Cool Underground Sight...

Built in 532AD, the Basilica Cistern was the largest of several hundred cisterns built underground to supply water to the ancient city of Constantinople. It is surrounded by walls that are 13 feet thick and coated with a special waterproof mortar. At 470 feet by 210 feet, it is supported by 336 30-foot marble columns. For some unknown reason, two of the column bases have sculptures of Medusa, one with her head upside down and the other sideways. Unfortunately, it was difficult to capture the scope of this ancient room on film.

Some Unique Shopping Opportunities...

I really enjoyed walking through the streets around the Grand Bazaar and seeing the shops that cater to locals and wholesalers. Most stores seemed to be narrowly focused on one type of product. We got a good laugh at the store that sold googly eyes. Others sold zippers, belt buckles, mannequins, bracelets, necklaces or headscarves. These two clothing stores definitely caught my eye. I’d heard of the burkini before, but had never seen one until this trip (although I still haven’t seen anyone actually wear one). The other store was more of a surprise as I got close enough to read the note on the door: This is a special outfit for boys of all ages. It’s worn before the operation of circumsion which is an Islamic tradition. Ouch!

Mosques in Istanbul...

Turkey is a secular nation, although 99% of the population is Muslim and 60% of the women wear headscarves. We were awoken each morning around 5am by the call to prayer over loud speakers from several nearby mosques. Istanbul’s skyline is covered with over 2,900 active mosques. The most famous of all is the national mosque known as the Blue Mosque, shown here. Built in 1617, this massive beautiful structure with six minarets is considered the last of classic Ottoman architecture.
Visitors are allowed in many of the mosques within a roped off area as not to interrupt the prayers. Only in the Blue Mosque were we allowed in without covering our heads, although Veronica was loaned a scarf to cover her shoulders. Here we’re trying to convey how huge the pillars were.

No Turkey in Turkey...

One of the cool parts of visiting somewhere new is trying new foods, although, finding the perfect restaurant is usually the most stressful part of when we travel. Luckily, we didn’t have this problem in Istanbul. Other than our first night when the hotel clerk suggested a restaurant the girls didn’t like, we managed to find lots of great places to eat. On the street our favorite snack was from the cucumber carts; we also enjoyed the pastries, nuts and ice cream.
We splurged to eat at several restaurants with rooftop terraces. The girls especially liked that they could play backgammon while waiting for our food. I thought it was surreal to be listening to Fiddler on the Roof during dinner while sitting in a Muslim country overlooking a giant mosque (technically, Hagia Sophia was built in 537AD as a church and stood as the world’s largest cathedral for 1,000 years, was converted to a mosque in 1453, and then was converted to a museum in 1935).

Turkish Delights...

We eventually wove our way through the shopping district to the Spice Bazaar, which is a small covered market, built in 1660 as the center of the spice trade in Istanbul. The only spice we were interested in was saffron, but Jimmy did want to stock up on some interesting loose teas. We’d never considered ourselves big fans of Turkish Delight, but perhaps that’s because we’d never had it fresh; wouldn’t sell out my family to the White Witch in Narnia for it, but it sure is yummy.

Shop Till You Drop...

No trip to Istanbul is complete without a visit to the Grand Bazaar, built in 1460 and expanded in the 1600’s. This massive covered market has over 1,200 shops all catering to suckers otherwise known as tourists. We mostly bought trinkets, but couldn’t resist buying Ashlynn a belly dancing outfit for next year’s International Day at school. While the girls could have spent all day there, I was quickly burnt out on the shopkeepers trying to hawk their goods. Eventually we made our way out to the streets surrounding the bazaar where the locals shop, which I found much more fascinating.

A Palace Fit for a Sultan...

Istanbul, the former capital of the Roman Empire, is the largest city proper in Europe and with 12.6 million people, is the 4th largest city in the world. We actually only saw a fraction of the city. One evening we ventured outside the historic center across a bridge and ate dinner on a rooftop terrace with an excellent view of Topkapi Palace.
We really enjoyed visiting the Palace, built in 1459 and used as the home of the sultans for 400 years. The harem was especially interesting although the many wives, concubines and eunuchs are long gone. The treasury was impressive with several items belonging to the prophet Mohammed, the hand of John the Baptist and a 86-carat diamond.