Tuesday, August 3rd was our first full day in Istanbul. I spent a very comfortable night sleeping in the hotel. It was quiet all night, even though my room was on the street side of the hotel, and, of course, I was very tired. The White House Hotel offers a free buffet breakfast from 7:00 to 10:00 AM. Chris’s room is on the third floor so I called him and we went to the breakfast room downstairs, below the lobby. The breakfast selection was better than average: good coffee & tea, cereal, yoghurt, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, dried figs & apricots, olives, cheese, slices of ham, condiments, and daily fresh baked almond cookies, two kinds of cakes, bread, and halvah! There is also a large variety of fresh fruit (apricots, grapes, pears, peaches, watermelon) and a chafing dish with hot eggs.
Chris and I had planned to go to Haghia Sophia, but when we got there, the line was too long and we decided not to wait in the hot sun. We walked around the area and took photos. We crossed the lovely park which was full of families of Muslim tourists resting in the shade of the trees. We walked in the direction of the famous Blue Mosque, named for the blue Iznik tiles which adorn the interior walls. The Blue Mosque was built between 1609-1616 commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I.
The main entrance in the center courtyard is only for Muslims, who leave their shoes on the shelves by the door. Tourists must enter from a side door, so we walked around and joined the short line. Tourists have to take off their shoes and carry them inside the mosque. There were plastic-bag dispensers near the door to make it easier for tourists to carry their shoes. There were also shelves with pale blue and brown cotton squares of material for non-Muslim women to borrow to cover their shoulders, if they weren’t properly dressed. There are also cotton elastic-banded “skirts” available for women to put on over their shorts.
The tiles inside the Blue Mosque are quite beautiful. They are hand-painted in beautiful shades of cobalt blue, mostly flowers, with a white background. The tiles were made in the village of Iznik at the height of pottery technology in the 1600s. The interior of the mosque is a very large open space which is carpeted. High above is the main dome which is painted with “flowing arabesques”. Windows around the edge of the dome illuminate the beautiful designs.
No one is allowed in the middle space during ‘tourist times’ without permission. There were several men individually praying on the edges of the interior space when we were there. All over Istanbul there are loud broadcasts of the “Call to Prayer”, five times a day, from the speakers on all the minarets on all the many mosques. After which, tourists are prohibited from entering the mosques. When Muslims are not praying, the mosques are open for viewing and photographs (without flash!).
The line at Hagia Sophia was still too long, so we decided to go up toward Topkapi Palace, which we discovered is closed on Tuesdays. On the way up the hill, we stopped at the Archaeology Museum to see their collection. Right outside the building is a small park with classical stone monuments and a tea house. We paused to have some bottled water before entering the museum.
It is large museum with a rich collection of classical artifacts which spans over 5,000 years of civilization in Turkey and the neighboring communities. There is a huge array of archaeological treasures, for example the glazed-brick panels from the Ishtar gate of ancient Babylon and other artifacts which exemplify Turkey or Anatolia through the ages.
We were getting hungry by then, so we went to the Sultanahmet Fish House for dinner. The receptionist, Cafir, at the White House Hotel recommended it and we ate a really good lunch! Neither Chris or I wanted fish, so we had dolma (rice-stuffed grape leaves) and hummus to start with vegetable casserole and grilled veggies. Everything was very good and fresh! Also the people were very nice. The owner’s niece who lives near Ankara, is a college student studying to be an English teacher. She is working in Istanbul for the summer as a waitress in her uncle’s restaurant. She enjoyed talking to us so she could practice her English. :-)
After dinner, believe it or not, we walked past the Basilica Cistern, which is on one of the streets which leads back to the White House Hotel and we decided to go in! We had passed it earlier during the day but the lines were too long. Now there was hardly anyone and no line. I agree with the guide book which said, this is “the most unusual tourist attraction in the city”.
It is a vast underground water cistern planned by Justinian in 532 AD to store water brought from the northern mountains via the aquaducts leading into the city of Byzantium. The cistern’s roof is held up by 336 columns each over 26 feet high.
I could not do any more touring! Istanbul is an amazing city! It is the only city in the world which lies on the two continents of Europe and Asia. As Istanbul bridges two continents, Istanbul also bridges the ancient world of history and culture, with the modern world of today. It is an amazing city!!
