The 86 major attractions (give or take a few hundred) within a stone's throw of each other in Sultanahmet make it an irresistable magnet for countless tourists. In the short space of the two-and-a-half days Hot Rock was there to pick up new trip members, I experienced everything from moments of extraordinary peace to barely suppressed tourist rage.
Usually the early bird gets the worm and Istanbul is no exception. Diana and I got up early to take pictures of two of the most famous structures in the world -- the Hagia Sophia
and the Blue Mosque
-- and wound up inside the Blue Mosque,
lights off, alone except for one janitor vacuuming the carpet (apparently a good thing as the mosque reputedly smells like rotting feet by the end of the day). It was stunning to watch the hundreds of stained glass windows radiate with increasingly brilliant intensity as the sun slowly rose, 
occasional beams slicing through the half-lit interior creating golden spotlights on the ornate pillars and domes 
while the surrounding muted pinks and blues of the stone inlays glowed softly. 
The background hum of the vacuum cleaner faded leaving an overwhelming sense of peace. I felt strangely cozy, comfortable as though I had wrapped myself in a fleece blanket, despite the soaring domes above me. We must have spent an hour in there, enjoying the interplay between stone and light, before someone turned on the power. Diana and I exchanged a smile as a few people trickled in, speaking in hushed tones of wonder. It was time to move on.
We had a little bit of time to kill before meeting a good friend of mine now living in Istanbul, Riva, and so we set off to wander on a neighboring street. Within two minutes I saw an entrance to the Basilica Cistern which we had been told to check out. The cistern is a cathedral-sized underground structure designed to collect water via aqueducts originating 19 km north of the city. It is packed with 336 carved marble columns and may gone unnoticed for years except that one fellow began to wonder why the hole that he was throwing his trash into for years never filled up. Really. With no trash in sight, it is now lit from below with red lights and has new age-y music playing over the speakers. 
It feels vaguely mystical and vaguely like a fun-house. I would not at all have been surprised to see either chanting monks or scary clowns pop up out of the dark water. Of course, I couldn't stop taking photographs and wound up being 20 minutes late meeting my friend.
We had intended to go to the Topkapi Palace, but that was closed so we went to the Hagia Sophia -- all of three minutes away. The Hagia Sophia is huge. Once the largest church in the world, it was turned into a mosque by the Ottomans and is now a museum. Most people tend to prefer the Hagia Sophia over the Blue Mosque but, although it is undeniably impressive, I found the Hagia Sophia to be much more impersonal (I'm sure the fact that I basically had the Blue Mosque to myself influences my opinion).
Those are tiers of domes in the background:
Ground floor:
Looking up to the second floor:
From the second floor looking at the upper domes:
Me still looking up:
Martha Stewart's room in prison?:
Mosaics that had been plastered over when the structure was converted to a mosque:
Bronze door:
Mosque-ed out for the day, we needed sustenance and went to a nearby Indian restaurant, Dubb, that Riva's boyfriend, Fehmi, manages. We proceeded to sit there for about three hours laughing like idiots while chowing down on the awesome food that kept appearing like magic. Why move, really, when there is great food and a great view?
We couldn't figure out why people kept staring. Thought maybe it was the Hagia Sophia in the background:
Fehmi, Riva, Diana, me:
Reluctantly, after scaring all the other diners away, we eventually decided to head to the Grand Bazaar, even though it had a reputation for being insanely touristy. Yes, with it's flat screen TVs suspended from the ceiling and stratospheric prices, it was clearly geared to monied tourists -- not at all like the market in Damascus which locals still use. I was ready to buy a handmade, funky hat that would have been great for ski season...and then saw the $90 price tag. Right, I'll take the $4 cup of coffee instead, thank you very much. Still, the Bazaar is a good place for people watching and taking photos.
Glass lamps:
Bright and shiny!:
Underground view:
With evening closing in on us, Riva wanted to take us to the Asian side for dinner. How great is that? I ask you, where else can you hang out in Europe then go to Asia for dinner? And it's only a quick ferry ride away. One of the fantastic things about Istanbul is all the ferries that act like water busses.
Looking like the Bay Area:
Sure, places in the U.S. like the Bay Area have a ferry system, but Istanbul's ferries are extensive and cheap due to competition. There are a myriad of companies with ferries, many only operating between a couple of stops. The end result is a useful, and enjoyable, method of travel between various parts of Istanbul on the water.
Blue Mosque from ferry on Asia side:
The next day Diana and I roused ourselves to make it to Topkapi Palace when it opened. Unfortunately, 46 groups of 30 people each were also there. Seriously. I admit to the occasional embellishment when it comes to numbers, but each group had a leader carrying a sign with the group's number, and I was able to locate almost all the numbers up to 46. A cruise ship had docked in the night and purged its contents into Sultanahmet. It took 45 minutes to get into the Palace. I alternated between nearly crying and nearly snatching one of the signs from a group leader and soundly beating all the members in such a manner that they would be finding splinters for weeks in crevices they didn't know they had. It's a little unfair, I guess, because it is the cruise ship that was unbelievably irresponsible in this case. Come on, you don't send over 1300 people all to one attraction at the same time. The Hagia Sophia is right around the corner and the Blue Mosque is 50 yards further on. Give all the other tourists a chance to be annoyed by 15 groups of 30 instead of incensed at 40 friggin 6 groups of 30! Spread the hate. Please. I beseech you, oh mighty cruise ship.
Needless to say, Topkapi Palace was a bit of a scrum. It was lovely and all -- even the stables
Ceiling in the stables. Puts my room in San Francisco to shame:
were impressive -- though the only semi-escape from the masses was to pay an additional fee and enter the Harem. Basically a town of 5,000 within the larger town of the Palace, the Harem was amazing.
Just your average sitting room:
Just your average hallway:
Just your average four-poster bed:
Whoops! Wrong door:
Cool door:
It was designed to hold the sultan's many concubines, children, and supporting eunuchs, and one can only imagine all the scheming and manipulations and murders that took place within the ornately decorated walls. With so much power at stake with potential heirs, it's a wonder any child made it past infancy. I'm willing to bet the knife slipped more than once for many a boy that lived to see the circumcision room.
I don't really see how this is a comforting view while being circumcised:
1 comment:
Pics are great.
Many thanks for your sharing.
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