At 7:45 we piled into a large coach and Burhan gave us history and geography of Istanbul while we travelled to the old city area. We joined the queue for the Blue Mosque which opened at 8:30.
Burhan has a pleasant manner and can reel off hundreds of facts, figures and stories about the city. Unfortunately the receivers he gave us have persistent crackling and we miss too much of his commentary. We had to be inspected for proper attire and most people needed a head covering scarf or skirt to follow traditional practices in the mosque. Everyone took off their shoes. The interior had impressive tile work, especially on the second level.
We were given a pastry from the barrow seller and took photos of the mosque from a distance.
Next on the list was the sultan's palace Topkapi.
We had stumbled across the 1964 movie of that name with Peter Ustinov on our hotel TV two weeks ago and we saw the actual dagger that featured in the heist. Many other fabulous treasures were on display. Hopefully all this wealth and the 400 concubines in his harem led him to be more of a benign dictator. This is the doorway to the harem.
We had stumbled across the 1964 movie of that name with Peter Ustinov on our hotel TV two weeks ago and we saw the actual dagger that featured in the heist. Many other fabulous treasures were on display. Hopefully all this wealth and the 400 concubines in his harem led him to be more of a benign dictator. This is the doorway to the harem.
After that we went to the Hagia Sophia, where Burhan gave us a ticket which saved joining the long queue to buy them. This is claimed to be the largest church in the world, built in the sixth century, and later converted to a mosque. The big crowds filed in and quickly dissipated as they spread across the floor. It is a joint worship centre for Muslims and Christians because of its history. The dome is massive and the peak is 75 metres high. Scaffolding is for ongoing renovations.
This vase reminded us of Ali Baba and the thieves he boiled in oil.
This vase reminded us of Ali Baba and the thieves he boiled in oil.
Burhan recommended the Pudding Shop for lunch. Its cafeteria style suited our timetable well and it had an interesting history.
After lunch we walked to the Hippodrome and saw the tall Egyptian obelisks, one with carved hieroglyphics. We wondered how they erected it to stand on four copper blocks and how it would stand in the overdue earthquake that will hit Istanbul soon.
As it was Saturday, it was not a surprise to see a bridal couple available for photos.
The bus took us through the traffic for 20 minutes to get to the Grand Bazaar markets where we practised our crowd surfing in the world's biggest undercover markets. They had an interesting history, but now consist of jewellery shops and Chinese genuine imitation products.
No comments:
Post a Comment