Istanbul delights

15 November
Rugged up with jackets and off we walked round the corner and found many lovely handicrafts shops, with beautiful ceramics, lighting, clothing, carpets, etc, as well as old stone walls and turret. We spotted a carpet shop which looked rally nice, so she went in and I soon followed after taking some pix. There was a big carpet on the wall which took our eye, we asked the young man in there how much – he couldn't really speak English, so he went upstairs and woke the owner, who came down and told us it was USD5500 – way, way, way out of our league – and then proceeded to show us all sorts of carpets, different shapes and sizes, silk, woven, woven/carpet mix, etc, then said he could that original carpet we liked for USD4000 including shipping … tempting, but no, too expensive and probably way too big for our living room. Thanked him, took his card, said our farewells and walked further along the street, which has a tram route on it, and saw double- and triple-length trams running up and down this street. There were some beautiful shops there with more and more to see, ceramics, lighting, carpets, cafes, all manner of shops, as well as sweet delicacies which were very inviting. Stepped into a shop that sold all sorts of turkish delight, teas and spices, and we tried some delights and bought a kilo of mixed types of turkish delight. Some of the teas were for stomach, love, cholesterol, apple, cherry, mixed, green, etc, they smelled fantastic when the shopkeeper shovelled scoops and got us to smell, yummmm. The delights were enough and we kept walking, looking at shops, taking pix, etc. reached the end of the street and saw this amazing shop which had coffee, tea, baclava, turkish delight's, looked inviting so we went in, ordered 2 different pieces of baclava, an apple tea and a turkish coffee, sat at a table next to the window and noticed that most of the shops there were for photographic supplies. Enjoyed our morning tea, watching the people walk by.
   After lunch back to the hotel, where a fella was waiting to walk us to a nearby bus for our half day tour; we were met by a lovely young lady, Melik, who welcomed us. Melik gave a short rundown for what was going to happen. After a while, the bus finally left for the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, which is opposite the impressive Yeni Mosque, and near the Sirkeci Train Station. We had spotted a tower from the rooftop of our hotel, and saw it again, closer, form where we were, and asked Melik what it was: the Galata Tower. Diagonally away from the square next to the Bazaar is Suleymaniye Mosque. Melik organised that we meet next to the bustop at 2:20, so we had 40 minutes to check out the Bazaar.
   Walked in thru the massive wooden entry doors and suddenly transported to another world, perhaps 100 shops selling all kinds of goods, from ceramics, tapestries, cushion covers, scarves, spices, turkish delights, footwear, lighting, jewellery, belly-dancing outfits, all kinds of handicrafts and souvenirs, with touts saying hello, asking where we were from, did we want to try this, that and the other, etc. We bought some cushion covers, haggling a lower price with a scarf thrown in. Time to head back to the meeting point, had to wait for some stragglers, then we were off. Drove over the Galata Bridge – lots of guys fishing off it – Melik telling us there were 9 million one side and 6 million the other, with 2 million people crossing from Europe to Asia side each day. Also that we were crossing from the Old City, with structures dating from the 4th century, to the New City, dating from 16th and 17th centuries onwards … it didn't take long to reach the ferry jetty once over the bridge.
   Hopped on, there weren't many on board, so we practically had the run of the vessel. It was quite cold, and we were on the rear top deck; had a chat with Melik, she recommends 5 days in Istanbul, 2-3 days in Cappadocia, 2-3 days in Ephesus [which includes Mother Mary's house], so 2 weeks would be enough. The snow covered mountains we saw on our way in yesterday afternoon are near the Cappadocia area. The earthquakes happened in the far east of the country, and Melik said over 500 people have died. The ferry trip was fantastic, albeight damn cold, passing along the West Bank of the Bosphorus, seeing lots of guys fishing from the bank. Heaps and heaps of apartment blocks, many painted tuscan colours, as well as light mint greens, yellows and blues, seems that every square foot of the slopes of the hills either side of the Bosphorus were covered in some form of housing, as well as the occasional mosque, and plenty of massive Turkish flags flying on top of high flagpoles. We passed some very magnificent palaces, one of which is now a very exclusive hotel, as well as mosques: Nusretiya Mosque, Dolmabahce Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace, Tomb of Barbarossa, Ciragan Palace Hotel, Nusretiya Mosque, and a massive old fort with battlements and towers on the left bank just before the Bosphorus Bridge … we crossed over to the opposite bank, passing by many beautiful houses, and saw some cemeteries, we were told they were amongst the most expensive in all of Turkey. Also, Iskele Mosque, Yeni Valide Mosque, Semsipasa Mosque, and in the "bay", what looked like a small lighthouse, called Leander's Tower, which is pretty much where the ferry headed straight back to the jetty from which it departed.
