Other Istanbul Highlights

The Basilica Cistern was the ancient underground water supply system for the city.  The building’s entrance was on the same street as our hotel and didn’t look much of an attraction, but we decided to go down anyway – it was amazing.

Items of interest at the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts and Crafts  - No. 8 on the list of must see things in Istanbul.  We managed to squeeze it in during the two hours before the shuttle picked us up to take us to the airport.  An excellent Museum.

Street Scenes, Istanbul

Kestane = Chestnuts, slowly roasted over a hot plate. Didn’t taste them but they must be good at NZ$30/kg	Show us your banana	Fresh pomegranates
	Kebabs & tasty bread swirls	Sahlep – a hot sweet thick milky drink topped with cinnamon
Grand Bazaar, Jewellery Street. This cat has its own cushion & an easy life	Shoe Shine – a lovely old man who happily smiled & winked at me as I took his photo	The first spotted cat we have ever seen – trying to survive on scraps in the town square, not such an easy existence

How Bazaar, How Bizarre

In one day, we covered 2 of the major highlights of Istanbul as well as ‘Art Street’ – a whole street in the old quarter full of art supply shops – hmmm thought Linz, “this’ll take a while”.  After a few art purchases, we chanced upon yet another holy place – the New Mosque – it was stunning inside, and you certainly don’t have to be religious to appreciate these magnificent buildings and their meaning. 

Looking at the rest of Istanbul	The New Mosque	… read to the end … Linz ensured his mini skirt was co-ordinated with his blouse
inside the new Mosque

We had also arrived at the Egyptian Spice Market where our senses were bombarded with a raft of colour and smells – we both enjoyed this market more than any other in Istanbul.

Egyptian Spice Market – the colours of the merchandise

Egyptian Spice Market – the colours of the produce on offer

THE GRAND BAZAAR – more of the same times 400 = 4,400 stalls under one roof – brain overload even for a shopaholic and maximalist

Grand Bazaar entrance

Excess upon excess

this stallholder’s mate yelled out “you look like Elton John”

Hagia Sophia

Visiting this amazing sacred space was an overwhelming experience – a Christian Church for 1000 years, a Muslim Mosque for 500, and now a Museum.  The building has had extensive restoration going on for the past 17 years with heavy scaffolding inside, but fortunately for us, most of it was removed in February this year, affording a view perhaps not seen by many past visitors.  For me, the mosaic work here is far superior to Topkapi as it requires far more skill to arrange the tiny tesserae (pieces) into exquisite scenes than it does to garnish a wall with 1 ft square tiles.  Linz had always wanted to see this significant medieval site with its meeting of Byzantine & Islamic cultures and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

Topkapi Palace

We were really looking forward to our visit to Topkapi Palace, home to the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, but sadly the weather was lousy – overcast, very cold, a biting wind, and dollops of rain.  Despite it being off season and such a bad day there were still hundreds & hundreds of people traipsing through.  Of the 800,000 sq ft of the Palace, only 10% is open to the public. Of the 10% they let you see, you are not allowed to take photos 90% of the time, so with bad light conditions, droves of people and serious limitations, it was disappointingly difficult to get any decent photos. The Costume Room containing a huge range of delicately hand embroidered outfits worn by Sultans was intriguing.  The Palace Treasury was a highlight, with its fantastic collection of jewel encrusted gifts to the Sultans and spoils of war, which were a spectacle to behold.  In particular, the 86 carat diamond pendant and 100kg gold candlesticks embedded with diamonds, emeralds, rubies and pearls make Lotto first division look like coins in the fountain.  The Harem which was home to 300 – 400 concubines at a time, and the sleeping quarters of the Sultans, is the most highly decorated part of the Palace, with exquisite mosaics and lavish gold decorations.  Linz enjoyed the Sacred Relics Section sporting the rod of Moses, clippings from Mohammed’s beard, and a plaster cast of Mohammed’s foot (if you can believe that). Here are our only views worth sharing …

Off we go through entrance to the Palace	Back view to the Bosphorus Strait	It’s simple lady …. you shoot the photos, we shoot you

    Even the outdoor taps are palatial

Colourful Istanbul

the ancient vs the now
	there are cats absolutely everywhere … you can smell where they’ve been before you see them, even inside the sacred buildings	the food here is nutritious