Istanbul Amazing (and crowded)
Trip Start
Aug 25, 2008
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13
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Trip End
Sep 15, 2008
Istanbul, Turkey
Saturday, September 6, 2008
We bought a Celebrity shuttle bus ticket ($10) to take us from the port to a location near the Grand Bazaar. But they didn't really point us in any direction so we bought a map which helped somewhat. I wish Celebrity would give/sell a good tourist map of the city.
It is incredibly crowded on the streets - it seems like the whole of Regina's population is walking down the same block as you. We wore neck pouches to hold our credit cards and money as we heard pickpockets could be problem. But Istanbul seemed very safe - on the other hand the traffic could easyily be the death of you. Pedestrains would just walk in front of vechicles as everyone ignored the traffic walk/don't walk signs
Galata Tower
. And of course, cars used the horn at the slightest sign of a problem with traffic flow. We saw a car stuck in traffic in the middle of the street causing the tram - the Tram! - to have to stop, resulting in a taxi driver getting out of his car to direct traffic. It's sort of like New York city with 10 times the people and lots of colorful Turkish conversation in the air. It was a sea of humanity in the Grand Bazaar. It was a bit overwhelming at first. I was expecting more variety of goods in it but it seemed all the places were selling rugs, handbags, jewelery, plates or scarves. And of course the typical tourist stuff - t shirts, knick-knacks and such.
The Grand Bazaar has over 4000 shops and anywhere from 250,000 to 400,000 people pass thru the covered bazaar everyday. We didn't have a map of the bazaar and wandered in circles ( there are 21 gates (entrances) and we kept ending up at gate 14).Andy would love to go back when it's cooler and not so many crowded (it's Ramadan right now). I'm not so sure we missed that much in the Grand Bazaar.
After the bazaar, we headed toward the mosques. But on the way, we saw the sign pointing towards the Basilica Cistern. Built by Emperor Justinanus around 550 AD, it is an enormous underground cistern used to store fresh water
One of the food booths in the Hippodrome
. It has 336 marble columns, 9 meters in height, holding up the roof. The cistern is 140 by 60 meters in size. Some columns are dimly lite from the bottom, some columns have Doric capitals,some have corinthian style, all of which have been re-used from other structures when making the cistern..There are fish swimming in the 2 feet of water still in the cistern and music playing to create a spooky yet calming atmosphere. You use a cement pathway to traverse the cistern. Of special note, 2 columns are supported by sculptures of Medusa. But 1 head is upside down and another sideways. It was an interesting diversion (and cool since it was underground). There is also a cafe(!) down there. I thought it strange to be eating a meal while inside a 1500 year old plumbing system but it would be unique.
Next we found Hagia Sofia, a 1500 church that was converted to a mosque 700 years ago and now is a musuem. It is the 4th largest domed building in the world - the dome is more than 175 feet high. It's an amazing place to be in when you think about it's history and that people like Richard the Lionhearted prayed in it. Pictures can't capture the size and space of it's interior.
Next we thought we'd stroll over to the Hippodrome to take some pictures of the obelisk of Theodosius and Column of Constantine there
The crowds in Istanbul
. But we found out from a very helpful person who 'had a carpet store nearby that he could take us to if we wanted to buy carpets' that there was a festival going on tonite. The festival would be like a street fair back home with food booths and kiddie rides. But with 10 times the number of people. We wandered thru and took a couple photos but it was so crowded, we thought we may as well head back for the final shuttle from the Grand Bazaar back to the ship at 7pm. Free food remember? We eat in the Orion resturant but it was open seating night. there was a 'Flava' buffet being served pool side but we didn't want to eat at plastic tables being blasted by Turkish music and ethnic dancing ( I know that doesn't sound so bad but after Istanbul, we wanted some quiet time).Anyways, we requested and received a table for 2. Of course, I forgot to write the menu down again, but it was good, trust me ( I think it was almond crusted turkey breast for an entre). And eating by ourselves made for a much quicker dinner - our usual British table mates are somewhat slower, since they are always talking. (The Falkland war always comes up for some reason.)
We were tired and didn't venture out in the Istanbul night. We knew we had to get up early to get to Topkapi Palace tomorrow.
