Dad and I got up with the sun and took the 6:15am ferry to Istanbul. We had been told it was a three hour ride and it was either this ferry or one that left at around 5:40pm. The ferry reminded us of the Ferry at Disney. Not in exterior appearance, but inside there were benches and it moved like the Disney Ferry. We had a tea and tost (which is like a panani but only has cheese inside) and watched as the land passed us by. We made two other stops on the way to pick up people and I slept the rest of the way.
We had seen Istanbul out of the window and weren’t sure where to get off, and we got off at the wrong stop. We got off at Karakoy which is on the wrong side of the Golden Horn, a peninsula of water that runs through the city. Luckily there was a ferry that could take us to Eminonu (where we were supposed to get off) and we made it there without a hitch.
Dad and I were going to take the Pipedream all the way to Istanbul and when we looked out of the ferry window we were pleased with our decision to stay in Esenkoy and “commute” into the city. The water was a hot mess of cargo ships, high speed ferries, fishing boats, and what I call traffic boats there to guide the big ships through the tight spots. On the approach Dad counted 21 big ships waiting to enter the Bosphorus and there were ferries zooming all over. We would’ve had to fight though the arsenal of ship traffic going against a 5 knot current in a channel that was about 2 miles wide… right. And of course with our luck there would be a strong wind on our nose and we would’ve gone backwards… into a ferry. The chop in the area was incredible. We would’ve been rocking and rolling in every direction and probably would’ve been too scared to notice. When you combine a 5 knot opposing current, high speed ferry wake, the wake from cargo ships, and wind the chop is extreme. We made the right choice.
This was taken from the top of a hill in the city, but if you look at the water you can see the sea of cargo ships just hanging out outside of the city either waiting to be filled or waiting to enter the Bosphorus.
We found the tramway which is a light rail that runs through Istanbul. It’s a great public transport system and made me appreciate public transportation even more. For 1.75 TL you could get a token and ride it anywhere in the city. The trains were new and well maintained. The hostel directions told us which stop to get off on and then walk 40 meters. With some turning in circles we found the Cordial House Hostel and were too early to check in. So we decided to start the site seeing.
Dad stopped at the McDonalds right by the hostel for a sausage egg McMuffin, made with beef sausage, and we walked the 5 minutes to the Blue Mosque.
This is the Blue Mosque. The exterior was impressive because of the six minarets and many studded domes, but the interior is where the wow factor really takes place. We saw a lot of women in burkas in Istanbul and thought they may have been tourists since the display of religious dress like this is outlawed in Turkey, but we saw two more on the ferry back to Esenkoy who were looking to purchase a summer home so maybe the rules are loosening?
This is where you walk in and go “Wow”. There are over 21,000 blue-green Iznik tiles that are interspersed with 260 stained-glass windows. Sultan Ahmet I commissioned the construction of the mosque beginning in 1609 and many believe he did so to outdo the splendor of Aya Sofya, located a park away.
Women are required to wear head scarves inside, which is understandable so I borrowed one that is provided. I still don’t know how to actually wear a head scarf, but I think this was sufficient. The sign said long skirts are also required, but long pants were acceptable too. No shorts, short shirts, or tank tops would’ve been permitted inside of the mosque.
We were also required to take off our shoes when entering the mosque. This is the rule of every mosque and we’ve noticed that men generally wash their feet before entering too. There are gazeboswith running water, bars of soap, and little stools where a man can wash his feet before entering.
There were so many tourists visiting. There were a few people there to actually pray, and apparently the Blue Mosque is closed to tourists on Friday afternoons because so many people come to actually pray there. I think it would be like attending a normal mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral. The architect, Mehmet Aga wanted it to be so grand that he built the 6 minarets which is the same number as the Elharam Mosque in Mecca so he had to go to the Holy City and built a 7th minaret for the Elharam Mosque so it maintained dominance.
After our visit to the Blue Mosque we returned to the hostel and checked in. The room wasn’t much and we shared a bathroom, but that isn’t any different than sharing the bathroom at a marina so we didn’t care. We decided to take an early afternoon nap and then continue site seeing once we were rested. It was fantastic.
The next stop was Aya Sofya, which was my favorite place in Istanbul. It was a 5 minute walk from the hotel and while there were a lot of people there, it was so big we almost didn’t notice.
This is Aya Sofya. The building was originally built by the Byzantine empire in 537 and was one of the world’s largest and most important religious monuments until the construction of St. Peter’s in Rome in the 17th century. In 1453 Mehmet the Conqueror came in and turned the building into a mosque. Building four minarets around it.
The crown jewel of the building is the giant dome located in the center. Emperor Justinian wanted the church to be the grandest ever constructed so the craftsmen came up with the dome. Nothing like the dome had ever been attempted before and the rules made up were not foolproof which was made clear when the dome collapsed two years after completion during an earthquake. They tried again and discovered the flying buttresses which made it the long lasting symbol of Istanbul’s skyline it is today. This is a photo from the second level looking out over everything.
This is Dad and I posing inside. Again because of the sheer size of the building it seemed like there weren’t that many people inside, but once you walked outside and saw the crowds it was amazing.
We got to see more Iznik tiles in Aya Sofya. This was a passage to the main area of the church/mosque. It was where the sermon would’ve been held or later where the prayer would be led.
This is where Christian and Islam meet. The stair looking structure is the minbar which is a pulpit where the leader of prayer delivers sermons. Every mosque has this and a mihrab which is a decorated niche that indicates the direction of Mecca. The Arabic circles were clearly added when converted to a mosque, but if you look closely at the upper right of the photo you will see a mosaic of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. This would’ve been where the Byzantine altar would’ve been also.
Most of the mosaics were “preserved” on accident when in the 16th century Suleyman the Magnificant ordered them to be plastered over in accordance with the Islamic proscription against the portrayal of the human figure in a place of worship. They were uncovered in 1936 when Ataturk made the Aya Sofya into a museum.
The circles shown are where the Byzantine Emperors were coronated which Dad thought was pretty cool.
After Aya Sofya we went to the Grand Bazaar which was right up the street from our hotel and wandered the streets looking at everything from magic carpets to lamps that you could purchase with or without a Genie. The whole point of the bazaar is to barter for a good price and never settle for more than half of what the asking price is. We didn’t purchase anything this time but will be back with Mom in June ready to haggle.
Dinner was a chicken durum (like a chicken wrap) and then Dad went back to the hotel. I went on a hunt for a beer. We thought being in the big city that Efes would be sold at the grocery store like everywhere else, and we were wrong. I wanted to go for a walk and this gave me a small mission which I accomplished by turning left at the Burger King and walking towards the water. There was a tiny liquor store that did indeed sell beer.
We had an early night after a long day and wanted to be rested for day two of our adventure through Istanbul.
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