Istanbul Part 1

July 23

We awoke docked in Istanbul to the sound of a traditional Turkish band with horns, drums, and stringed instruments belting out a tune....  all this at 7am J.  We departed the ship after breakfast and after making it out of the port through the gauntlet of taxi drivers offering various trip options, we caught the Tram out of Asia, over to Europe, and down to the historical district.  While consulting the map a “helpful” fellow offered to show us down to the Cisterns as that was our first destination.  The quite friendly chap negotiated the ticket sales and offered to wait for us, at the same time discussing his travels to Canada and Duncan, of all places, to visit his sister some years ago.

 

The byzantine Cisterns are part of an amazing underground water storage system to guard the city against water shortages and siege.  There are 4 or 5 major reservoirs of which one is open to tour.  Constructed 1,600 years ago, the roughly 230 by 459 foot chamber has approx 30 foot ceilings supported by 336 columns sporting traditional capitals at the top.  The 2 or 3 feet of water still in the system are home to dozens of coy fish.

After the amazing Cisterns we exited to find our pal waiting for us. We suggested we were off to the Hagia Sophia, and he just wanted to show us the location of his shop in case we were going by later.....  the plot thickens.  We rounded a corner and yes, along to the shop, then more helpful fellows ready to haul us down the stairs to show us rugs; then as we balked at the stairs, up an ally way to show us another shop, with even more helpful fellows.....  Laurel, having read about the “scam” of helpful carpet sellers with aggressive sales tactics started warning me off and we decided that our friendship must come to an abrupt end.

On to the Hagia Sophia (ad. 532), a museum, a former Ottoman mosque (1453) and before that a Roman basilica.  At one time it supported the largest free standing dome in the ancient world.  The building is very impressive as you enter through massive bronze cloaked wooden doors and your eyes sweep across the slick marble floor and upward to the ornately decorated dome far above, all supported by massive columns and walls.  Ramped corridors wind their way up to galleries above on a second level providing one with a great view of the floor below and dome above. On this level, amazing byzantine mosaics of prominent bible figures are still present in a few locations and are remarkable in their realism and detail.

Feeling peckish we lunched at the Dervish Cafe nearby and enjoyed some local fare while watching (and feeding a wee bit) the handsome stray cats which frequent the outdoor patio and are subject to the occasional glass of water tossed by waiters to shoo them away...  Deciding time was limited we had to be satisfied with photos of Blue Mosque (save that for next time) and a walk through the Roman Hippodrome area before heading off the Grand Bazaar.  We only probed the first outer layer of this long standing landmark with over 4000 shops selling just about any good you can imagine.

As we were quite tired and hot at this point we took the Tram to ship and recovered in the cool of our cabin.