Today was our day in Istanbul. What a city! It east meets west and old vs. new. Our day started with a tour to the Blue Mosque. It’s one of the fixtures of the Istanbul skyline. I was surprised that we were able to enter in the Mosque. We had to take our shoes off and enter in. It was interesting to see the inside. All mosques are forbidden to have any pictures of any people etc in them, so they are generally decorated with patterns or flowers, especially tulips. The floor was covered with a beautiful carpet, like rugs. The good ones. It was very nice to walk around without shoes during the tour. Ollie even took off his socks and loved to sit on the runs and point out the flowers. It was a nice visit and we had a good guide so it added for a great time of explanation.
Next we traveled to the Tokapi (I think I am spelling it wrong) Palace, this is where the sultan of Turkey lived until he was forced out and modern turkey was formed. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Bosporus Straight, and then we moved on to the Grand Bazaar. Wow what can I say. I really liked the bazaar, we only scratched the surface on what to see and do. Think of it as a really really big market all indoors. I think it’s 34 acres, not sure on the number. It has many mosques built into the market itself. I would come back to Istanbul just for the market.
After the bazaar, we went to Haghia Sophia. Basically this was a church/mosque that predates the blue mosque. It has been a Christian church and a Mosque over its life and frankly I believe is more important and a better treasure then the blue mosque. It was originally a Christian church during the roman times, however all the frescos where covered over when it was a mosque, so fortunately a lot of the fresco’s where preserved when the Muslims covered them up with plaster. It was a great experience. Next we headed on the bus and went back to the ship.
Brandi and I enjoyed the bazaar so much we took a shuttle back to the bazaar and did some more shopping. I collect little monuments when we go places, so I needed to pick up a haghia Sophia and a blue mosque for the collection. Mom needed a few things as well, so while my parents stayed on the ship we Ollie, Brandi and I headed back out and make it to and from the bazaar without issue and had a blast.
We leave at 1:00am local time to head to Trabzon, Turkey where we plan on visiting the Selma Monastery. So we’ll see how that goes. Tomorrow is a sea day, so mom and dad have Ollie so we can sleep in. It’s a nice.
