Istanbul, Day One
When our port lecturer, Barbara, says she’s going to do commentary while we’re sailing into port, we know that this will be a good one. This was a late sail-in, not until 10AM, so we didn’t have to get up before dawn and we were happy about that. What didn’t please us so much was that it was 48 degrees. It’s hard to go from over 100 degrees to 48 in just a few days and we weren’t ready for it.
Istanbul is the only city in the world that stands on two continents, Europe and Asia. We sailed between the continents on a tributary of the Bosphorus River and on the way we could see the famed Blue Mosque, the only Mosque allowed to have 6 minarets other than Mecca. We could also see the spectacular Topkapi Palace up on the hill near the Mosque.
Istanbul is a very cosmopolitan city of 15 million people, alive and vibrant, very different from what I expected. Bridges separate the old section of town from the newer part, where we were docked. The bridges are full of fishermen standing shoulder to shoulder trying to catch today’s meal. There are stray dogs everywhere, sleeping or roaming around, not bothering anyone. Spring flowers were blooming and were just glorious. Tulips actually originated in Turkey, not Holland, and the Turks haven’t forgotten that. They are getting ready for their annual Tulip Festival so there were tulips everywhere we looked and they were magnificent.
We were scheduled here on Saturday and Sunday and since the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sunday, almost everyone on the ship had plans to go shopping, including ourselves. We took the ship’s free shuttle to the huge Grand Bazaar which houses over 4600 shops on 62 streets inside the building. It was almost overwhelming; crowded and noisy with shopkeepers trying to lure people in to their establishments. After about ½ hour we left the bazaar for a much needed breath of fresh air. It was cold and windy so we walked a little while until we found a very quaint coffee shop and ducked inside to warm ourselves with a cappuccino. This place had about 5 tables with rattan covered walls that looked as if they would go up in smoke in two seconds if ignited. When we travel in the States and go to these little out-of-the-way places we say it’s a little slice of Americana; this was a slice of Turkeycana. The coffee was delicious.
We walked to the Blue Mosque which is an absolutely gorgeous building. We wanted to go inside and so we had to take off our shoes. They kindly provided us with a plastic bag to carry them. I also had to cover my head. This Mosque was enormous! I had never been in a Mosque before so I was surprised to see that there were no pews, just a fenced area in the center where people could get down on their knees and pray. The perimeter of the Mosque was for gawkers like us. The interior was beautiful; the air seems blue because 21,403 azure colored tiles on the walls create the illusion. It didn’t seem like it would be easy to pray among the crowds and noise.
Very near the Mosque is the Topkapi Palace which was built in 1453 when Istanbul was still known as Constantinople and was home to the sultans and royals until the mid-19th century. We walked around the palace and enjoyed the gardens and the majesty of it, but didn’t go in because of the crowds.
We continued our walk around the old town and came upon the Spice Bazaar and ventured in to take a look. It was similar to the Grand Bazaar with the addition of open bins of spices which gave it a very exotic aroma.
That night our Virtuoso group hosted a dinner in a 1500-year-old cistern in the old town. We were served a traditional Turkish dinner as a 3-piece band played lively, upbeat Turkish music. After eating, a few of us got up and danced in a circle and it was a lot of fun.
On Sunday morning we decided to take a long walk just by ourselves. We set out with a map and a goal of walking ten miles. It was still chilly outside but we warmed up as we walked. Istanbul is built on several hills and our walk took us up and down very steep streets. We explored some residential neighborhoods and the city square with a war memorial statue as the focal point. In spite of the large population, the city is very clean. Since it was Sunday, traffic wasn’t too bad. They drive much better here than in other cities we’ve visited but we were warned that they don’t stop for pedestrians so we had to be very careful about crossing streets. Gas is extremely expensive here; about $3.25 per liter!!
We only walked 6 miles instead of 10, but we had to return to the ship to prepare for the evening’s special event which was so spectacular that I’m doing a separate blog about it.
