Istanbul Stew

If you read the preceding entry then you already know what we're going to do here. We're going to take all the notable chunks of my week in Istanbul and throw them into this entry...hence the title, "stew."

So, I had a lot of time in Istanbul. I took it easy. I relaxed. I slept in. I ate good food. And there's lots to do, so I really didn't get bored. And if there's one thing I've learned on this trip, it's that I get bored easily.

The day after my adventures in the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar, I slept in and visited the enormous cathedral-turned Mosque-turned museum, Aya Sofia (Hagia Sofia). It's interesting because the cathedral (the largest building in the world at the time of completion) started as an enormous cathedral covered in Christian tile mosaics. When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, however, they plastered over the mosaics, hoisted up some giant Islamic ornaments and shifted the altar a few feet so that it faced Mecca. Today, much of the plaster has either been removed or fallen off and beautiful Christian mosaics reside peacefully under the giant domed roof along with Arabic writings from the Koran; perhaps a lesson to us all.

I like the Egyptian Spice Market. It sits down near the port and has the cheapest fresh Turkish Delight in central Istanbul. It also has...you guessed it...spices. I didn't buy any of those, though. I believe they are abundantly available in American supermarkets...a tragedy indeed of globalization and the modernization of the old spice trade route.

Topkapi Palace, home to the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, was a really cool place. I paid the extra $7 to get into the Harem and see the Sultan's, his mother's and his women's living quarters. The entire palace was covered in impressive tile work. In one of the buildings which houses a bunch of artifacts, I came across the mummified arm of John the Baptist, along with a large chunk of his skull; spoils of war from the Byzentine Empire. That was interesting. I also saw a bunch of jewels and crowns and swords and stuff.

The Basilica Cistern was pretty cool - an ancient underground water cistern built by the Romans underground in Sultanahment. I saw that my last day.

On the Asian side of Istanbul, there is a super busy shopping street and a bunch of restaurants. I ate here my second-to-last night. It was a frustrating experience because it's not a very touristy area at all and I couldn't understand the words on the menu. I had something with lamb and rice. Noticeably absent was my favorite mealtime companion, yogurt.

Since I had a lot of time in Istanbul, I also took two boat rides: one up the bosphorous - essentially a water tour of Istanbul as seen from the strip of water that runs between the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea. That wasn't as impressive as I'd anticipated. Let's face it: most cities that incorporate water into their charm really have nothing on Europe's most beautiful city, Stockholm.

The other boat ride I took was out into the Marmara Sea to the Prince Islands (no, I don't know why they're called that - although I could venture a guess). I got off the boat at the last island (even though in hindsight the first looked coolest). There was only one car that I could find - a very loud garbage truck - and everybody got around by foot, bike and horse-drawn carriage. It was a pretty cool atmosphere. I now carry a spoon in my backpack for impromptu yogurt eating sessions and I enjoyed one such in a little fisherman's port not far from the center of town. Owing, however, to the fact that, for all my efforts I couldn't find anything to do on that island, I took the next boat back to Istanbul, after buying a little cheeseburger from a kebab shop (I'm a rebel, I know).

Stay tuned for the next blog entry: the infamous and much-anticipated Turkish Bath.