Most useless thing we took on trip

 These neck pillows. 

Didn’t work for us and then had to carry them everywhere

IST airport

 We awoke bright and early.  Taxi was in time (4:00 am) and we were at the airport the 3 hours early that we were told we had to be

So here we are at 5:00am. And the checkin counter doesn’t open till 6:00am.   We could’ve had an extra hour of sleep!

Anywho the airport is beautiful and very large!!!

We had to go through security to even enter the airport

Then we had to go security and passport check

Then we had to go through security to get in the gate area.  This check was very thorough.  Went through every nook and cranny in your carryon items.   They were at group 6 boarding by the time we got done (we were group 1). They finally stopped this check point with about 10 people behind us. 

But we are on board and settled in

Leaving tomorrow

 Our flight back to the US is tomorrow. 

We have to get up at 3:00 am to catch our ride to the airport at 4:00 am.  It will take 1 hour to get to the airport - so 5:00 am.  The we are told we will need every bit of the next 3 hours.  We have learned that IST airport is the largest airport terminal under 1 roof. 

So after dinner we will begin packing and try to make everything fit as well as possible!

Basilica Cistern

 Today it rained a lot.  So we didn’t do our planned walking around.  It was still raining when we had to leave for our 4:30 tour of the cistern.  The hotel gave us umbrellas and off we went. 

The pictures will not do this place justice.  It was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian. After the Rome became Christian all 336 of the columns were recycled from previous temples.  Some have ornate tops, others are plain, and some had letters/words on them and were shaped into columns.  The walls are 13 feet thick and covered with a waterproof mortar.

The Byzantine and Romans only used it to its full capacity - then it went largely unused expect for some neighborhoods around it.  It had fish in it and people would fish through some holes in the roof.

This is a replacement column put in during one of the restorations

They say many people died during the construction of this cistern and now use this column that looks like teardrops to remember them by.  Also this column always has some water running down it.

More stairs!!!

Street corn…Yummy

This cat was expecting to be fed and did not want corn.  She/he settled right in Shan’s lap.  That is until a man came by and gave it its dinner of cat food.

  

In the 1-2 hours we were out of the hotel we were asked 2 times if we were twins! 

This doesn’t include the man at lunch asking us.  So 3 times just today!

We just don’t get it!!

Istanbul with Shereff

 Today was our full day tour with our guide Shereff.  He was a lovely gentleman - 61 years old and has been a tour guide for about 30 years.  Prior to being a guide he had a regular 9 to 5 job that he didn’t care for. 

 It was a walking tour….Shannon expected a car tour….she was disappointed.  However, to do this via car would have been more trouble than it was worth. 

Also note - Istanbul is very hilly.

Our hotel in smack in the middle of the best things to see so we only walked 2.5 miles - but spent 9 hours on this tour!

We had the most intense 4000 year history lesson today.  So much information to absorb - which was impossible to retain it all.  Basically Turkey has been conquered so many times.  It only became the Turkey as we know it became a republic in 1923 and the current constitution began in 1982.  

Prior to this just after WWI it was basically held in trust sort of - prior to that it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

We first strolled around the Hippodrome - the chariot racing stadium that could hold up to 100,00 folks.  There are only 3 monuments left of it.  

Then we spent forever in the Blue Mosque - we had to take off our shoes and don a headscarf.  This place was beautiful.  It was built in the 1600’s.  There is so much history here so check out the Wikipedia site for it!

The tiles that are in this mosque are Iznik tiles - named after their production center of Nicaea.

As it happened - we - through - Shereff - visited a pottery studio that has been in the family for generations that still make Iznik pottery - not the Iznik STYLE everyone else around sells.  This gentleman’s grandmother was the first pottery master that was female.  And of course we each bought something. 

This pottery vessel is used for pouring wine or whatever drink you want.  You simply fill it, throw it over your shoulder, and pour!  

The items we bought. 

Ok - getting back on track.  After we left the Blue Mosque we found a cafe.  We did this because we had been standing for what felt like hours, it was hot inside, we had a headscarf on and Shannon was feeling it.  So we sat and Shereff shared information about The Hague Sofia before we went in. 

