Day 2 Istanbul



Grand Vizier for a day

I woke up about 9:00 and went for the free breakfast at the hotel; it was a traditional Turkish breakfast with yogurt, fruits and nuts, lots of cheeses and bread. The plan for today was to work my way through the list of sights I wanted see, which luckily were all within walking distance of the hotel.
I took the back road from the hotel to the Hippodrome and stopped for photos of the obelisks located there; a lot of tour groups were there already; apparently a cruise ship was in port. I headed for the Blue Mosque, one of the most popular sites in the city; I spent some time in the courtyard checking out the informational placards placed about and was going to go inside but the line was very long and the mosque closed in an hour for prayers so I decided to leave that for later.



The Egyptian Obelisk, erected in the 13th century BC the heiroglyphs are still very sharp



The German fountain

Next stop on the list was the Basilica Cistern, a large underground water storage facility, built in 532 AD, that at one time provided water for Great Palace and was featured in the James Bond film, From Russia with Love. You go down an arched brick corridor to the vast chamber located some 6 metres underground. There are rows of tall marble columns supporting the roof, some with ornate tops and others plain. The chamber is dimly lit but you can see the features pretty well as you make your way along the marble walkways. Upon leaving the cistern the call for prayers began; and being surrounded by mosques it was like having surround sound. It is very melodic and even though I have no idea what they are saying I do enjoy the sound of it carrying throughout vicinity.



Inside the Basilica Cistern

Across from the cistern is the Haghia Sofia, also built in 532 AD, it was the largest religious building in the world for many years, and the most important church in Christendom for almost a thousand years. After the fall of Constantinople the church was converted to a mosque, and has served as a museum since the 1930’s. The main dome is over 100’ across, supported by arches, columns and buttresses. Although showing signs of its age many of the mosaics are still at least partially intact. I stopped for a relaxing glass of tea in the courtyard outside the building before continuing on my exploration.



It's hard to capture the scale of the inside of Hagia Sophia in a single photo but the people in the main area give some idea of how large it is



A mosaic of Christ on the throne with the Emperor Constintine and the Emperores Zoe from the 13th century

A long walk down many narrow twisting roadways lead me to the Spice Bazaar, another important stop in my preparations for our 5 week charter. I liked this better than the Grand Bazaar, especially with all the shops displaying bins of spices and dried fruits. I purchased a small basket with an assortment of spices and a mini grinder; we’ll make great use of that preparing the famous Skyelark cuisine.



Herbs hang to dry with bins of Turkish Delight in a shop at the Spice Bazaar

Outside the bazaar there are narrow streets lined with shops and restaurants; the offerings here are a better value than at the places along the main road near the hippodrome. The streets were very crowded with both tourist and locals enjoying kabobs and the ever present cups of tea.
I needed to get my Vodaphone sim card sorted out as it hasn’t worked since I purchased it at the airport, it turned out the clerk didn’t activate it properly but the clerk at the local office had me up and running in no time. I spent the balance of the afternoon walking down the different streets, stopping off for a cup of tea now and then. I found a little restaurant with outdoor seating near the transit station, so I stopped in for some fried anchovies (fresh, not the salted fillets you see on pizza) with a salad, rice and fresh pita bread.
I went back to the hotel to drop off my purchases, take a little rest and do some internet before heading out for the evening. It was nice to just hang out in the park and watch the people go by, it’s very busy until about midnight when the cafes start to close down. Not being fully accustomed to the time zone change I stopped off for a beer and a couple glasses of raki to help me sleep before going back to the hotel around 1:00 am. Tomorrow it will be off to Fethiye to join Skyelark and begin the charter.