İstanbul - Gün 3

Today we slept in a bit (maybe until 9am!) and then broke down and visited Tur-Ista Travel Agency who did all of our planning- the plane, the buses, the hotels, the tours, etc. etc. After having so many people tell us our plan was impossible, it was nice to have someone make it happen. At first, we couldn't decide what to do and mom hid her face in her coat. Erdoğan said, "Why don't you let me book this tour?", so we gave up and let him.


A courtyard outside of Süleymaniye Mosque
We headed over to the Süleymaniye Mosque. We accidentally ended up in Beyazıt Mosque, but slowly found our way to the correct one, by wandering around the perimeter of İstanbul Univeristy. The mosques were both very nice. The interior of Süleymaniye was not as decorative as the Blue Mosque, but its surrounding courtyards were much more pleasant.

Süleymaniye Mosque was designed by the famous architect, Sinan, who has a university named after him in İstanbul. I was entertained by the stained glass, designed by İbrahim the Drunk.

Then, we had lunch right outside Süleymaniye Mosque, at a cafe which apparently had nothing on its menu except fried eggs. So, fried eggs and bread for lunch!

On our way back, we did some souvenir shopping. We did a lot of souvenir shopping. First, we bought some evil eye pillow cases from a man named Omar in a little shopping area behind the Aya Sofia. Then, we were sucked into this large shop, full of all the tacky souvenir stuff I've seen all over the country. However, we didn't have to haggle with the prices (bargaining gets old and tired after a short while), so we were delighted. Time seemed to stop in the store, as we looked at scented prayer beads, fluorescent-lit Aya Sofias, cheap scarves, and all sorts of other useless items. We emerged from the store, and it was dark outside.

Dinner was a meal in some Turkish bar off of İstiklal Caddesi. Turkish bar food consists of either chicken cooked on a stick, or lamb meatballs (köfte), or something similarly simple and greasy. Mom made the mistake of ordering an "American Salad" which is apparently potato salad, made with yogurt (not mayonnaise!), and mixed with peas and carrots. I believe I find the stuff in my sandwiches and cheeseburgers on campus.

İstanbul - Gün 2

Day 2 of that glorious Turkish kahvaltı (breakfast). Fresh cucumbers, tomatos, olives, cheeses, bread, pastries, eggs, and the added surprise of grapes. A strong glass of çay, and then it's off into the city again.


The first half of the day was dedicated to a cruise along the Bosphorous. Above you see the view from a cafe by Pierre Lotti. On a clear day, you should be able to see seven hills of İstanbul. However, we had gray weather the entire time. Oddly, Pierre Lotti Cafe is situated over a rather large cemetary. You can see the headstones on the left.


We proceeded to take the boat down the Bosphorous, our tour guide using the muffled speaker to point out various sites. The most striking feature of the waterways of İstanbul is that they're absolutely packed with boats. Filled with freight liners, fishing boats, tug boats, ferry boats, everything.


I'm not sure if you can make out the dual-domed building in the above photo. There's a close-up below:

On the right, you may be able to make out a cross, on the left dome is a rather Muslim-looking dome decoration. It is one building split in two- one half for a church, the other for a mosque.


Interior tile work at Topkapı Palace
After lunch, we headed to Topkapı Palace, which was absolutely gorgeous. The harem wasn't open, so we paid to see the treasury instead. Topkapı Palace apparently houses the Prophet Mohammad's beard hairs, footprints, teeth, and various other belongings. There were swords, too many tea sets to count, silverware, porcelain work from China, decadent candlesticks, sparkling thrones of every sort of material, and the ever famous Topkapı dagger. Lots of emeralds, turquoise, and the world's 5th largest diamond. On a more disgusting note, I also go to see the arm and skull of St. John the Baptist. This palace was arranged around 4 courtyards, each very green and pleasant open areas.

There was a tulip garden in the last courtyard, attributed to the "Tulip Age"- some former sultan's favorite flower.


The sink for washing feet and hands (before prayer) were set within the courtyard


Iris under the İftariye Baldachin
İbrahim the Mad built this gold structure for breaking the Ramazan fast.


Beautiful Iznik tiles on the circumcision room

Topkapı Palace took the entire rest of the day. We had dinner at a restaurant under Galata Bridge with a nice view of the Yeni Camii.

