Istanbul Turkey

Call to prayer at the Basilica of St John in Selcuk. The Basilica was built by Emperor Justinian in the 6C. The remains of St John are buried here. The call to prayer started just as we were leaving the area.



Turkey is a fascinating country, one we definitely want to return to in three or four years. The sounds of calls to prayer, aromas of the Spice Market, hustle and bustle of everyday life, the carpet salesmen, and the beautiful, ancient mosques and other buildings make this an enchanting country. The friendly people want to give you a cup of apple tea and talk to you about their country and your country. They would all love to sell you a carpet, but if you don’t buy, “No problem, still have a cup of tea with me.” These experiences are priceless.

Two of the many sights and sounds of Turkey-whirling dervishes and belly
dancers.

We flew American Airlines with frequent flyer miles from Tucson-Chicago-London-Istanbul. It was a long flight-26 hours.

Turkey is 2 hrs ahead of GMT, do go on DST.

Money is New Turkish Lira (YTL) or (TRY). $100=152 TRY

Visa at Istanbul airport was $26/pp. This Visa became troublesome later on when we tried to leave Turkey. A person leaving Turkey must prove how and when they arrived. How do you do this when you lose your passport and are traveling on a 30-day temporary passport. This caused some consternation for the border control people. Also, for me, as I was standing in my pajamas in the freezing border patrol office in the middle of nowhere. Folks on the Orient Express/Balkan Express were awakened and told to exit the train, cross some tracks, climb a short wall and line up in the office to show passports.

This was not a threatening situation, just middle-of-the-night, dark and cold. I don’t think the border control knew what to do with me and just wanted the problem to disappear. After some time I was just waved on. A few minutes later the train was speeding into a new country (Bulgaria) and it was someone else’s problem. After that, there were no problems in any country.

Because our arrival in Istanbul was nearly midnight, I had reserved a hotel from the Internet. It was a wise choice. In our eyes, it was 5*. Location, cost, Internet, cleanliness, English spoken, two blocks from Blue Mosque and apple tea in the lobby. It was two blocks from trolley station and about five from train station and Bosporus Sea. Perfect! Side Hotel, Utangac Sok No 20 www.sidehotel.com 45 Eur/night (2006). We loudly and clearly heard the calls to prayer several times a day, most noted at 5:15AM. We flew out of bed the first morning.

View from our window:

Breakfast was on rooftop where you can see six of the seven minarets on the Blue Mosque. This picture taken at night when several tourists were having a nightcap on the roof.

We had a marvelous time in Istanbul. It is an ancient city, a new modern city, and the only city in the world located on two continents, Asia and Europe, separated by the Bosporus Sea. The sign above the Blue Mosque is "Happy Ramadan". Ramadan is a happy, family celebration.

Our experiences include:

A first, smoking a hookah. When in Rome..... RIGHT! Feeling somewhat adventurous, we ordered a hookah with dinner. We selected a tobacco. Our choice, apple tobacco, a mild taste per the waiter. The briquette was put on the top and lit. Then, somehow the smoke goes down to the hot water in basin. When you puff, the smoke comes up the pipe into your mouth. Interesting. I've never smoked so cannot compare. I didn't choke and cough so guess it's pretty mild. Most restaurants had hookahs as available. Usually one hookah was shared by a table of people.

The men in my life were waiters. I told the one below he looked like Luka on ER, an American television show. Everyone laughed over that, teasing him and calling him Luka. They had never heard of ER. This was in a sidewalk cafe by the Blue Mosque.

Kapali Karsi-covered bizarre, 65 blocks, 4000 shops. Intriguing, fascinating, easy to get lost.

Hagia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom)-massive dome and 4 elegant minarets, 1000+ years old. This is about two blocks from the Blue Mosque. The Basilica Cistern is nearby. Pictures are from the attached museum.

Basilica Cistern. Laid out under Justinian in 532AD. It is 155 yards long by 70 feet wide. There are 336 columns each 9 meters high. Very interesting.

In Istanbul it is the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent, started in 1609. Commonly known as the “Blue Mosque” because of its blue Iznik tiles. Its seven minarets are second only to Mecca.

You can have a Turkish coffee on rooftop of Four Seasons Hotel and see minarets of both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Four Seasons was once a women’s prison for hard crimes. Midnight Express movie filmed there.

We took a cruise on the Bosphorus Sea. It was well worth the cost. The cruise included admission to the Dolmabahce Palace. The palace was built in 1856 in the declining years of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan Abdul Mecit built the palace with foreign bank loans. The extravagant opulence rivals Versailles in Paris. The palace can only be seen with a tour. Booties are required to enter.

All crystal is Baccarat.
There were
many lamps and
chandeliers, as well as the double horse
shoe grand stairway.



































Many yachts on the Bosphorus rent for $30K/day. One is rented for the next nine years.

We went to one dinner show with belly dancers. Definitely for the tourist.

Ah, the sights and aromas of the Spice Market. Looking at these pictures, my nose is remembering the aromas of cinnamon, tobacco, nutmeg, all the fresh spices you expect in a spice market.

Picture above left-tobacco for sale. I asked the merchant if I could purchase just one cigarette. "For you, beautiful lady, of course." I chose a mild tobacco. This would be my gift for my brother. To preserve the fragile cigarette I put it into an empty Band-aid box. Later in the trip, I tossed the "empty" box. Oh, well, good intentions.

We also saw the whirling dervishes. Great show; derbishes and Turkish music. CHEAP! This was a fun night. About 30 people enjoying themselves in a small room in the train station. See and hear video above.

Balhgerme aqueduct; large and in good condition. Most impressive aqueduct we have seen.

We walked everywhere except after the Turkish bath. We were too relaxed to walk; took trolley back to hotel and took a nap.

This is one of the oldest baths in Istanbul; very near the bazaar. See more pictures on my separate "Authentic Turkish Bath" blog.

There is a trolley system that runs from the front of the Blue Mosque to most areas of tourist interest.

Weather a little rainy, misty, sunny, warm in October. Friendly, helpful people. Men run all the shops. Seldom see an older woman. Men congregate outside their stores in social groups. When someone goes into a store the owner runs into store to SELL. If he doesn’t have what you want, he pops his head outside, says something, someone scurries off and comes back with what you want.

I went into a jewelry store to get a watch battery. Jewelry stores sell only jewelry, but in minutes someone came running into store, out of breath with a battery. Have no idea where he got it. Cost-$3.

After nearly a week in Istanbul, we changed pace with a timeshare at Pine Bay Holiday Resort, Camlimani Mevkii, Kusadasi Aydin 09400, Turkey 0256 6180406 1BR/partial kitchen. Goodbye until after our one-hour flight to Iznik (Nicaea).