Istanbul or Constantinople? Either way, it is by far the most "foreign" place I have visited in this trip, and also the first place I have visited that I would never want to live in. While it had some qualities that reminded me of Israel- especially Jerusalem- there are so many interesting cultural experiences that can only happen in a Muslim country. While we tried to be respectful of the culture and wear head scarves and everything, we still stood out and got heckled by nearly everyone. If was flattering at first, but it got old pretty quickly. It was such a huge adjustment to have to go everywhere with someone else, preferably a guy, just to deflect heckling. I had never even been in a mosque before, so this visit was really a learning experience for me. And as always, an eating experience...
Thursday we left Prague and arrived there really late so the city was really quiet. We went to our hotel, hotel Vezir, which is in Sultanmet, the more historical, traditional neighborhood. The hotel was really small and cute and quite Turkish and they had a delicious breakfast. After checking in, we took a quick walk around the area with our guide, Eva, because she wanted us to see the city without mobs of tourists around.
We started early Friday morning by visiting the Ayasofya, which is an extremely important building for both Christians and Muslims. We learned a lot of history and took photos of the architecture, which has influences from nearly every major religion that has lived in Turkey.
Next we visited the Blue Mosque, which is one of the largest in the world. The stained glass was really beautiful, but we didn't get to stay long because they were preparing for the next prayer service.
After a nice lunch of yummy kebabs, we headed to the Topaki Palace, which is absolutely massive. We saw the inner gardens, the harem, the treasury, and the robes of the sultans. it was all very glamorous.
In the evening, we went to a performance of Whirling Dervishes, which are a special religious order who do elaborate spinning dances. There was also a traditional Sufi music band to accompany the dancers. The performance took place in the main train station, which is where the famous "orient express" left from until the late 1900s.
On Saturday, we started at the Gran Bazar, which is one of the largest and most intimidating markets in the world. There are over 4,000 stalls, and it's all a huge maze. They have everything from carpets (presumably magic), to jewelry (presumably real), to spices (very tasty), and everything in between. You have to bargain for everything, and the sellers all know how to get the most Lyra out of you. Thankfully, since I knew none of them would know Czech, I just told them I was from Prague so I would get a better deal than a stupid American would. The whole process was pretty entertaining, but after a while being cat-called gets old.
When we finally found our way out of the maze, we made it to the sea! I haven't seen an ocean since I flew here, so it was nice to meet the Black Sea. We walked along the boardwalk and ate fresh fish on a roll, which was a delicacy considering the only fish in Prague is canned tuna. The boardwalk was filled with families and kids and all kids of food carts. Tim even paid a small child for the privilege to shoot cans into the see with a nail gun!
Saturday night we crossed the Straight of Bosphorus to Taxsim Square, which is the more modern part of the city. We walked along the huge shopping street and ate some nice dinner and Turkish delight. There were even a few discos- though we had been warned not to go into them- and fewer women with their heads covered, but we still stood out as tourists and got harassed by every shop we passed. When we got back to our neighborhood, we went to an out door hookah bar. By 9 pm, we were the only women out, and def the only women at a hookah cafe, which was very strange. There were lots of well-dressed, young Turkish men though, and when they heard us speaking English some of them offered to buy us tea in exchange for conversation. They were all very eager to know if we were enjoying their city and if we would go back to Prague and USA and say nice things.
Sunday we went to the Basilica Cistern, which is one of the oldest water systems in the world. The water system is all underground and it has been there since the 6th century. It is huge and very eerie. I made a wish on the Medusa heads, so lets hope I'm not cured instead. After that, we got some delicious street food and had to head to the airport.
Another country conquered!
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