think there are four different designs in this photo)

part of the palace complex

stop #6 - the blue mosque. because we were in istanbul on a friday, getting into the blue mosque required a bit of careful planning. visitors are not allowed into the mosque during prayer times, which on a friday include morning, noon, and evening. waiting to get in gave us a chance to rest for a bit before continuing our istanbul blitz. like the hagia sophia, the size of the interior of the blue mosque is hard to judge - but it is big! the main features are a number of large domes and columns that are all ornately decorated. unlike most christian churches, there are no pews in the mosque - just a bare floor in the main part of the mosque for the men and a side area for the women. the dress code for visiting the mosque is strictly enforced - no bare shoulders, knees, or head for women.

inside the blue mosque - looking up at the main dome

me in my headscarf next to one of the pillars for scale - they were huge!

stop #7 - the grand bazaar. we walked through the grand bazaar area on our way back to our apartment. by this point in the late afternoon, we were all tired and feeling a bit jet-lagged. the bazaar overwhelmed all of us to a point of exhaustion. 

lanterns in the grand bazaar

stop #s 8 & 9: dinner and drinks. after a short refresh, we headed back out into the city for dinner. most restaurants do not serve alcohol, and in fact, it is quite difficult to find a bar in the historic area of istanbul. upscale hotels are the best place to find a bar and we managed to find one with spectacular nighttime views of the blue mosque and the hagia sophia. we could also see a whirling dervish performing at one of the restaurants...it is safe to say that a career as a whirling dervish is not in my future. i got dizzy just watching that man! 

jenny and andrew and the blue mosque

the hagia sophia at night

istanbul was certainly a whirlwind, but we managed to see most of the highlights in our action-filled 24 hours. and we crossed world heritage site #1 off our list for the trip (six more to come!). 

next up - sailing in croatia!