Istanbul Final Installment

On our last full day in Istanbul we took a 5-hour cruise on the Bosphorus Strait on a public ferry.  We arrived early to get the best seats since I get seasick and the strait was surprisingly choppy.  Luckily it was calm this day so the trip was wonderful!  You get some great views of the old town sights then head northeast into the rest of Istanbul.  There are two main bridges that cross the Bosphorus but the main traffic is ferries.  On the way there are quite a few palaces to see and many huge houses on the water.  It was very pretty and it gave us a better idea of how large the city really is.  The last stop on the ferry is Anadolu Kavagi which is in Asia.  We got off here for a hike and lunch.  We hiked up to the Yoros Castle that has great views of the Black Sea.  We had a nice lunch overlooking the Bosphorus at the top of the hill and then wandered back down to the city for dessert.  Dessert was called lokma and is basically a honey fried donut hole- they were heavenly!  Interestingly the military controls much of this area since it is a key spot for Turkey on the Bosphorus (which they control). 

We took the ferry back and then had a nice dinner and wandered the area for a last few shopping items.  On Monday our flight left around 2pm so we had the morning to do our final sightseeing.  The only thing left to see was the Underground Cistern.  It was built in the sixth century by Justinian to provide water to the city.  They used column from Roman ruins so there is quite a mish mash of styles but the cistern still stands but it does leak.  It is no longer used but it very pretty and amazing to think it is still structurally sound!  After that we had a nice kebab lunch and headed to the airport for home.  It was an amazing trip – something that living in Europe allows us to do in a long weekend.  It is a sight to be seen – it is the first place I have visited where the buildings and sights were so well cared for that I could picture what is was like 2000 years ago.  Amazing!

Istanbul Installment #2

On Saturday we decided to devote the day to mosques so we could be appropriately dressed (knees and shoulders covered at minimum plus a head covering for me and socks since we had to take our shoes off).  We walked across town to see the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent which is supposed be better then the Blue Mosque but it was basically closed for renovations.  So we wandered into the Spice Market, which is very similar to the Grand Bazaar but much smaller and they have a larger spice section.  I got some nice kebab spice and Iranian saffron. 

After that we went to the Hagia Sofia – which was originally built as an Eastern Orthodox Church in 537 but was turned into a mosque in 1453 and then into a museum in the 1930’s.  It is something I have wanted to see since I took art history (and considering majoring in it) during college.  It lived up to my expectations but was also different then I expected.  First of all it is HUGE- the entire Notre Dame cathedral can fit inside it!  It is not quite as spectacular from the outside as the Blue Mosque but it very beautiful inside.  From an art history perceptive the best part is the construction and the mosaics.  The mosaics are very beautiful but were all covered over when it was turned into a mosque – for some mosaics this was a great way to preserve them but for others it ruined them.  The nave of the Hagia Sofia has scaffolding set up since they have been resorting the building for over 30 years and have at least another 10 years to go.  The scaffolding is 20 stories high!  You can see from the photos that Hagia Sofia still has many elements of the mosque period including many Arabic medallions and the mimber but also has many Christian aspects like an apse and the uncovered art and mosaics.  It was definitely a sight to be seen.

After lunch at the Lale Shop famous for hippies in the sixties we headed to the Blue Mosque.  After waiting in a short line to take off our shoes and getting a once over for dress code of the mosque officials we headed inside.  It was very beautiful with a delicate blue and white tile on everything.  The prayer area was quite large but that space is only for men – women have to prayer at the back behind a screen and I was surprised how small that area was.  The Blue Mosque was pretty neat inside but I was somewhat disappointed with their lighting system that was suspended from the dome with 100’s of small cables – it really took away from the vastness and beauty of the dome but I guess you have to light the place.  The mosque is very large and is still very well maintained today considering it was built in 1609 – and only took 6 years to build!  The defining feature of the mosque is the 6 minarets – at the time it was built it rivaled Mecca in number of minarets but Mecca built another one to make sure they were the best.  I was pretty frustrated with the lack of respect many tourists had inside the mosque- many women didn’t wear head scarves or cover their shoulders even though there were provided a large scarf before they entered- it blows my mind why people are so disrespectful.

Tangent - I forgot to mention a few things from yesterday.  In the afternoon we walked around the Hippodrome which was a chariot racing venue from old times, it is basically a park now.  It does contain the Egyptian Obelisk and Column of Constantine which used to be covered in bronze but was looted during the Fourth Crusade. After that we had a great simple dinner next to our hotel of Pitta, which are basically Turkish pizza on a pita type crust- they were great and we had some nice (cheap) beer.  Plus our server was the cutest old man.

Tonight we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant that had an amazing view of the Blue Mosque.  The food was also excellent – I had a great homemade pasta dish with lamb kebab meat.  After dinner we wandered around for awhile and then got great dessert of baklava- one of my favorites!

Istanbul Installment #1

We arrived in Istanbul with some knowledge of the process for getting our visa and entering the country, which was helpful. As US citizen we had to “buy” a visa at the airport for $20 US dollars – they only accept dollars and Euros so you had to be prepared. Then we stood in the long immigration line and passed through an infrared camera to make sure we didn’t have a fever and in turn swine flu (we already filled out a questionnaire on the plane about it).

