Day 9 - Walking in Istanbul

Today was another wonderful day in Istanbul! We woke up with the Call to Prayer from the Hagia Sophia. It was pretty dreamy. After spending a semester in Jerusalem in college and hearing the Call to Prayer every day for several months, I have a deep love to this ritual and look forward to it when visiting Muslim Countries.   

We got an early start and were the first people at breakfast. We enjoyed a delicious spread in the shadow of the Hagia Sophia. Our breakfast consisted of vegetables, a fruit plate, a cheese and meat plate, olives, a large bread basket, and a spread of delicious jams, jellies, and honeycomb. It was a bountiful spread served with fresh orange juice. We immensely enjoyed our breakfast. 

Breakfast views

Following breakfast we relaxed in our rooms and then met our tour guide in the lobby of our hotel. Our tour began in the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Christian Church by Constantine. His structure was destroyed and rebuilt. The current building is the third iteration that was built in the sixth century. There were really beautiful Christian Mosaics still in the Hagia Sophia. The first mosaic shows Emperor Justinian presenting Jesus and Mary with the Hagia Sohpia and the city of Istanbul. Another mosaic shows a repentant emperor who divorced his wife after she was unable to provide an heir. Divorce was considered a sin, so he is on his knees asking Jesus for forgiveness. The final Mosaic is of Mary and Jesus and is covered with a curtain in the main Mosque. When the church was changed to a Mosque after the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, they plastered over the mosaics because Muslims do not have any icons in their Mosques. When the Mosque was converted to a museum after the creation of the Republic of Turkey the mosaics were unplastered and are visible again. The Hagia Sophia is a truly gorgeous monument and we were grateful to be able to spend time there. 

Our next stop was the Topkapi Palace. This was the Palace the Ottoman’s used beginning in the fifteenth century until the nineteenth century. The Palace was built as an open air palace  because the Ottoman’s were nomads. The Palace was both the center of government and the home of the Sultan and his family. We visited the armory and saw gorgeous weapons (it will never cease to amaze me how creative people can be with instruments that literally take lives. They were truly beautiful, but awful at the same time.) Within the armory there was a gorgeous 86 carat diamond. There were also several guns, swords, and armor covered with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. We also saw the famous Topkapi Emerald dagger - the handle of which consisted primarily of three giant emeralds. In addition to the emeralds the dagger was adorned with more than 50 diamonds. 

We then visited the Harem, which was the home to the Sultan, the Sultan’s Mother (who ran the Harem), and Sultan’s wives, and the Sultan’s concubines. The Harem was covered in gorgeous blue tiles that are so classic throughout Turkey. I have always loved this style of art and was constantly amazed. In our next house I plan to do some pretty interesting tile work in our bathrooms (and also get rid of all carpet, but Eric wants to talk more about that). The Harem was easily the best part of the palace - we really loved all of the tile and the grandeur of the Harem. 

There was also an interesting exhibit that housed the holy relics. These consist of religious pieces sent to the Ottoman Sultans between the 16th century to the late 19th century. The items on display purportedly include: Abraham's pot, Moses's staff, David's sword, Muhammad's footprint, keys to the Kaaba, tooth of Muhammad, beard of Muhammad, Mohammad's swords and bow. We are fairly skeptical these items are authentic, although the more recent ones could be. It was an interesting place. Because of the Holy nature of these items the Qur'an is recited continuously in this chapter by a mufti. 

Our next stop was to visit an Iznic Tile business. These particular Iznic artists had been working on ceramics for seven generations. Iznic tiles have quartz in them to make them extremely strong and they also glaze the ceramics both before and after painting, which is why the tiles throughout Turkey are still so vibrant after several hundred years. We also saw this at the Taj Mahal in Agra, where the tile workers were trained by Turkish Iznic Artists. We purchased a small plate for ourselves and other small gifts for our family. 

We then visited The Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar has been around for hundreds of years. We didn’t buy anything in the bazaar, but it’s always fun to visit markets like this. Every country has markets similar to this (even the U.S., but they tend to be in China Town). Turkey’s Bazaar was easily the cleanest and most well taken care of Bazaar we had seen. Outside of the Bazaar there were streets full of shops where the locals purchase clothing and other goods. 

