Istanbul - Day 1

Today, Friday 17th, was our first full day in Istanbul. So, we did the tourist things.

Basilica Cistern

First was the Basilica Cistern. This is a marble-column supported underground water tank, which dates from the time of Constantine. Water was feed to it from over 19 km away by an aquaduct. The lighting is low, which creates an atmospheric space. For film buffs, this space appeared in "From Russia with Love", or, if you follow the Turkisk version, it would be "Greetings from Moscow".

Aya Sofia interior

From there, it was over the road to Hagia Sofia (or Aya Sofya), which was built on Justinian's orders in 537 and dedicated to Holy Wisdom (apparently, if you transliterate the Greek word for wisdom, you get "sofia"). Until the Muslim Conquest in 1453, it was the largest church in Christendom. Thereafter it became a mosque, until it was converted to a museum under Ataturk in the 1930's. The hulking exterior is definitely impressive, but the vast interior with its great soaring dome, wonderful spaces and remnants of splendid mosaics is superb.

Inside the Blue Mosque

Across way is the Blue Mosque (the Suntan Ahmet Mosque). Opened in 1619, it is a very large mosque that outwardly resembles Aya Sofia (though it is slightly smaller and more delicate in appearance). Inside, it is full of light with a blue glow from the tiled walls and the dome with painted blue inscriptions.

Adjacent to the Blue Mosque is the area of the ancient Hippodrome. Today it is a paved area, which contains a 3500 year-old Eqyptian column from Karnak and the remains of a 479 BC Greek bronze victory column from Dephi, in the shape of three intertwined serpents in a spiral.

We walked up the main street (Divan Yolu), avoiding the frequent trams that sped by, passing tombs and cemetries containing notables from the 19th century, until we found the column erected by Constantine in AD 330 to celebrate the dedication of the city as the capital of the Empire. History weighs on you as you walk around this city.



Ready to shop in the Grand Bazaar



History over - it was now time to venture into the Grand Bazaar, a medieval maze of thousands of shops selling everything (jewellery, carpets, textiles, leather goods, antiques). It is confusing and maniac, but great fun with the searching, bargaining and dealing done with a great spirit. We did the tourist thing - seeking, bargainning and buying, with a break for a Turkish lunch.



Finding an exit from the Bazaar, we hopped on a tram back to our hotel to deposit our bargains. Then it was back to the streets for a wander around our area. We were back to the Spice Market and around various streets in the area. Streets seemed to be given over to purposes - we found a street of wedding dresses and a street of men's cloth (and tailors). Our hotel, by the way, is in the street of automotive spare parts. We had a Turkish tea (strong tea, best taken with liberal amounts of sugar) as we wandered.



Cracking the claypot to release the Anatolian stew

Back to the hotel, we deposited our further purchases, before exiting to find dinner. We chose the restaurant directly opposite the hotel, which proved a good decision. We had beer with a meze platter (various dips and bread), followed by a Turkish cabernet sauvigon with an Anatolian stew. The stew is special - is is a mix of meats and vegetables cooked in a clay pot or urn (a bit like a clay flower vase); the meal being released by breaking the clay pot with great ceremony. It was actually very tasty and the wine was good. To finish, we were given a glass of raki, the popular Turkish spirit similar to ouzo.