Once in the country we were greeted with sunshine and warmth! We arrived at our cute little hotel in the old town area, called Sultanahmet, our room was great and air conditioned (which is very important!). We headed out to see some sights. We walked across town to the Galata Bridge, which connects the “new” and “old” side of European Istanbul. Istanbul is huge – 15 million people separated by two main bodies of water so the port is very busy with commuter ferries. Istanbul is also on two continents – Europe and Asia- most of the tourist’s stuff is in Europe but we do get to Asia at the end of our trip. Back to the bridge – locals fish off the bridge to earn extra money so we saw lots of fisherman mostly catching little fish like sardines, anchovies and herring. After the bridge we hiked up a huge hill to Galata Tower. It was built in the 14^th century to help protect the city but is now a tourist view point and restaurant. We saw some nice views but the city was polluted that day so the pictures are not great. We noticed a lot of pollution the first two days but the last two days were crystal clear. Next we walked up Istiklal Street, which is in the new part of the city and is a big outdoor shopping street. Most people were Turkish and we wandered for quite awhile taking in the sights and smells. Finally we found a place for dinner (kebab of course) and then walked back to the hotel.

The next day was Friday so we decided to avoid the mosques since this is an important and busy day in Islam and instead headed to Topkapi Palace. It is in a prime location in the old town – it was built in 1470 by Sultan Mehmet as an administrative center and palace. It is well preserved (and cost us a small fortune to tour) and very impressive. It is beautifully landscaped and includes the Sultan’s Harem. The Harem was really interesting on many levels- it was where the Sultan lived so it was really pretty with tons of tile work and wood inlay. But the story of the harem was also really interesting – different then I expected – the Sultan wasn’t allowed to pick the women he had relations with – his mother (who lived with him) choose them. The had up to four wives and his mother could choose four “favorites” of the concubines which he could “know better” but he had no say in this. There were hundreds of concubines, which were there to serve the wives and mother – basically slaves unless the mother chooses them as a favorite. The children also lived and were educated in the Harem – the whole Harem was protected by what they called the “Black Eunuchs” which were slaves from North Africa trained to serve in the Harem and by the way were castrated so there wouldn’t be any issues. Other then the Harem Topkapi has some beautiful buildings and great views. The most famous stuff though includes the Topkapi Dagger and the Spoonmaker’s Diamond that is 86-carets. Another interesting area was the Hall of Holy Relics, which included some of the most significant holy items in Islam including the footprint of Muhammad and his hair and tooth.

As we wandered to lunch we were treated to one of the many “calls to prayer” – this was Friday midday worship which is the most important. I can’t quite explain how neat the call to prayer is – it is beautiful and eerie at the same time. In the old town there must be 8 mosques within view so you hear the call from each minaret and it almost seems like they are calling and answering each other. I was very taken with it and loved to hear it every time (5 times a day).

We had lunch at a famous Turkish meatball place – it was good! Then we headed to the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is HUGE- it was a first mall ever and now has 4,000 stores. It is a bit intimidating since all the vendors want to sell to you and talk to you. We wandered for a long time before we had the nerve to try to buy anything. We ended up with a small Turkish rug that we will hand on the wall thanks to two dogs. The rug is silk and really pretty- we did bargain but in the end who knows if we got a deal or not – but it was quite an experience.

Some observations after the first two days:

• The city is much greener then expected and every green space is well landscaped
  
• The food is good and reasonably priced!
  
• The Turkish people are nice and inviting – they want to share their city and culture with you – they say hello and smile at you. They also want to sell you things but when you say “no thanks” they are very nice still.
  
• The city is pretty clean but there are lots of stray cats
  
• Experiencing a Muslim culture/city is a great experience – it is nice to see the culture in it’s own setting and within it’s own norms. I knew I was out of place but at the same time I never felt out of place- I never got weird looks which I am sure most Muslim women in traditional dress cannot say in America.
  

Pictures and more stories still to come!

Russ

So I promised in my last post (which was too long ago!) I would tell you about the Norwegian phenomenon called “Russ”.  It is essentially a 3-week party by the graduation seniors in high school celebrating finishing school and their freedom.  Russ officially starts on May 1 and ends on May 17 (Norwegian Independence Day) but many “Russers” start earlier then May 1.  It is easy to pick Russers out because they all wear the same outfit everyday for 17 days.  The outfit is either red, green, black, or blue overalls that say Russ 09 on the leg that are covered in patches and drawing.  They also wear funny hats in the color matching their pants and lab coats.  The lab coats have all kinds of drawings on them as well.  The color of their overalls denotes their major (red is general studies, black is technical studies, blue is business and economics and green is agriculture).  There is also an official Russ sweatshirt.  The tradition is they don’t wash their outfit for the duration of Russ (gross!).  The also hand out “Russ Cards” which are basically business cards with their picture, name, school and a funny joke or quote.  The children in town collect them like baseball cards – I swear I saw a kid one day who was about 7 who had probably 400 cards! 

But the best part, as you might have guessed, is the Russers are basically drunk for the entire 17 days.  The best way to describe it is a combination between senior week and Mardi Gras.  Russ is very organized with committees and officers so they are pretty smart and clean up their mess and have organized events but at its heart it is a drunken 17-day party.  But to their credit they are legally allowed to drink and in public as well.  They graduate a year after us so the kids are all 18 or 19.   It puts US high school parties and senior activities to shame and they are pretty proud of it.  We have spent many afternoons and evening laughing at the Russers.  Here you can see a picture of Jason and Kathryn talking to a group of them – they had to act like tourist to get a Russ card but it was well worth it.  Russ is specific to Norway and truly is a sight to be seen.