We then visited the Spice Market and purchased some dried apricots, figs, and Turkish Delight to take home with us. I love dried apricots and figs. Eric tried figs for the first time on this trip and also loved them. Figs can be hard to find in the states (although it’s easier than it used to be). The shop-owner we purchased from was very kind and was so happy to show us around his shop. He had us smell several different spices and teas and also gave us some tea when we entered his shop. The hospitality of the Turkish people never ceases to amaze. 

We then visited a nearby Mosque, the Rüstem Paşa Camii, that was amazing. The tile work was truly stunning. The Blue Mosque is currently being renovated, so our guide wanted to show us this Mosque instead. It was truly the most beautiful Mosque we have ever visited. We have noticed as we have visited Mosque’s in several different countries that the lights are always very low. Eric asked why and our guide said they were originally oil lamps and it was easier to fill if they were closer to the ground. That is also why the lights have a cup-like shape in order to hold the oil before they were all converted to electricity. This particular mosque was built by the Architect of Suleiman the Magnificent. 

The final stop on our tour was the Hippodrome. All that is left of the Hippodrome is an Egyptian Obelisk, the bottom of a serpent column, and an Obelisk shaped structure built during the Byzantine Empire. The Egyptian Obselisk was imported during the fifth century. There were originally going to be two obelisks, but the Emperor decided to build his own out of bricks and cover it in brass. The Crusaders stole all of the brass when they sacked Istanbul during the fourth Crusade. They also stole a statue of horses that we saw in Venice when we visited (they were gorgeous, but it’s unfortunate they are in Venice instead of at the Hippodrome in Istanbul). 

Following the Hippodrome we went back to our hotel. I rested for a few minutes while Eric ran out to take picture and explore. After about 30 minutes I joined him. We had a great time taking pictures and enjoying the ambiance between these two amazing monuments. Eric was standing between them during the Call to Prayer and said it was fantastic. We made sure to go back to the area for the sunset call to prayer so I could also hear it. The Call to Prayer will forever be one of my favorite things about visiting Arab countries. 

We then picked up a Carpet Salesperson who asked where we were from. When we said Utah he asked if we were Mormon and then told us about some missionaries he knew. Some of the local missionaries teach English lessons for free, so he attended. He also had a picture of the Book of Mormon on his phone. He then told us many of the similarities between Mormon and Muslim families including how Mormon’s have large families. When I told him that my family had four children and Eric’s had three he was surprised they were so small. He was really nice, but we told him that we were going to break his heart by not buying a carpet. He was not deterred. He walked with us to the Blue Mosque and told us about the protocols to visit. 

The Blue Mosque was nice to visit, but our guide was correct that there wasn’t a lot to see inside. All of the tiles were covered and there was scaffolding throughout the Mosque. Hopefully next time we visit we are able to see more. Our carpet salesman was waiting for us when we exited. We again told him we weren’t going to buy a carpet, but we would let him show us where his shop was. The shop was past the hippodrome, so we stopped to take a few photos. The salesman offered to take a photo of the two of us, but Eric is picky and prefers the tripod. The salesman was very interested in his setup. Following the photos we walked with him to his shop, but we didn’t go in. He was disappointed, but was still really nice and recommended somewhere for dinner. 

Rather than take his recommendation we walked near the Galata Bridge to a place called Hamdi Restaurant. Our guide had recommended this earlier in the day and it was truly delicious. The restaurant was on the top floor of the building so the views over the Bosporus were fabulous. We also watched the sunset behind a Mosque. It was truly dreamy. We ordered some hummus to start (which was divine) and then some kebabs. We both really enjoyed our dinner and finished with baklava. 

Turkey has a curfew at 7:00 PM, so the restaurant brought our check around 6:50. We quickly paid and then walked back to our hotel. It was interesting to see so many of the shops closing as we made our way back to the Hagia Sophia. Istanbul went from bustling to empty in a matter of minutes. Once we got back we enjoyed taking more photos in the evening and watching the lights come on the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. We also enjoyed listening to the Call to Prayer while standing between the two Mosques. It was a truly lovely evening that we spent together in Istanbul. Our hotel was just steps away, so we headed back and went to bed.