I went to Turkey and it was ok, ;).
So, from May 13th to May 27th of this past spring, I decided to fly off to Turkey for a couple of weeks to see what I could see. I met up with a tour group once I arrived, and the adventure began. I have no idea where to even start...I went to 10 different cities and took over 1000 pictures. I'll do my best to not just ramble.
Turkey fun fact #1: It straddles both Europe and Asia (specifically in the city of Istanbul, which is separated into the European side and the Asian side by the Bosphorus River). Our guide, Levent, described the cosmopolitan, more expensive European side as "New York City," while the populous but sprawling, less city-like Asian part would be "New Jersey." LOL Istanbul was the first city we spent time in (I landed in Ataturk airport in Istanbul, and that was also where the journey ended after two weeks).
Pictures with occasional explanations:
My first hotel room in Istanbul, where I slept for two nights.
View of the city from my hotel room.
The first full day in Istanbul
We started off with a visit to Topkapi Palace, which is now a famed museum said to house, among other things, some bones of St. John the Baptist(!), the cloak and sword of the Prophet Mohammed, and some amazing jewel-encrusted trinkets, kitchen items, and accessories (most notably the legendary Spoonmaker's Diamond). But in its heyday during the Ottoman Empire, it was the home of sultans, their families, and yes, their harems. I mostly took pictures of the grounds, because we were forbidden from taking pictures of most of the displays inside.
View from the palace of some cruise ships on the Bosphorus.
This was just outside of the treasury which housed all of the cray-cray jewels and other valuables. As you can see, on a given day with nice weather in Istanbul, it can get extremely crowded!
This was the entrance (giris--we saw that word a lot) to the rooms that housed the "sacred trusts" such as the bones of St. John the Baptist and artifacts of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. It's decorated with beautiful blue tiles which are famous in Turkey. I felt very strange and humbled viewing some of the items there.
Next up was the Hagia Sophia, or the "Church of Wisdom," which was first a Greek Christian cathedral when it was finished all the way back in A.D. 360 (and it only took 5 years to be built!), then a Roman Catholic cathedral, then a mosque, and now a museum. To think that this huge building was built in just 5 years in a time when construction vehicles didn't exist kinda blows my mind. But I'll just post some pics:
Exterior view.
A ceiling fresco of Madonna and child. One could find many similar frescoes all over the building.
Hallway before the main cathedral.
One can find both Muslim and Christian elements in the Hagia Sophia.
We took a lunch break after these two attractions, and I decided to wander a bit from the group to try some street vendor food and to check out the goings-on in a nearby park. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and between the free music and dancing and the friendly stray cats (I'm a sucker for felines), it was impossible not to enjoy the day.
Music in the park.
A man jumps on stage and casually dances with his daughter while the band plays. I think he was doing some version of bellydancing; it was actually really cute and I couldn't help but giggle while watching them. Also, the girl in the background looks like she's doing the robot. :D
Clearly not afraid of people, this guy just wants to know if anyone will share.
After the lunch break, we came back together and visited the Blue Mosque, more officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish). Its popular name is the Blue Mosque (in English at least) because of the many blue tiles adorning its interior walls. It's one of the largest mosques in the world, and is only one of two mosques in Turkey to have six minarets. Now, unlike the Hagia Sophia, this building actually still functions as a place of worship in addition to a tourist attraction. We had to take our shoes off in order to enter the mosque, and there were actually some people praying on the periphery of the great hall while hundreds of tourists walked around and took pictures. That made me feel like I was intruding, until one of my tour companions, Lynn, a nice lady from Australia, pointed out that they're probably able to keep the building up because of all of the donations from tourists.
Exterior shot.
Gateway opening into the mosque's courtyard.
One of the minarets, up close.
My jetlag, and being out in the sun all day, were definitely catching up to me around the time we visited the Blue Mosque, because I recall almost passing out in the courtyard while Levent talked to us. I was very grateful to get back the hotel and rest before we went out to a *very* touristy dinner which featured many folkloric dancers and a magician.
Of all the bellydancers, I think I found this one the most entertaining. She danced for part of her performance with a cane, another part with a veil (which is pretty challenging--I've tried--but she made it look easy), and she even coaxed a guy onstage to dance with her, which was very amusing. There were also groups of dancers from other more remote parts of Turkey. I honestly am not sure what happened to some of my pictures, to be honest. My camera is on its last legs.