When our port lecturer, Barbara, says she’s going to do commentary while we’re sailing into port, we know that this will be a good one. This was a late sail-in, not until 10AM, so we didn’t have to get up before dawn and we were happy about that. What didn’t please us so much was that it was 48 degrees. It’s hard to go from over 100 degrees to 48 in just a few days and we weren’t ready for it.
Istanbul is the only city in the world that stands on two continents, Europe and Asia. We sailed between the continents on a tributary of the Bosphorus River and on the way we could see the famed Blue Mosque, the only Mosque allowed to have 6 minarets other than Mecca. We could also see the spectacular Topkapi Palace up on the hill near the Mosque.
Istanbul is a very cosmopolitan city of 15 million people, alive and vibrant, very different from what I expected. Bridges separate the old section of town from the newer part, where we were docked. The bridges are full of fishermen standing shoulder to shoulder trying to catch today’s meal. There are stray dogs everywhere, sleeping or roaming around, not bothering anyone. Spring flowers were blooming and were just glorious. Tulips actually originated in Turkey, not Holland, and the Turks haven’t forgotten that. They are getting ready for their annual Tulip Festival so there were tulips everywhere we looked and they were magnificent.
We were scheduled here on Saturday and Sunday and since the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sunday, almost everyone on the ship had plans to go shopping, including ourselves. We took the ship’s free shuttle to the huge Grand Bazaar which houses over 4600 shops on 62 streets inside the building. It was almost overwhelming; crowded and noisy with shopkeepers trying to lure people in to their establishments. After about ½ hour we left the bazaar for a much needed breath of fresh air. It was cold and windy so we walked a little while until we found a very quaint coffee shop and ducked inside to warm ourselves with a cappuccino. This place had about 5 tables with rattan covered walls that looked as if they would go up in smoke in two seconds if ignited. When we travel in the States and go to these little out-of-the-way places we say it’s a little slice of Americana; this was a slice of Turkeycana. The coffee was delicious.
We walked to the Blue Mosque which is an absolutely gorgeous building. We wanted to go inside and so we had to take off our shoes. They kindly provided us with a plastic bag to carry them. I also had to cover my head. This Mosque was enormous! I had never been in a Mosque before so I was surprised to see that there were no pews, just a fenced area in the center where people could get down on their knees and pray. The perimeter of the Mosque was for gawkers like us. The interior was beautiful; the air seems blue because 21,403 azure colored tiles on the walls create the illusion. It didn’t seem like it would be easy to pray among the crowds and noise.
Very near the Mosque is the Topkapi Palace which was built in 1453 when Istanbul was still known as Constantinople and was home to the sultans and royals until the mid-19th century. We walked around the palace and enjoyed the gardens and the majesty of it, but didn’t go in because of the crowds.
We continued our walk around the old town and came upon the Spice Bazaar and ventured in to take a look. It was similar to the Grand Bazaar with the addition of open bins of spices which gave it a very exotic aroma.
That night our Virtuoso group hosted a dinner in a 1500-year-old cistern in the old town. We were served a traditional Turkish dinner as a 3-piece band played lively, upbeat Turkish music. After eating, a few of us got up and danced in a circle and it was a lot of fun.
On Sunday morning we decided to take a long walk just by ourselves. We set out with a map and a goal of walking ten miles. It was still chilly outside but we warmed up as we walked. Istanbul is built on several hills and our walk took us up and down very steep streets. We explored some residential neighborhoods and the city square with a war memorial statue as the focal point. In spite of the large population, the city is very clean. Since it was Sunday, traffic wasn’t too bad. They drive much better here than in other cities we’ve visited but we were warned that they don’t stop for pedestrians so we had to be very careful about crossing streets. Gas is extremely expensive here; about $3.25 per liter!!
We only walked 6 miles instead of 10, but we had to return to the ship to prepare for the evening’s special event which was so spectacular that I’m doing a separate blog about it.
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