Istanbul, Turkey
This morning we got going decently early. Ben and I met Scott for breakfast at 8:45am. We enjoyed the lovely breakfast spot and ginormous breakfast buffet before making our way to the Galata Tower. The views from the tower were enjoyable. It was nice to orient myself a little with the areas of the city from an aerial perspective.
After descending the tower we walked back across the river to the spice market. Taking in the sites and sounds of all the fisherman on the bridge was neat. The bridges all over Istanbul are constantly filled with fisherman. This Sunday morning seemed particularly busy but even coming in from the airport at midnight on Friday night there were dozens of people fishing.
The Spice Market was similar to many of the foreign markets I have explored. Not surprisingly it skewed a little more spice heavy and had less straight up counterfeit merchandise than most Asian markets. We all bought a few little things here and there but there were no major expenditures. The strangest part of the market to me was the pet market. There were all kinds of pets for sale. I’d seen animals for sale in markets in Asia but those were generally things like live chickens for eating. These all seemed to be for legitimate pets. Why a person wouldn’t just adopt a street cat or dog is beyond me. I guess maybe it's because they want a bunny and not a cat.
We hit up another Rick Steves’ lunch spot that was located near the spice market. The food was decent. I order a dish translated in English to “Bulgar Balls”. The three of us and our middle school humor found this endlessly entertaining. The balls ended up being like a fried meat ball but didn’t taste as good as that sounds like it should be. After lunch Scott was ready for a nap, so he sent us with a map and directions on our way to Hagia Sophia, which he had seen on his first day in Istanbul.
Ben and I decided to walk the mile or so to the church, turned mosque, turned museum. Taking in more of the sites and sounds of Istanbul didn’t do much to clarify my feelings on the city. I’m still not sure what I think of it, nor really how to describe it. A smorgasborg of culture may be the most accurate description.
One thing I haven’t discussed yet is the calls to prayer that occur five times a day throughout town. As Scott said the first time we heard one, it’s kind of creepy. I do not find Arabic to be a beautiful sounding language. Harsh horns blare from each mosque, which are everywhere, and what I presume are scripture readings follow. A huge part of my love for travel is experiencing different cultures. I’m very glad I was able to look through this window of culture. I respect the discipline and faith that comes with this religious tradition. By the third of fourth siren I found myself saying a quick prayer to Jesus when the sirens went off. All that being said I’m extremely glad the majority of the towns I frequent don’t have this particular tradition.
The Hagia Sophia was awesome. I’m not even sure why I liked it so much but it may be in my top 20 favorite sites I’ve visited. It’s probably because of its age and the uniqueness of its of history. I’m not aware of any other building I’ve visited that has been a house of worship for two entirely different religions. The wiki page is worth a quick read if you’re not familiar with Hagia Sophia. For those of you only interested in the very basics Hagia Sophia was an Orthodox patriarchal basilica from 360 until 1453, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. In 1453 it was converted to a mosque which it remained until 1931 when it was secularized. It became a museum in 1935.
What better to mix with 1,600+ years of history than an outlet mall, right? Our next stop after the Hagia Sophia was a Turkish Outlet mall. Ben and I decided since we missed our Italian outlet mall experience and there seemed to be a Turkish one within reasonable distance, that we should check it out. We rode the metro out to the general area and then grabbed a cab to the exact site. The mall had a few brands known in America but it was primarily random Turkish brands that all seem to have random European names like Tiffany and Melinda. Ben bought an $18 shirt and I bought a sweater. I was disappointed that the Nike Factory store was closed for remodeling. But I suppose its okay. We all know the last thing I need is more Nike stuff, even if it would have been random awesome Turkish Nike stuff.
Our cab ride back from the mall took forever. The area where we were staying is known for traffic jams. I suppose this is not entirely unexpected for a town with 15 million residents. Upon arrival back at the hotel we checked in with Scott on our evening plans. He picked a restaurant for dinner right near our place. We walked over around 9:15pm.
Dinner was quite good. We all split tasty calamari and a Caprese salad as appetizers. For dinner I had some random Turkish chicken with a risotto, and a yogurty side dish that was advertised as including coconut. I didn’t taste the coconut, which is primarily why I ordered it, but it was still good. The best part of dinner was the view over the Bosphorus. Occasionally people were sending off fiery wish lanterns from a launch site nearby. Watching them gently float away was quite peaceful.
For dessert we went to Starbucks for hot chocolate. Scott had a friend tell him that this particular Starbucks had the best view from a Starbucks in the world. I’m not sure I can judge the accuracy of that statement but it was quite beautiful. We enjoyed sitting outside on a balcony four stories up with another great view of the Bosphorus.
It was already past midnight by the time we made it back to the hotel. I like to travel home with organized luggage, so now that I’ve generally accomplished that task, it is already 3am. Ben, Scott and I are getting up at 6:45am to accomplish one more bucket list item in the morning.
Until then,
Katy
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