c+d: 9/22 - 9/27 turkey

Half in Asia and half in Europe, Istanbul marked the end of our European extravaganza and the beginning of our Asian adventure (Central Asia, that is). It all began with a taxi driver who couldn’t speak English, didn’t know street names, and couldn’t read (turned out he couldn’t see). We wonder whose cab he stole. But we survived and, during the 2-hour cab ride, managed to see much of the city to boot. And it is a city we love. Founded by Greeks, then the center of huge Christian empire for 1,000 years, and then the center of a huge Muslim empire for another 500. East, west; Christian, Muslim; ancient, modern; all jumbled together in a chaotic mix. We can definitely see ourselves returning.

Since we loved too much of it, we’ll only mention a few favorites:

1. Haghia Sophia—the largest and oldest Byzantine church in the world, built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It was converted into a mosque by the Ottomans and then a museum by Ataturk. The huge central dome rises 180 feet and the interior is covered in both Christian mosaics and Arabic writing—simply amazing, especially considering that they built it in only six years in the 6th century!

2. Directly across from the Haghia Sohpia, separated by ancient Egyptian obelisks formerly the center of the Roman hippodrome, is the Blue Mosque—one of the most famous mosques in the world. Built nearly 1,000 years after the Haghia, it boasts six minarets, an honor that only the holiest mosque in Saudi Arabia can also claim. Covering heads and removing shoes, we were allowed entrance to this blue-tiled mosque any time but prayer time. Though beautiful on the inside, my favorite view of it was lit up at night, especially now that it is Ramadan season. After sunset, the area around the mosque takes on the feel of an outdoor food court and is simply littered with people. We spent each night enjoying the atmosphere and eating lamb kebabs, weird Ottoman pastries, and other Turkish delights —doesn’t get much better.

3. Topkapki Palace, home to the mega-powerful Ottoman sultans for ~400 years. It is a huge network of structures, organized around four courtyards and looking out over the Golden Horn (one of the greatest natural harbors in the world), Sea of Marmara (empties into the Mediterranean), and the Bosphorus River (connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara)—quite the location. It has one of the most extensive collections of armor, pottery, silver, gold, and jewels that I have seen in one place. And the colorful tiles that decorate the walls (especially the resplendent – and very large – harem) number in the tens of thousands.

4. A boat ride up the Bosphorus, the beautiful river that splits the city into the European and Asian parts. Hundreds of huge tankers and cargo ships line up each day to travel the Bosphorous – it is the only waterway link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and thus its shores have held strategic forts for thousands of years. The return trip was equally enjoyable, especially in crossing one of the two bridges over the Golden Horn. These bridges are full of life with shops and restaurants on the lower levels and fishermen along the upper levels. It didn’t seem like they were catching much, but after then seeing the thousands of fish in the fish market, someone must be!

5. Last but not least, we bought a rug in Istanbul! Very fun getting to know the market and the people, but each stop in a rug shop is quite the process. Each shopkeeper utilizes different tactics, but it invariably involves pulling down nearly every rug in their shop, and often delicious apple tea. It’s always fun to see the rugs and get to know the salesmen, and even the haggling is fun with the right attitude (though sometimes the greatest challenge is just exiting the shop!). In the end we found a rug seller we just loved, who had a great selection, great bargaining, and great stories. Mehmet, raised in a rug-making and rug-appraising family, knew the ins and outs of each rug, and loved them like children. We hope to see him on his next sales trip to the US in a few months.