   Shame it was so grey, overcast and showery, the colours of the apartment blocks would have looked even more beautiful. We were asked where we wanted to be dropped off and we said Galata Tower. So, off we went, saw some amazing big views of the Beyoglu area and across to the Fatih area on the opposite bank. About 5 minutes later we were dropped off near some traffic lights and given basic directions to get to the Tower. We kind of followed our noses and found our way to the Tower, the area reminded us of Paris, with narrow, cobbled streets, rising to the Tower, lots of small shops. Entered the Tower and paid the entry fee, took a lift, then we had to climb a few flights of stairs following the curves of the walls, and then stepped outside to the desk with sweeping views which took our breath away, amazing to see the size and scale of the city below us, as well as the waters of the Golden Horn, and Bosphorus, bridges, mosques, rooftop restaurants, the streets below really did remind us of Paris. Pretty much figured how we needed to go to get back to the Galata Bridge. Stayed up there for a while, before it started getting dark and really cold, and it was raining lightly. Read the info on the display in the area in front of the lifts, then we descended to ground area, and walked in zigzags down the hill, checking out the shops, feeling like real adventurers, feeling safe, enjoying the moment, being together, with no-one telling us where to go and when … found that we needed to go to an underpass to get to the bridge, the tunnel had heaps of shops selling all kinds of stuff. Walked along the bridge, enjoying the views, as well as seeing just how many people were fishing, the ferries, mosques all lit up, etc. Over the bridge, and another underpass to get to the square opposite the Spice Bazaar, and worked out that it was a simple route to get back to our hotel. To the hotel, and booked for a whirling dervish show tomorrow night as tonight's wasn't going to be put on due to not enough numbers.

16 November
We were picked up by the Globalite van just after 9. The driver was the smiling guy who met us at the airport 2 nights back, Genghis Khan, as well as a young man who was to be our guide today. In the van was a mum and 2 daughters, as well as her mum, all from Melbourne [Essendon], small world! We drove to the Blue Mosque, which was a rather large structure on top of a hill, and very impressive inside, once we'd taken off our shoes. We were given a short tour of the interior, which was gorgeous, the central dome on top of half domes, 4 huge columns, so much decoration, tiled and handpainted, along with rings of lights, carpeted floor, another space that inspired awe and faith. I think from floor to top of central dome was 43m. I think the mosque we saw in Cairo 3 years ago was more impressive, but who am I to quibble?
   Once outside and shoes back on, we headed to Topkapi Palace, main residence of the Ottoman Sultans, passing thru a number of courtyards with grand gates, till we reached various pavilions and large rooms now used as galleries to exhibit treasures amassed by the Sultans, many of them encrusted with emeralds, rubies, and turquoise, various thrones, religious relics including the staff of Moses and arm bones of St John, etc; also clothing used by various Sultans, some of which dated from early 15th century. We only had an hour's free time and we could have spent a whole day wandering around taking in the amazing architecture, the collections housed there, as well as a wonderful view of the Bosphorus from a terrace at the end of the complex, where we recognised what we saw on yesterday's cruise. It was quite a grand view indeed. Arring at our meeting point, we left the Palace grounds and headed for Aya Sophia, a place I've always wanted to see, as it was an architectural wonder I'd studied in High School Art History. I was thrilled to finally step inside this wonder of the world, steeped in history, both Christian and Muslim, built in the 5th century, with some wooden doors at one end dating from the 2nd century … with again a tall central dome sitting on half domes, angels painted on the 4 corners underneath the central dome, byzantine mosaic, tiles, undulating marble floor … quite beautiful. I could have wandered round admiring the interior for hours, but we didn't have time, as we had to get over to a rather trendy looking area, nearby, full of restaurants and shops, to the place where we were to have lunch, which was delicious. There we had time to have a good chat with our new friends from Essendon, as well as ask questions of our guide, who is very knowledgable and quite an amiable fellow.