Here’s a picture of a cat.  Cats are everywhere in this part of the world.  They don’t necessarily belong to anyone but everyone respects and takes care of them. 

Now on to Hague Sofia.  It was built in the 600’s.  Turkey has earthquakes.  So throughout the centuries this building has had its troubles.  Part of the main dome collapsed at one point and was rebuilt.  The buttresses at one point starting sliding out of line.  The floors inside are tilted.  Some columns are tilted.  It is also going under a major renovation so we couldn’t see the actual dome from inside. 

It was tiled with 18K gold - there are some areas that still have it, but the majority of it is gone.  Also interesting to note, it has been the center of all Orthodox religions, a Catholic Church, a mosque, and now it’s a museum - but people still go to pray there.   With that being said, there are Christian icons in there still.  In some areas there are curtains to hide seeing it from the prayer area. 

These are the original chandaliers…they used to hold oil lamps

You can see 2 strips of cloth hanging.  You can only see Mary and Christ from a specific area of the church.  They are hidden from you when you are on the floor praying. 

The carving work was stunning. 

The screened area behind the scaffolding was were the ?emperor? Sat. 

This chandelier would normally hang from the central dome. But since its under renovation its on the floor.

Marble was used from different areas of the world.  This was a sign of just how powerful the person was building it - as he controlled all of those areas

The picture below shows the Christian fish and cross

This was a much darker church/mosque but it was beautiful.

This ramp had grooves in it.  It aided the women in going to the balcony, as they could put the heels of their shoes in the grooves in order not to slip.  By the By - women were and still are only allowed on the 2nd floor balcony. 

There is graffiti on parts of the railings in.  One that is significant is from a Vikingin the 9th or 10th century.  It basically says Hallvdan was here. 

Also - did you know that tulips did not originate in Holland????   They originated in Turkey.  An ambassador from Austria sent the first tulip bulbs and seeds to his friend in Vienna in 1554.  This friend brought them to the Netherlands in 1593. Tulip mania occurred from 1634 - 1637 this trade was built entirely on plants imported from Turkey.

This is a building is considered Tulip Architecture

Whew - this has been a lot for today…. BUT WAIT!!!  THERE’s MORE.  

After this we started on our way to the Grand Bazaar.  There are different parts of it.  Just prior to entering the covered part of the bazaar there are streets and streets of stores.  These folks wanted to have larger store fronts so they went just outside of the covered bazaar. 

there are like 6,000 shops in the grand bazaar and they are organized by what they sell.  You may have one street that sells gold jewelry and there are a ton of stores one after the other, then you have the leather section, the silver section, the pottery sections and so on.  

It was not what either of us expected.  We were thinking more rustic - cloth hanging for the ceiling dirt floors.  But it was a clean and well constructed area. 

Entrance to the Covered part of the Grand Bazaar - this is the oldest section which was begun in 1455.  It has 18 gates/entrances.  Today it has 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops.  It is regarded as the first shopping mall in the world.

We stopped at this store that had Turkish Delight, Saffron, Spices, teas etc. 

We left with a few flavors of Turkish Delight and some nuts. 

Saffron.  Much cheaper to buy here than in the States.  

They say you can put a few leaves in hot water and drink it every day.  It is suppose to help your heath.

All the different sizes you could buy.  In the middle area one jar would cost $180 in Istanbul but closer to 500-600 in the states.

Spices!

Teas

 Nuts

We are tired!  

We had planned on getting Turkish pizza for dinner - it was recommended by Shereff, but we ate dinner at the hotel instead.  They had a killer Caesar salad!

We have a little more exploring tomorrow - then we have to get up at 3:00 am to leave for the airport for our flight.  We have to be there 3 hours early.  As Istanbul is the largest airport under one roof in the world.  

Are you twins?  8 plus that one person who couldn’t decide and didn’t ask

So Richard - be prepared to pick up 2 very tired ladies in Kansas City!