All in all, our first full day in Turkey was exactly that--FULL! The next day, we visited the Grand Bazaar before heading to our next destination further south in central/west Turkey, which was Bursa. Now, I have to admit that the Grand Bazaar was not quite what I expected it to be. Call me naive, but I was picturing a more ancient feel, with tents where people sold quintessentially Asian and Middle Eastern merchandise such as spices, carpets, etc. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of carpets, and the area around the Grand Bazaar certainly had an old town feel, with some narrow streets and local mom-and-pop businesses. But once inside the Grand Bazaar, which was indoors and fully equipped with electricity, etc., I kind of felt like I was at an outlet mall. And the Turkish people do not have any illusions about this, let me tell you. Levent pretty much called the Grand Bazaar the worst, most ridiculous tourist trap in all of Turkey, and possibly the world (he had a pretty good sense of humor). Still, I would recommend a visit just to see it and to experience the bargaining (I didn't buy anything so I didn't have to do this, but Levent gave us all some great tips on the bus on the way there). While I walked around the Bazaar, sometimes with my new friends Mandra and John (a married doctor/nurse couple around my age from Minnesota) and sometimes alone, people in all of the tiny shops would try to get your attention with a greeting and then draw you inside their shop. It was fairly overwhelming to try to look at everything as a casual observer and also try to respond to myriad greetings. I started to cope by not making much eye contact, or by smiling and nodding but without stopping. All I really wanted on one of the earliest days of the trip was to buy some woven bookmarks for friends back home, and ironically, I didn't find any in the Grand Bazaar--instead, I found a nice selection at an outdoor stand *right* next to where our tour bus was parked! But enough blabbing--here are some pics of the Grand Bazaar and surrounding area:
Ok, I take it back. It kinda looks like a cross between an outlet mall and a subway station.
One of the streets leading to one of the Grand Bazaar's entrances. Oh, another note on the Grand Bazaar: it's extremely easy to get lost in--take breadcrumbs! ;)
Another entrance to the Bazaar.
My first taste of authentic Turkish coffee at a cafe near the Bazaar.
Ok, that'll do for now, but that only covers my first two days in Turkey, so I'll be back! Up next is Bursa and our harrowing (not really) experience with an authentic Turkish bath, then Ankara, the capital of Turkey, with its nationalistic pride and award-winning museums...then a true highlight of the trip, Nevsihir and the Cappodocia region.
Turkey fun fact #1: It straddles both Europe and Asia (specifically in the city of Istanbul, which is separated into the European side and the Asian side by the Bosphorus River). Our guide, Levent, described the cosmopolitan, more expensive European side as "New York City," while the populous but sprawling, less city-like Asian part would be "New Jersey." LOL Istanbul was the first city we spent time in (I landed in Ataturk airport in Istanbul, and that was also where the journey ended after two weeks).
Pictures with occasional explanations:
My first hotel room in Istanbul, where I slept for two nights.
View of the city from my hotel room.
The first full day in Istanbul
We started off with a visit to Topkapi Palace, which is now a famed museum said to house, among other things, some bones of St. John the Baptist(!), the cloak and sword of the Prophet Mohammed, and some amazing jewel-encrusted trinkets, kitchen items, and accessories (most notably the legendary Spoonmaker's Diamond). But in its heyday during the Ottoman Empire, it was the home of sultans, their families, and yes, their harems. I mostly took pictures of the grounds, because we were forbidden from taking pictures of most of the displays inside.
View from the palace of some cruise ships on the Bosphorus.
This was just outside of the treasury which housed all of the cray-cray jewels and other valuables. As you can see, on a given day with nice weather in Istanbul, it can get extremely crowded!
This was the entrance (giris--we saw that word a lot) to the rooms that housed the "sacred trusts" such as the bones of St. John the Baptist and artifacts of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. It's decorated with beautiful blue tiles which are famous in Turkey. I felt very strange and humbled viewing some of the items there.
Next up was the Hagia Sophia, or the "Church of Wisdom," which was first a Greek Christian cathedral when it was finished all the way back in A.D. 360 (and it only took 5 years to be built!), then a Roman Catholic cathedral, then a mosque, and now a museum. To think that this huge building was built in just 5 years in a time when construction vehicles didn't exist kinda blows my mind. But I'll just post some pics:
Exterior view.
A ceiling fresco of Madonna and child. One could find many similar frescoes all over the building.
Hallway before the main cathedral.
