Istanbulieve it

Istanbul

We had to skip our stop on the Greek island of Khios because of bad weather conditions, so we steamed directly to Turkey, and were to arrive in Istanbul around midnight instead of 7am the next day. We’d heard that the city had a lively nightlife so we lounged and napped lightly, waiting to take advantage of our surprise night in Istanbul. Midnight turned to 12:30. After a follow up phone call with the ship’s front desk, it turned to 1. When 1am rolled around, we were told it would just be about 45 minutes to clear customs. We finally gave up.

6 hours of sleep later, we were off the ship, walking along the Galata bridge across the Golden Horn toward the Sultanahmet quarter. We’d read that Istanbul can be sensory overload, but after two days in Egypt, our senses were relieved.  Early morning fishermen caught large piles of small fish, and the river below was bustling with traffic. Unfortunately, our cruise ship dominated the Bosphorus as we looked back toward Karakoy, but the skyline in front of us was beautiful, undulating with wide domes and punctuated by minarets. We weren’t sure of our day’s itinerary and followed our guidebook’s advice of visiting the Topkapi palace, an “unmissable sight” as our first stop. We waited in a line of less than ten people to get our ticket. After we’d visited the palace, we saw the same ticket line stretch for nearly a quarter mile an hour later.

We went through the palace, which was built in the mid 1400s as the center of the Ottoman Empire and saw refreshingly different architecture and designs from anything we’d seen previously on our trip. In the museum and treasury there were a lot of very impressive sights, including an 86-carat diamond, Moses’ staff and amazing mosaics, especially in the circumcision room. Yes, there is a special room for that. We also heard a monk singing a verse of the Koran, a practice that’s been ongoing 24 hours a day for over 400 years.

After our luck with the lines at Topkapı, we headed for the Aya Sofya.  But the line stretched around the block, and we knew we wouldn’t have time to go with our tight schedule to get back on the boat by 4pm (the frustrating side of cruising).  So we turned toward the Blue Mosque instead, but arrived right as the Friday noon prayers were beginning, a time where no tourists are allowed inside. But it did give us the opportunity to watch the ablutions as dozens of men shed their work and tennis shoes for the ritual washing. We walked around the surrounding neighborhood waiting for the mosque to re-open. A savvy carpet salesman was “walking by on his lunch break” and snagged us in for a cup of tea in his shop. The tea included a sales pitch of Turkish rugs, but thankfully we made it out and back to the Blue Mosque in a half hour, no rugs in hand.

The inside of the Blue Mosque was worth the wait, with columns the size of sequoias and hand-painted mosaic tiles from floor to ceiling. The domes are tens of meters above you, but long cables hang iron chandeliers just above your head, separating the prayer space from the vast vault above.

We had to start heading back to the ship, so we took the long route through Karakoy to see the Galata Tower.  The tower was a steep climb away at the top of a hill, so we only had time to arrive, snap a few photos, and head back down. We were sad to leave (Istanbul, we hardly knew ya!) but had the consolation of a gorgeous sunset over the mosque rooftops on our way out on the Bosphorus.

Best Sights:

The Basilica Cisterns, a short walk from Haya Sofia, were sealed and rediscovered recently.  Now there’s no drinking water, just fish, and elevated paths wind through the cisterns to view the ornamented columns.  The two most famous columns use heads of Medusa as the base, and are a favorite for photographs.

The ancient covered bazaar, Kapalı Çarsı, was worth a brief walk through just to have been once, but is quite the tourist trap and we spent more time trying to find our way out than actually enjoying the bazaar.  We had more fun walking down a street of more local-targeted vendors, watching Istanbul natives doing their daily errands.

Best Eats:

Simit – A sesame-seed pretzel/bagel, served with laughing cow cheese from street vendors for a steal.  Delicious! 

See if you can spot our ship in the view from Topkapi Palace...