8000 years in 48 hours..1 mad weekend in Istanbul
Cheney Anne Markun
November 19, 2008
"Welcome, my friends, welcome to Istanbul!"
These were the first words that I heard as I lugged my overstuffed holdall through Sabiha Gokcen airport (taking full advantage of Easy Jet´s "no weight limit on hand luggage" policy) and was loaded into the waiting minibus that would take us to Istanbul. The third largest city in the world, Istanbul is spread over two continents and as we clung onto our safety belt free seats we gazed out on a thoroughly modern looking Asia (the airport itself is named after the first female combat pilot in the world, and Turkeys first female aviator - a sure sign of a nation looking firmly forward).
Crossing the massive expansion bridge that links Asia to Europe across the mighty Bosphorous River we watched in awe as the streets became smaller and more maze like, the crowds denser and the buildings that clung precariously to the sloping cobbled roads older and more colourful.
Our hotel was in the Sultanahmet Square area which is ideal for all the big sight seeing destinations and good, local restaurants and bars to relax in at night. On arrival we were immediately relieved of our bags and given a cup of apple tea to drink whilst we checked in. Apple tea is hugely popular in Turkey and is drunk anytime and anywhere - from when you´re bartering in the Grand Bazaar to when you´re sat on the deck of a boat cruising the river but it´s especially good when taken after a meal.
When visiting a city that was first settled around 6500 BC and has been the capital of no less than 3 empires (the Roman, Byzantium and Ottoman) deciding what to see can be a tricky decision. Prioritising is essential and we decided to spend our first day visiting 3 of Istanbul´s most famous and fascinating places, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. In most cities I have found that hiring a guide is a waste of both time and money but here it is a really good way to properly delve into all that Istanbul has to offer, and our guide provided us with so many insights that we would have otherwise missed out on (most good hotels will be able to book a guide for you for around 45 euros a day including entry fees to the sites).
After an 8 am wake up call and a hearty breakfast in the hotel we were collected by our guide and driven through the mad morning traffic to the Hagia Sophia. Built around 500 AD as a church for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for the next 1000 years until, in 1453 it was raided by the invading Ottoman Turks and turned into a mosque. It was during this transformation that the minarets outside were added and the stunning icons and murals inside were covered over with plaster. Today ,they are still uncovering what lies beneath the heavy white paint and new pieces of art are constantly being discovered as the layers slowly flake away. The Hagia Sophia remained a mosque until 1935 when it was converted to a museum, and has remained as such to this day. Inside there is a "weeping column", and some people believe that if they put there finger in the water then they will be granted good luck - as out guide told us though, the water is actually caused by the column soaking up moisture from the Roman Cistern beneath, so it´s not quite as miraculous as people might think!
A short stroll away is the Sultan Ahmed mosque, more commonly known as the Blue Mosque for the vividly coloured tiles which cover it´s inner walls, and which is also Turkeys National Mosque. Built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmed the first the Blue Mosque is relatively new by Istanbul standards and is one of it´s biggest tourist attractions as people queue to be able to walk on it´s rich carpets and admire the beautiful decorations inside. Chandeliers hang from the high ceilings, lined with candle holders which are today filled with electric lights but the effect it still incredibly stunning. According to our ever knowledgeable guide the reason for the Blue Mosques six towering minarets was a simple case of miscommunication - when Sultan Ahmed ordered the building of the mosque he actually requested that four minarets be built (in keeping with Islamic tradition for a Sultans mosque). The poor architect though misheard him, and six were built. The only other mosque at that time with six was the Ka´aba in Mecca and Ahmed was criticised for his presumption in ordering the same for his mosque. Ahmed overcame this problem by paying personally for the mosque at Ka´aba to have a seventh minaret built. A rather costly solution for a case of misunderstanding!
After stopping for lunch at one of the restaurants off Sultan Ahmed Square (again, included in the cost of the days guide) we headed over to the Topkapi Palace which perches on a site overlooking the Golden Horn, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorous. Built in 1459 as a home to the Sultan and his family, at one point over 4000 people lived within it´s sprawling complex. Made up of four main courtyards and a multitude of smaller buildings the Palace was used by the Sultans until the end of the 17th century, and was made into a museum in 1924. Inside the palace there are hundreds of rooms and exhibitions to explore, including the Harem which was home to the Sultans mother, his wives, concubines and children, as well as their servants and the eunuchs who cared for them. Despite it´s luxurious appearance the Harem was often described as a "golden prison" due to the fact that many of it´s occupants were forbidden to leave (the word Harem actually means forbidden) and the sad truth that many of the women there had been taken against their will from other countries and tribes. Our guide told us that the main aim for the women inside the Harem was to have the Sultan´s first son, who would later become his heir, as this guaranteed you a position of privilege and safety as the future Queen Mother, provided you could keep the child alive. The Harem is rife with tales of how women would kill the children of others in order to secure the coveted position of heir for their own son, and so life within this golden prison was not always an easy one. The men in our party winced when they were told how the male eunuchs who served the women of the Harem were castrated male slaves taken prisoner during war or from other parts of the empire. To see everything inside the Palace and really take it in you need at least a few hours (and some comfortable shoes) and our day of sightseeing ended around 6 o´clock that day with us exhausted and ready to get some sleep in preparation for the next days activities.
