Turkish Delight

I am writing this in a Turkish railcar on my way through Bulgaria (which is another post in itself), to Romania. That is weird, and I like it. After 4 days I can say that, while we hit most of the major sights and cultural items, that Istanbul is a city that I will return to because there is so much to see and do. Here are the one-liners for Istanbul!

•  Topkapi Palace: the extremely ornate palace built by the Sultans (rulers, per se) of the Ottoman Empire; this palace is enormous and a spectacle of the Ottoman rule as it kind of says “Hey, we’re so powerful that we built extra rooms because we could.” This was worth 4-5 hours.

A standard wall in the palace's harem

Just because

Another example of the very intricate and detailed craftsmanship employed

To give perspective, this is a drain. Nothing special, just a drain.

•  Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya): This was the oldest site we toured; a church built after the capital of the Roman empire moved to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), and the country became a theocracy; it is massive and the very unique stonework sets it apart, and it was turned into a Mosque after the city was capture by the Ottoman Turks.

Hagia Sofia at night

Inside Hagia Sofia

•  Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque): in Istanbul, size is the name of the game; this Mosque is enormous and when lit up at night it has a brilliance in the fog.

Inside the Mosque

That pillar though (I'd guess 5 meter diameter)

•  Basilica Cistern: An underground cistern that is supported by something like 336 pillars; this was an incredibly beautiful scene.

•  Takism Square: The happening part of Istanbul, where Eric and I sat down for some Turkish delights and Turkish Coffee (which was phenomenal) – also the focal point of anti-government riots a couple of weeks ago (according to the locals the news blows this out of proportion).

Turkish Coffee

One of the streets off Takism

•  Galata Tower: A very tall tower used for a variety of things since like the 14th century, Galata offers a magnificent view of the city, the Bosphorous river, and a great place for Turkish coffee and cheesecake.

Galata Tower

All three chunks are part of Istanbul, in both Asia and Europe

Yum. That is all.

•  Grand Bazaar: Just a massive anthill of shops selling just about everything from hookahs (which are popular in Turkey) to “Burberry” scarves.

Shops on shops on shops - kind of puts MOA to shame

•  Turkish Bath (Hamam): My favorite, and weirdest, experience in Istanbul; here are the steps:

1. sit in a steam room until you almost pass out
2. Sit in a sauna until you almost pass out
3. then lie on a slab of marble with others of your gender
4. get exfoliated by one of the washers
5. get doused with really hot water
6. Get covered in suds and then get a massage and final, extremely thorough scrub
7. Take a swim in an underground pool
8. Rinse
9. Drink tea

Yes, it is weird to be washed, while naked, by another person (who is nearly naked) – but if you embrace the weird, it is absolutely incredible (you will also leave with you joints all cracked and incredibly loose and warm). Best cleaning I’ve ever had.

•  Tour on the Bosphorous River: the river connecting the Dead Sea to the Aegean Sea (and the Mediterranean), the Bosphorous has numerous quaint little villages along the way to the Dead Sea and lots of good fish.

The Deas Sea - This counts as having been seen

Sea bass - tried its eye too!

•  Egyptian Spice Bazaar: pretty simple actually, just lots of dried goods other yummies.

We hit a lot in 3.5 days!

The Turkish People:

Both Eric and I were surprised at how little the European influence on Istanbul came out in our experience. The ethnic, architectural, and cultural mix is more Middle East mixed with Asian than Asian with European. We had some bad run ins with short temper Turks who didn’t understand English, but, for the most part, if they are they are trying to sell you something they will be patient enough to try and figure out what you’re asking.

The Food and Drink:

I wasn’t actually a fan of Jewish food, but the Turkish food is spectacular. Lots of spices, lots of lamb and beef, the sweet Turkish delights, and, of course, the amazing Turkish coffee. In the right area they also have wonderful sea food. Street food is both delicious and cheap (you’ll probably pay $10 for a pretty good meal, $15, tops in sit down) Also, their breakfasts are phenomenal with tons of soft cheese, bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, hard boiled eggs, and dried fruit.

Their beer, on the other hand, lacks a little in my opinion; alcohol is expensive in Turkey and because of the Islamic influence there isn’t a lot of it produces. They, unfortunately, are forced to settle for whatever they can get, but Eles makes some good darker lagers. They have pretty good tea, but it is made even better by the serving vessels it comes in (a very curved glass; see picture in the sea bass picture above).

Random Notes:

•  Buying power is phenomenal. Adjust to USD, things cost between a half to two-thirds of the cost in the US.

•  Turkish drivers, like Jewish and other Arab drivers, are nuts. If you drove like they do in the States you’d be in huge trouble.

•  Be aware of your surroundings. Something we were very wary of in Istanbul was avoiding anything that could result in conflict, even if it meant paying more. While the Israeli military and police are on your side, we got the impression that it was not so in Turkey and that involving the authorities could actually be bad for us.

•  Google Translator is amazing. We numerous times were in tough situations and even a rough translation can help you get your point across if gestures can’t.

I’ve decided to break off my personal reflections from my travel updates, due to length and how tiring typing all this on a phone is. Look forward to my Bulgarian Train and next personal reflection update! We are en route to Sinaia, Romania and then to Budapest in Hungary!