   After lunch it was off to the Central Bazaar, which has some 4000 shops and 30000 employees, similar to the Spice Market only heaps bigger. There are "streets" devoted to all the wares, like ceramics, jewellery, carpets, lighting, etc. Easy to get lost, so we didn't stray from our small group. We were then led to a magnificent carpet shop, housed in the building that was once used as a stopping point/warehouse/lodgings for the camels bearing cargo from the Silk Road. This is why Istanbul was so important over the centuries, as the place where East meets West: it is the only city in the world spanning 2 continents, Asia and Europe. The owner of this company organised tea and coffee for us, then gave us a short commentary about the different types of carpets, and the skill involved in their production; a weaver came in with her loom, with a silk carpet in progress, who proceeded to show us the double-knotting technique. For example, a silk carpet about .7 x 1m would take approximately a year to produce and cost about AUD2400. There was one that we saw and loved, and it took a lot of strength to say no to it, and of course it was an expensive one … sighhhhhh … it was a great insight for us, and appreciated the hospitality and generosity of time afforded us, and gave us a better understanding and appreciation of this amazing art.
   This pretty much ended our day tour, and parted ways with 2 of our group who decided to tram it back to their hotel, the rest of us walked to a nearby shop that sold all manner of chocolate and nuts and hot drinks, so settled down to hot chocs, accompanied by dark chocolate spoons … yum. Once done, we waiting for the van to pick us up and drop us off at our hotels, and farewell the rest of the Essendon mob, who we good company, and the driver and guide.
   Time to leave for the Mevlevi Sema Ceremony and Sufi Music Concert, 7 for 7:30, a the Hodjapasha Culture Centre, which was only a 10 minute walk away from our hotel. Pre-show hot and cold drinks with as much turkish delight as you could take, mmm. Admired the space where the concert was to take place, it was converted from a 550 years old historical turkish bath in 2008, with a high dome made of cut stone and also corner walls were designed like a peacock tail. Loved it, a small troupe of players performed a couple of songs, 2 long wooden flutes, a lute like instrument, a finger picked lap harp and a large round drum like an oversized tambourine with rattling metals disks … we were transported to another place and time [which we were anyway, you could smell the history … After a short break the troupe returned, with added members, wearing large grey felt caps on their heads, and long black robes. 5 men in the same outfits entered the circular performing stage. One of the band started an unaccompanied vocal, which was otherwordly in sound, like the call to prayer, it was beautiful and haunting. The last piece was quite a long and complex one, where the 5 "dancers", the whirling dervishes spun in an amazingly hypnotic, highly choreographed pattern around the performing space … you almost were spun into a trance just watching those men, eyes closed, head tilted, arms raised, long white robes spinning out, it looked so effortless for them … I was mesmerised by looking at their feet movements. Wow! When the piece was over, there was total silence from the audience, and as the dancers left, followed by the band and singers, it took a while before there was applause. I'm sure my had will spin as we go to sleep tonight.
   Time to pack tonight as we have an early start, we fly to Malta tomorrow morning. Have loved what we've seen and experienced of Istanbul. On the way to and fro our walks and show tonight, friendly touts imploring us with good humour to their restaurants or shops, one particularly charming man who runs a rug shop a few doors from the hotel, gave quite a fun performance with shaking of hands, kissing of Sheryl's hand, a good dose of flirting and charm … lots of fun. Another thing we noticed was the amount of cats we've seen in this city: dogs rule in Thimphu Bhutan, cats here. The people are friendly, there's a huge amount of history and culture here, tons to see and experience. plenty of cafes and bars and restaurants, places serving delicacies … you could go nuts with buying beautiful artifacts. Wish we had more time here, but we had a taste, a delicious one, can't wait to return some time in the future.