Thankfully, we´d chosen a more sedate day of shopping and cruising for our last day in Istanbul and we spent the morning at the Grand Bazaar. Sedate is perhaps the wrong word to describe such a loud and bustling place as the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest covered markets in the world which houses over 6000 shops and is visited by over 250,000 people every day. Wandering through it´s 58 covered streets you really get a sense of being in the old east as shop keepers call out to you to come inside and see their wares and the scents of apple tea and incense wash over you. Bartering is not just common here, it´s essential. My husband and I spent nearly an hour debating with the holder of one shop over a particularly gorgeous wooden backgammon and chess set, and eventually managed to settle on a good price over a cup of complimentary apple tea. The silver jewellery, handmade scarves and myriad of "evil eye" trinkets are well worth a rummage through if only to soak up the atmosphere in this fascinating place. After spending all we were prepared to spend we headed down to the banks of the Bosphorous where we boarded a rather rickety looking wooden boat and headed out for our afternoon cruise. Once I got used to the slightly lively motion onboard the boat I settled back on the upper deck to watch the view go by. The upper deck was surrounded by a low, padded bench seat and there were oversized cushions and woollen blankets readily available to keep everyone comfortable as we sailed into Asia. Although the oldest parts of Istanbul, and the biggest tourist draws, are all located on the European side of the city the majority of Istanbul´s occupants live on it´s Asian side and some of the buildings you can see from the river are absolutely stunning, including Istanbul´s most opulent hotel and the man made islands where MTV summer parties are filmed. Luckily for us the weather was clear and apart from a strong wind that did nothing for certain peoples hair do´s it was a perfect day to be cruising between two continents.
Istanbul really is a magnificent city, drenched in history and culture and constantly evolving, as it has done for millennia. As you gaze on the history of thousands of years of civilisation you can´t help but think that when Napoleon Bonaparte said "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be it´s capital" he may well have been right.
These were the first words that I heard as I lugged my overstuffed holdall through Sabiha Gokcen airport (taking full advantage of Easy Jet´s "no weight limit on hand luggage" policy) and was loaded into the waiting minibus that would take us to Istanbul. The third largest city in the world, Istanbul is spread over two continents and as we clung onto our safety belt free seats we gazed out on a thoroughly modern looking Asia (the airport itself is named after the first female combat pilot in the world, and Turkeys first female aviator - a sure sign of a nation looking firmly forward).
Crossing the massive expansion bridge that links Asia to Europe across the mighty Bosphorous River we watched in awe as the streets became smaller and more maze like, the crowds denser and the buildings that clung precariously to the sloping cobbled roads older and more colourful.
Our hotel was in the Sultanahmet Square area which is ideal for all the big sight seeing destinations and good, local restaurants and bars to relax in at night. On arrival we were immediately relieved of our bags and given a cup of apple tea to drink whilst we checked in. Apple tea is hugely popular in Turkey and is drunk anytime and anywhere - from when you´re bartering in the Grand Bazaar to when you´re sat on the deck of a boat cruising the river but it´s especially good when taken after a meal.
When visiting a city that was first settled around 6500 BC and has been the capital of no less than 3 empires (the Roman, Byzantium and Ottoman) deciding what to see can be a tricky decision. Prioritising is essential and we decided to spend our first day visiting 3 of Istanbul´s most famous and fascinating places, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. In most cities I have found that hiring a guide is a waste of both time and money but here it is a really good way to properly delve into all that Istanbul has to offer, and our guide provided us with so many insights that we would have otherwise missed out on (most good hotels will be able to book a guide for you for around 45 euros a day including entry fees to the sites).
After an 8 am wake up call and a hearty breakfast in the hotel we were collected by our guide and driven through the mad morning traffic to the Hagia Sophia. Built around 500 AD as a church for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for the next 1000 years until, in 1453 it was raided by the invading Ottoman Turks and turned into a mosque. It was during this transformation that the minarets outside were added and the stunning icons and murals inside were covered over with plaster. Today ,they are still uncovering what lies beneath the heavy white paint and new pieces of art are constantly being discovered as the layers slowly flake away. The Hagia Sophia remained a mosque until 1935 when it was converted to a museum, and has remained as such to this day. Inside there is a "weeping column", and some people believe that if they put there finger in the water then they will be granted good luck - as out guide told us though, the water is actually caused by the column soaking up moisture from the Roman Cistern beneath, so it´s not quite as miraculous as people might think!
