Hagia Sophia and Topkapi

I realize I kind of skimmed over and did not provide a lot of pictures of the wonderful places I visited in Istanbul and would be remiss to leave you hanging.


So here goes...

In Istanbul we visited (as I mentioned in my previous blog) the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sofia  which is one of the wonders of Turkey. It is huge and wonderful although in a bit of disrepair.

It also features one of the most famous Mosaics in our time of Mary, Jesus and John. I think they were begging forgiveness of the people with Jesus from what I remember of our guided tour.  You have probably seen this one in the history books. It started as an Orthodox Basilica, converted to a Mosque and is now a museum. Thus the Christian religious art intermingled with Muslim symbols. It's nice to see two faiths in one building. Turks are very accepting of other people's beliefs. At least the people I spoke to about it.

We also visited the Sultan's Palace Topkapi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkapi_palace
 (photo reminds me of Blue Mosque but is inside Palace) which was again on a grand scale and took a lot of walking and a long time to tour with our guide. We didn't even see the entire 15 acres of grounds as we were hot, sweaty and just worn out by our Energizer Bunny guide. I think my favorite part was seeing the 68 Carat diamond with 48 carats surrounding it in a pendant. (no photos allowed) Some pour soul found it in the rubbish yard then sold the unfinished rock for 3 spoons unaware that it was a gigantic diamond in the rough. Once the Sultan got wind of its existence he demanded it be brought to the palace. I guess it was hard to keep a secret from him.

Of course at the Palace I was wowed once again by technological feats of old world air conditioning featured in this photo where in the walls near the windows you see a running water system that poured into a trough and circulated through other troughs in the windowsills so that when the prince opened his windows with the irrigation going it cooled the room. Clever stuff for the day and age these were created.

Check out this plaque describing the princes life and also my photos of the windows and walls in his elaborate adjoining apartment. The lucky prince's apartment overlooked the Sultan's favored Harem members' courtyard, Olympic sized swimming pool and bedrooms. He got two huge rooms to himself and the Harem had to share a very small room with 8 girls each. He also got 5 Harem to himself when he reached the age of 16. Now mind you, it wasn't always flowers and perfume. There is also a down side to being a prince. #1 you are stuck in your 2 room apartment awaiting orders from the Sultan (AKA King) and you never know if it will be for something good or to have your head chopped off. #2 you can never leave the grounds because all the tax paying public and enemies of the Sultan wanted to end his reign. Thus any family member, heir or what have you would meet a bloody fate if they ventured outside the walls without heavy guard...and Heavy Guards they had. Imagine a Gladiator type dude over 6 feet tall and just about as big around coming at you with a rather large ax. And that was just the guys guarding the entrance to the Harem.

Not a pretty sight.

The men who did serve within the Harem as their escorts and shopping assistants were chosen and emasculated at a young age (in their teen years) by removing their you know what....another not so pretty sight. People were brutal back then!

The Sultan was SO paranoid that he had this elaborate bath house built just for him within the palace walls and it had a gilded gold fence around it. The basin and pedestal where he took his bath was far enough away from the fence that not even swords could touch him if they got through all his 100+ body guards.

Okay, enough about him and on to a happier note. We were treated twice (once on the street outside and once inside the palace) to a royal band of sorts dressed all in red and beating large drums with zeal whilst playing a range of horns and other instruments with singers as well. All men of course. It was quite the spectacle when they picked up their flags and started marching away.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Now on to Selcuk and I will post about Ephesus.

Ancient city of Anatolia

Imagine a bustling city of 250,000 people going about their daily lives in a city built 10 centuries ago and you have Ephesus.
With it's many twists and turns through-out history of being conquered by various rulers, destroyed by earthquakes and being rebuilt 3 times...it took a long time for these ancient people to give up on their beloved city.  

Main Street


As I strolled down the sun soaked main street of marble...roasting like a chicken in the hot June sun with my umbrella at 11am...I could hear their voices. Women bargaining with the shop keepers on the sides of the streets for the goods for their evening meals.

Shops built into hillside where columns held the now missing roof


Chickens clucking and goats baying plaintively. Children running, playing tag and hiding behind the rows of large marble and granite columns. What a grand city it must have been!