One can find both Muslim and Christian elements in the Hagia Sophia.
We took a lunch break after these two attractions, and I decided to wander a bit from the group to try some street vendor food and to check out the goings-on in a nearby park. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and between the free music and dancing and the friendly stray cats (I'm a sucker for felines), it was impossible not to enjoy the day.
Music in the park.
A man jumps on stage and casually dances with his daughter while the band plays. I think he was doing some version of bellydancing; it was actually really cute and I couldn't help but giggle while watching them. Also, the girl in the background looks like she's doing the robot. :D
Clearly not afraid of people, this guy just wants to know if anyone will share.
After the lunch break, we came back together and visited the Blue Mosque, more officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish). Its popular name is the Blue Mosque (in English at least) because of the many blue tiles adorning its interior walls. It's one of the largest mosques in the world, and is only one of two mosques in Turkey to have six minarets. Now, unlike the Hagia Sophia, this building actually still functions as a place of worship in addition to a tourist attraction. We had to take our shoes off in order to enter the mosque, and there were actually some people praying on the periphery of the great hall while hundreds of tourists walked around and took pictures. That made me feel like I was intruding, until one of my tour companions, Lynn, a nice lady from Australia, pointed out that they're probably able to keep the building up because of all of the donations from tourists.
Exterior shot.
Gateway opening into the mosque's courtyard.
One of the minarets, up close.
My jetlag, and being out in the sun all day, were definitely catching up to me around the time we visited the Blue Mosque, because I recall almost passing out in the courtyard while Levent talked to us. I was very grateful to get back the hotel and rest before we went out to a *very* touristy dinner which featured many folkloric dancers and a magician.
Of all the bellydancers, I think I found this one the most entertaining. She danced for part of her performance with a cane, another part with a veil (which is pretty challenging--I've tried--but she made it look easy), and she even coaxed a guy onstage to dance with her, which was very amusing. There were also groups of dancers from other more remote parts of Turkey. I honestly am not sure what happened to some of my pictures, to be honest. My camera is on its last legs.
All in all, our first full day in Turkey was exactly that--FULL! The next day, we visited the Grand Bazaar before heading to our next destination further south in central/west Turkey, which was Bursa. Now, I have to admit that the Grand Bazaar was not quite what I expected it to be. Call me naive, but I was picturing a more ancient feel, with tents where people sold quintessentially Asian and Middle Eastern merchandise such as spices, carpets, etc. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of carpets, and the area around the Grand Bazaar certainly had an old town feel, with some narrow streets and local mom-and-pop businesses. But once inside the Grand Bazaar, which was indoors and fully equipped with electricity, etc., I kind of felt like I was at an outlet mall. And the Turkish people do not have any illusions about this, let me tell you. Levent pretty much called the Grand Bazaar the worst, most ridiculous tourist trap in all of Turkey, and possibly the world (he had a pretty good sense of humor). Still, I would recommend a visit just to see it and to experience the bargaining (I didn't buy anything so I didn't have to do this, but Levent gave us all some great tips on the bus on the way there). While I walked around the Bazaar, sometimes with my new friends Mandra and John (a married doctor/nurse couple around my age from Minnesota) and sometimes alone, people in all of the tiny shops would try to get your attention with a greeting and then draw you inside their shop. It was fairly overwhelming to try to look at everything as a casual observer and also try to respond to myriad greetings. I started to cope by not making much eye contact, or by smiling and nodding but without stopping. All I really wanted on one of the earliest days of the trip was to buy some woven bookmarks for friends back home, and ironically, I didn't find any in the Grand Bazaar--instead, I found a nice selection at an outdoor stand *right* next to where our tour bus was parked! But enough blabbing--here are some pics of the Grand Bazaar and surrounding area:
Ok, I take it back. It kinda looks like a cross between an outlet mall and a subway station.
One of the streets leading to one of the Grand Bazaar's entrances. Oh, another note on the Grand Bazaar: it's extremely easy to get lost in--take breadcrumbs! ;)
Another entrance to the Bazaar.
My first taste of authentic Turkish coffee at a cafe near the Bazaar.
Ok, that'll do for now, but that only covers my first two days in Turkey, so I'll be back! Up next is Bursa and our harrowing (not really) experience with an authentic Turkish bath, then Ankara, the capital of Turkey, with its nationalistic pride and award-winning museums...then a true highlight of the trip, Nevsihir and the Cappodocia region.