Day 2 in Istanbul started with a stop at our local Starbucks for a special treat. I’ve decided that Starbucks is the same everywhere, including Istanbul. It was very similar to walking to the one by UCF or the one in Orange Park, they are all the same down to the kind of lights they use. The differences are the merchandise, in Istanbul they had Istanbul Starbucks themed mugs and had a larger tea selection then I remember in the states. The snacks are a little bit different, for example instead of selling a plain croissant they sell a croissant with cheese. And the prices are different, I spent 7TL for a tall White Chocolate Mocha. Now when converted to dollars it’s not that much more expensive, but to see 7TL when paying is a bit of a shock.
The Topkapi Palace and Archeology Museum were in the same area and were a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We decided to see the Topkapi first because the book said once the tour buses start rolling in, it’s impossible to see everything.
We were apparently late. This was a line to get into the treasury building, which we voted not to visit. There were crowds of people from every nationality everywhere. We kept waiting in lines and there wasn’t even a ride at the end to look forward to.
The palace, which overlooks the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, was the residence of the sultans and their harems as well as the seat of Ottoman rule from the 1450’s until the middle of the 19th century. I’m standing in front of the audience chamber where foreign ambassadors once groveled to the sultan.
We weren’t allowed to take photographs in many of the rooms and there were so many people we would’ve have been able to get anything good anyway. The building behind us was the library and we thought the fountain was especially beautiful.
*On a side note, I was reminded why Americans get a bad name while traveling sometimes. We were in a mosque built in the palace and there were signs everywhere (in 4 different languages and with an illustration) that said no photos. Not no flash, not no video, just straight out no photos. The mosque doubled as a museum that displayed swords and other artifacts from religious crusades that were housed at the sultan’s “home” to show the religious power. Well we were on our way our when I heard a guard tell an American woman “No photos”. She turned to this man, who had a gun, and said “I’m just taking photos of the tiles. I can take photos of the tiles if I want to.” I wanted to punch her and ask what makes her so entitled that she doesn’t have to follow the rules at all. If you travel and the sign says no photos, please don’t be a jerk and test the system ok?
This was the Sultan’s private living area. There was a little house for his turbans, a place for him to live away from anyone who would try to kill him, and a circumcision room. There was also this great fountain/reflecting pool. I would’ve loved to see this place with water running through it because the fountains were spectacular.
This was one of 4 fountains in the circumcision room. The princes would be taken here to have the ritual circumcision at the age of 9 or 10. There was a giant Harem that housed over 200 concubines within the palace walls. The most beautiful women would be sent to the Sultan and kept in the harem. We didn’t visit the harem because it was an extra cost and there were lines of people to go in so we will probably visit when we return with Mom.
This is one example of the tile work inside of these rooms. It was nothing less than grand in scale. There were Iznik tiles, and tiles from the Ottoman Empire decorating every room inside and out. I loved it.
We searched high and low for a decent lunch place and ended up going to a touristy place for a subpar lunch. But they served beer so Dad got to get his Efes.
We made it back to the Istanbul Archeology Museum and after some confusion about how to get in, we paid our admission and went inside. This is the main building of the museum but there were two smaller buildings that housed Iznik tiles and the one I’m about to enter which had an Egyptian collection.
I didn’t think I would get to see a mummy on this trip – but I did! We had originally planned on going to Egypt and that was shot down when they had a civil war. So I was super excited to see an actual mummy and Egyptian sarcophagus.
This lion reminded me of the Cave of Wonders from the movie Aladdin. When we watched it a few days later I realized the Cave of Wonders is a tiger, but if you look super close at its head you will see the resemblance too.
This snake was part of a man’s leg on one of the reliefs we saw. I just thought it was a really cool snake and very well done.
When the Turks were invading Constantinople the Constantinopolitans used chains like this one in the water to keep any boats from traveling up the Golden Horn or the Bosphorus. Dad had just read “The Fall of Constantinople 1453” so it was cool getting to see the chains.
There was a room called the necropolis where a series of Greek and Roman sarcophagi were displayed and this guy was located in the center of the room. He had been in a giant marble tomb and had undergone some sort of mummification process. We were amazed that his deflated organs were still there and that he still had a tuff of what looked like hair on his head.
Dad and I were ready for something other than a doner for dinner and went on a quest for the Chinese restaurant we had passed the day before when we got lost looking for our hotel. We found it and it was full of Chinese tour groups. The food was authentic Chinese which was a bit different than the Americanized Chinese we’ve grown to love, but it was good anyway. And we got a show.
We were seated in the corner of the restaurant which was on a 4 way intersection. One of the roads was closed so the one way traffic was being detoured down the hill. Well a tour bus, that I assume was enroute to a hotel, came down the street and had no other choice but to make the turn. After what must’ve been a 27 point turn, the aid of men on either side of the bus, and the moving of parked cars later the bus was able to get around the corner and didn’t hurt anybody or destroy any property. We were very impressed and a little bit scared as we saw the bus get closer and closer to the windows we were seated by. At one point Dad was sitting with the front of the bus on one side and the back on the other. It appeared to be wedged in the intersection but wiggled its way out. Oh the driving in Turkey.
Dad and I went to a movie that night. We were able to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 before it came out in the states. The movie going experience was like seeing Harry Potter. There were assigned seats and an intermission. The movie itself was entertaining but like most sequels not as good as the original.
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