 It became the seat of the governor, growing into a metropolis and a major center of commerce. It was second in importance and size only to Rome.  Ephesus has been estimated to be in the range of 400,000 to 500,000 inhabitants in the year 100, making it the largest city in Roman Asia and of the day. Ephesus was at its peak during the first and second century AD.

Library



Theater where many gladiators lost their lives

The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (Diana), who had her chief shrine there, the Library of Celsus, and its theatre, which was capable of holding 25,000 spectators. This open-air theater was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage, with the first archaeological evidence of a gladiator graveyard found as recently as May 2007.










The population of Ephesus also had several major bath complexes, built at various points while the city was under Roman rule. The city had one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world, with multiple aqueducts of various sizes to supply different areas of the city, including 4 major aqueducts.
The city and temple were destroyed by the Goths in 263 AD. This marked the decline of the city's splendor.

All that remain today are the relics of the past, a royal cat and the hoards of tourists that inhabit this medieval ghost town.

Incredible Markets, Leeches and Turkish Viagra...Oh My!

Our second day in Istanbul was spent with Umut for the first part learning the history of the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar.

Opened in 1461 the Grand Bazaar is one of the oldes and largest covered bazaars in the world. Between 250,000 - 400,000 visitors pass through its gates DAILY. Can you imagine? You can read more about its history here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Bazaar,_Istanbul

My favorite shopping area turned out to be the Spice Market http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_Bazaar,_Istanbul where we found the same things the Grand Bazaar offers only on a smaller scale. You are also treated to honey/nut candies to keep up your energy as you pass by all the shops. Of course we had to purchase some which came in handy on our trip to Ephesus. More on that later.

Here, we learned all about the history of the Spice Bazaar as well as what they do with some of the things we saw hanging in the shops. The things you see hanging here that I wish I could have brought home but getting through customs may have been iffy. It is dried Eggplant that you can take home and boil, then stuff with rice, veggies and beans or meat, cover with tomato sauce and cheese and bake in the the oven until done. YUM!

And did you know that Henna starts out green? I had no idea!

What I was not expecting was this (see photo) and it goes to show that the Turks really have a great sense of humor. Turkish Viagra. Now keep in mind that you can actually purchase the real thing in pharmacies on the corners here as an over the counter drug and the boxes are prominently displayed in the windows as you pass by. This Turkish Viagra is similar to a Power Bar in the U.S. with honey and nuts to keep up your strength for shopping of course. ...because there is PLENTY of shopping to be had!

The only thing I can say is it is a good thing food and lodging is cheap because I blew my budget on jewelry (my favorite thing to purchase when traveling) scarves and Pashminas. I got some beautiful things but have no idea how I am going to get all this extra stuff in my luggage including the cool purse I picked up. Creative packing I guess.

The pastry shops have been a surprise here and just as good as the ones we found in Paris. They take great pride in their culinary prowess and we did some damage to the box of goodies we purchased on our walk.           see before and after?

Speaking of prowess....have I mentioned all the cats? Yes, I am sure I have. The are very abundant because they are revered animals in that they saved humans from being wiped from the planet via the plague. Originally they thought that cats were just lucky and one was fortunate to be in their presence because they (the cats) did not get sick. But then they realized they were actually helping humans by eating the mice who were causing the plagues and other diseases. Shan (who is a veterinarian) and I have been having great fun taking photos of all the cats and sometimes dogs here. The cats have been very lovely and friendly for the most part.

Soon it was time to say goodbye to our guide Umut and as we exited the building I saw a beautiful bucket of roses and right next to it a squirming mass of LEECHES in the container beside them. Apparently they can still suck the illness out of you as well. Maybe they are good luck too?

Having a lovely time in Turkey!

Ciao for now....I am headed to bed for my last exciting day here on the other side of the world. It is now almost 11pm Sunday and we spent the day at Ephesus taking photos. You won't believe my next blog. Cool Stuff!

Mosques, Palaces and other wonderful wonders of the world

For our first couple of days we arranged for a guide through one of my Starbucks co-workers in Turkey (Alev) and it was her personal friend (Umut) a very affible fellow who took us on the tour.