A short stroll away is the Sultan Ahmed mosque, more commonly known as the Blue Mosque for the vividly coloured tiles which cover it´s inner walls, and which is also Turkeys National Mosque. Built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmed the first the Blue Mosque is relatively new by Istanbul standards and is one of it´s biggest tourist attractions as people queue to be able to walk on it´s rich carpets and admire the beautiful decorations inside. Chandeliers hang from the high ceilings, lined with candle holders which are today filled with electric lights but the effect it still incredibly stunning. According to our ever knowledgeable guide the reason for the Blue Mosques six towering minarets was a simple case of miscommunication - when Sultan Ahmed ordered the building of the mosque he actually requested that four minarets be built (in keeping with Islamic tradition for a Sultans mosque). The poor architect though misheard him, and six were built. The only other mosque at that time with six was the Ka´aba in Mecca and Ahmed was criticised for his presumption in ordering the same for his mosque. Ahmed overcame this problem by paying personally for the mosque at Ka´aba to have a seventh minaret built. A rather costly solution for a case of misunderstanding!
After stopping for lunch at one of the restaurants off Sultan Ahmed Square (again, included in the cost of the days guide) we headed over to the Topkapi Palace which perches on a site overlooking the Golden Horn, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorous. Built in 1459 as a home to the Sultan and his family, at one point over 4000 people lived within it´s sprawling complex. Made up of four main courtyards and a multitude of smaller buildings the Palace was used by the Sultans until the end of the 17th century, and was made into a museum in 1924. Inside the palace there are hundreds of rooms and exhibitions to explore, including the Harem which was home to the Sultans mother, his wives, concubines and children, as well as their servants and the eunuchs who cared for them. Despite it´s luxurious appearance the Harem was often described as a "golden prison" due to the fact that many of it´s occupants were forbidden to leave (the word Harem actually means forbidden) and the sad truth that many of the women there had been taken against their will from other countries and tribes. Our guide told us that the main aim for the women inside the Harem was to have the Sultan´s first son, who would later become his heir, as this guaranteed you a position of privilege and safety as the future Queen Mother, provided you could keep the child alive. The Harem is rife with tales of how women would kill the children of others in order to secure the coveted position of heir for their own son, and so life within this golden prison was not always an easy one. The men in our party winced when they were told how the male eunuchs who served the women of the Harem were castrated male slaves taken prisoner during war or from other parts of the empire. To see everything inside the Palace and really take it in you need at least a few hours (and some comfortable shoes) and our day of sightseeing ended around 6 o´clock that day with us exhausted and ready to get some sleep in preparation for the next days activities.
Thankfully, we´d chosen a more sedate day of shopping and cruising for our last day in Istanbul and we spent the morning at the Grand Bazaar. Sedate is perhaps the wrong word to describe such a loud and bustling place as the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest covered markets in the world which houses over 6000 shops and is visited by over 250,000 people every day. Wandering through it´s 58 covered streets you really get a sense of being in the old east as shop keepers call out to you to come inside and see their wares and the scents of apple tea and incense wash over you. Bartering is not just common here, it´s essential. My husband and I spent nearly an hour debating with the holder of one shop over a particularly gorgeous wooden backgammon and chess set, and eventually managed to settle on a good price over a cup of complimentary apple tea. The silver jewellery, handmade scarves and myriad of "evil eye" trinkets are well worth a rummage through if only to soak up the atmosphere in this fascinating place. After spending all we were prepared to spend we headed down to the banks of the Bosphorous where we boarded a rather rickety looking wooden boat and headed out for our afternoon cruise. Once I got used to the slightly lively motion onboard the boat I settled back on the upper deck to watch the view go by. The upper deck was surrounded by a low, padded bench seat and there were oversized cushions and woollen blankets readily available to keep everyone comfortable as we sailed into Asia. Although the oldest parts of Istanbul, and the biggest tourist draws, are all located on the European side of the city the majority of Istanbul´s occupants live on it´s Asian side and some of the buildings you can see from the river are absolutely stunning, including Istanbul´s most opulent hotel and the man made islands where MTV summer parties are filmed. Luckily for us the weather was clear and apart from a strong wind that did nothing for certain peoples hair do´s it was a perfect day to be cruising between two continents.
Istanbul really is a magnificent city, drenched in history and culture and constantly evolving, as it has done for millennia. As you gaze on the history of thousands of years of civilisation you can´t help but think that when Napoleon Bonaparte said "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be it´s capital" he may well have been right.
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