İstanbul - Gün 1

After having the lazy servis (shuttle) driver drop me off at a tram station instead of drive me all the way to Sultanhamet (grrrr), I arrived at the Hippodrome. I spent a good 15 minutes wandering around until I found our hotel, Fehmi Bey. It was the nicest hotel I've stayed at in all of Turkey. You know it's bad when having shower doors excites you. OoooOooh, and new towels every day!


Mom at Galata Tower
Due to the holiday everything seemed closed in the morning. So, we walked to Taksim square. Also due to the holiday, the Tünel (funicular) was closed, so we had to hoof it up the rather steep incline. Along the way we stopped for a rest at Galata Tower, which apparently has a night club somewhere inside it.


We followed İstiklal Caddesi (above). There's something about that street that always makes me feel like Christmas. Perhaps it's the Christmas lights (tastefully molded into a Crescent and Star), or the window-shopping, or the mobs of people on the street...It's a good place, and it's still hopping late into the night.


Iris at Taksim Square
After a light lunch with some pomegranate juice, we broke down and bought some cinnamon-covered, hazelnut-filled Dunkin Donuts. Then we continued on to Taksim Square. The best part of the above photo are the guys in the background:

A close-up of the Turkish guys making faces


Mom on Galata Bridge
We walked back so I could go over Galata Bridge. We headed down the hill, past the 10 year olds lighting up cigarettes and smoking cigars. I hadn't seen them doing that before, so I suspect it's some tradition for the Şeker Bayramı holiday.

I believe Galata Bridge has officially replaced Prince Edward Island as my most favorite place in the world. There's nothing too special about it- it's rather new, but there are some trendy little restaurants and pubs underneath it, allowing you to relax while you gaze at the İstanbul skyline. The view from atop the bridge is even better. It allows you to see both sides- the Golden Horn and the Asian side. There are so many minarets dotting the İstanbul skyline, it's really quite wonderful. Men line the sides with their huge fishing poles, aiming to catch the tiny fish of the Bosphorous.


Yeni Camii
Once you get off the bridge, it's chaos. You're dumped at the foot of the Yeni Camii- across the crazy street from it, that is. You can either dodge the deadly Turkish traffic, or use an underground walkway (which happens to be packed with people and vendors). On this particular day, I decided to drag mom across the road with me. When we got to the other side, we realized the tram was in the middle of the road.

Mom was unwilling to jump over the road block, and hailed a taxi. Her loss.

We visited the Aya Sofia. It was my second visit, and I have once again concluded that the Ottomans should not have painted the ceilings that ugly shade of goldish-yellow. On the bright side, the hideous plaster preserved much of the Greek Orthodox mosaics beneath it. They're still absolutely beautiful.


At the end, we found a cat resting in one of the corners of the building. I see cows grazing in Hittite ruins, dogs running through the city streets, and now cats sleeping in the Aya Sofia. That's Turkey.

We ate some traditional Turkish food cooked in clay pots at Rumeli, and it was one of the best meals I've ever had. Pretty simple- lamb, tomatos, onions, etc. It was delicious. We split a glass of licorice flavored rakı, which is Turkey's national drink. The Dunkin Donuts we had for dessert complemented the meal quite well.

Turkey - Gün 0

Above, you see the basic, general plan. Mom is coming to Turkey, and she wants to see: İstanbul, Efes (Ephesus), Virgin Mary's House, and a hamam (Turkish bath). I'd like to see Troy and Gallipoli as well.


A blurry view of ASHTİ, Ankara's otogar (bus station).
I spend a lot of time in bus stations, but ASHTİ is my home station. I like to watch the buses arrive and depart at the same time. I headed out of Ankara at 12:30 on the first night of our Şeker Bayramı holiday, aiming to arrive in İstanbul at 6:30am. I see a lot of sunrises while on a bus, more sunrises than I've seen in my entire life.

Cheeseburger

Okay, I've learned my lesson: When dying for "familiar" food, don't go to a Turkish restaurant.

I ordered a cheeseburger. What I got was:

• Tomato
  
• 1 piece of lettuce
  
• Pickle
  
• Some generic Turkish cheese
  
• A meat patty (perhaps made of lamb, definitely not beef) that was 1/8" thick
  
• Potato salad, complete with peas and carrots
  

All this was stuck on a sort of buttery, pastry-ish bun.
It was a miracle that I ate half.