To be a guide, you need to get a masters degree in Architecture and History then pass tests and get a license to be an official tour guide. Not an easy task. Umut was a wealth of information rattling off stories and statistics about everything we saw until our heads were numb. At some point in the heat and 6 full hours of non-stop touring except to break for lunch and the occasional potty break it is difficult to absorb all the information he was giving us at the end of the day. He was an Energizer Bunny and didn't seem to know why we wanted to stop and kept suggesting more places to visit. I didn't see him eat or drink much of anything but I think the chain smoking kept him going. Everyone smokes here. It is hard to take a breath without it.
It goes without saying, the mosques are beautiful! Below is the Blue Mosque.

What struck me most is that it is amazing to see more incredible technical engineering here as I saw in Paris. Especially to think it was built centuries ago. They were so clever and thought out a lot of things to make themselves comfortable. Like a pebbled walkway they poured water over so the breeze would carry cool wind through the courtyard when it was hot. They used a mozaic of stones carefully laid to look beautiful but it was also functional in that it held water in small puddles. This of course was in the Sulten's Palace because he really needed to be comfortable with all the body heat his Harem of 1000 women created.

Nothing like the liberated women you see in this photo (wink) Although I do miss my prince...Hi Steven.
Then think about the incredible Aquaduct built by the Romans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valens_Aqueduct and Cisterns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Cistern they build to carry water for the Palace and for the city in general all those many years ago.
All of this is fascinating to me. Of course I like the touristy stuff. But I really like to know how things work and how people lived all those years ago.  I have more interesting tales to tell but must go to bed now as we are packing up and flying to Ismir to see the ruins of Ephesus and it is already late.
I hope to have a good internet connection down south so I can continue my tale.
Until then...sweet dreams
Teri, Shan and Angela

Holy Flying Ice Cream!

My flight from Paris to Turkey took a little over 3 hours and as we were passing over the landscape I was struck by all the green realizing as we approached it was mainly trees. I expected mostly brown earth with spotty greenery, kind of like when flying into Mexico on vacation. I was also struck by the burnt earth smell as I stepped off the plane. We either think it is ash from the Iceland volcano or Hookah smoke galore. It is also hot and humid here which helps the odors of the country permeate even more.
After I paid my entry Visa fee and found my luggage I made my way to the information desk where a very nice lady pointed me in the direction of the yellow taxis and told me how much I should pay for the ride to my destination. This is something everyone should ask a local because you can get taken for a ride (so to speak) and pay much more than you should.

I was told it should take about 45 minutes by taxi and timed it also looking for signs of the area I knew we were staying so I knew we were headed in the right direction. One of my nightmare scenarios when traveling alone like this is to be dropped off in a neighborhood I don't know, in a country I am unfamiliar with and have the taxi driver leave me there by the road with all my luggage and nowhere to go.

The address was so unfamiliar to him that he had to call dispatch twice to locate it and even drove past this street where we are staying because I am sure he could not envision a blonde haired, blue eyed American lady staying here.

But when I started to step out of the taxi I heard my name called by a familiar and oh so welcome voice (Shan) and that they would be right down to help me with my luggage. With a sigh of relief, I handed my driver 20 Euro and let him drive away.

The aparment really is modern and nice. Nothing like you would expect walking up this street. It has one bedroom, a fold out bed and a full kitchen and washer for our clothes.

Fast forward a couple of hours and we are in Taksim, one of the main streets of Istanbul and after having a meal, sitting down for a drink and dessert we are taking numerous photos of Hookah smokers and cats. They are both EVERYWHERE. We then start walking down the street which is both very modern but also not so modern. Shan and Angela explain to me that the noisy large trucks coming at us are street sweepers which is the oddest thing because they are there every night driving through these huge crowds trying to run down tourists and locals alike. Then you are dodging trolly cars (another wierd thing to see) and people then cars and hoards of taxis crossing in locations where there should only be pedestrians.

If that is not enough to keep you alert, watch for the swinging blocks of ice cream. Angela and I were nearly Cold-Cocked (pun intended) by a huge chunk of chocolate ice cream men with strong arms stir with a metal sword like stick then swing it out into the crowd for effect. (see photo) They take great joy in doing this and love to hear the crowd scream with excitement. After asking our guide the following day about this and how it is possible that the ice cream could even hold together for such a feat he said it is made with some sort of cows milk and root or something I lost in translation which gives it the elasticity to stay on the stick. Fascinating stuff!

So this is my experience the first night in Istanbul, Turkey. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Teri