Best of Istanbul (Sept 2017)

Turkey was going to be very different after a fabulous two weeks in rural Kyrgyzstan but I was excited to be somewhere new and also to have such a contract in my travel experiences. I try not to do too many similar places at once, or all the days can merge into one! I must admit day one in Turkey, was a rare day of indecisive dithering, not something I am used to, but the only thing I seemed to achieve was going round both routes of the hop on hop off bus tour and the Beylerbeyi Palace plus dinner! The two places I was most looking forward to were Pamukkale and Cappadoccia. The hot air balloon ride in Cappadoccia was the reason for visiting Turkey, but I was going to see as much as possible!

The Beylerbeyi Palace (meaning the Palace of the Bey of Bey's) is beautifully situated on the banks of the Bosphorus and was built between 1861 and 1865 for the purpose of being a summer palace. I will let you visit yourself to see inside!!

The next day I was more focused and was at the front of the queue for the Topkapi Palace at 9 am (virtually empty and very serene – a great time to go). There was lots to see at this Palace and I would 100% recommend spending a morning roaming around this impressive place. The Topkapi Palace (meaning Cannon Gate) was a royal residence from 1478 to 1953, and prior to the Dolmabache Palace being built was the administrative capital of the Ottoman Empire and after the court was moved, it retained its importance as being the main library, treasury and mint. It was ordered to be built just 6 years after the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) and was called the New Palace to distinguish it from the old Palace (Eski Saray in Beyazit Squure). It has four large courtyards and many different buildings. The female members of the Sultans family lived in the Harem. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the building was turned into a museum and is part of the Historic Area of Istanbul as designated by UNESCO.

Afterwards I visited the Dolmerbahce Palace (The Palace on the Bosphorus!) which houses the largest chandelier in Turkey. The Palace was built in 1856 and remained a Palace until 1984. It was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and is filled with luxurious gold, crystal, brass and Turkish decorations. The Palace houses the world largest bohemian crystal chandeliers which is the main feature of the Ceremonial Hall, featuring 750 lamps with a weight of 4.5 tonnres. It is truly spectacular. The Palace is also home to a large collation of Hereke carpets and a substantial collection of oil paintings.

Next I went to see the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque (or more correctly called The Sultan Ahmed Mosque) was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I. It is still a functioning mosque to this day, although it is also a popular tourist attraction. The mosque is adorned with hand painted blue tiles that decorate the interior of the mosque. The exterior boasts six minarets, five main domes and eight secondary domes, making it a beautiful architectural marvel. The Blue Mosque is also part of the Historic Area of Istanbul as designated by UNESCO in 1985. In order to enter the mosque you have to wear (if you are not appropriately dressed) a robe provided by the mosque and a head scarf. For some reason, I struggled to get into the robe, which foxed me for a good few minutes until I was appropriately attired and allowed to enter. Upon entering the mosque you realise how large and beautifully decorated it is inside. As with any mosque there are designated areas for men and women to pray separately, but as a tourist you could walk around to see the full beauty of the interior.

A short walk away was the Obelisk of Theodosius, which was made in Ancient Egypt under the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III and has been re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople by Roman Emperor Theodosius I - its former home had been in Alexandria to celebrate the Pharaohs victories in Syria in the 15th Century B.C.. The Obelisk stands 18.54m high, or 25.6m with the pedestal it sits upon and now commemorates the Emperors defeat of the usurper Maximus and his son Victor in 388 A.D. The obelisk now stands majestically in the center of the Hippodrome for all to see.

After walking away from the Obelisk, we entered a souk and wandered around enjoying the sights and smells of a Turkish market. The souks are always super fun to walk around as they often have the most bizarre items that either you haven't seen for years, or you have never seen before, but this is always alongside beautiful local pieces of art, well designed and beautifully made.

After the market I went for a doner kebab dinner and then had an wander in the cooler evening air before heading to bed. At that point I left Istanbul for two weeks travelling around Turkey. (Please read Best of Turkey blog). After returning to Istanbul, I continued exploring and visited the amazing Hagia Sophia.

The Hagia Sofia in my opinion is one of the most beautiful buildings in Istanbul. But it has probably the most interesting history of them all. The Hagia Sophia was originally a pagan Christian cathedral originally built in 325 A.D., razed in 404 A.D, rebuilt, and destroyed again in 532A.D. Most of what we see today was built between 532 and 537 A.D.

In 1453m the Cathedral was converted to a Muslim mosque. This was after the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. Just under 400 years later, the

building was secularised (was not related to any religion and all faiths are welcome), and the following year it became a museum. When I visited in 2017, there were still lot of elements that made the museum feel like a mosque, and the interior was beautifully decorated - simply but tastefully in line with Muslim traditions. Since my visit in 2017, the museum has been stripped of its status and returned to being a functioning mosque as Turkey becomes more conservative.

The Hagia Sophia had many alerations done to it from it being the largest church in all of Christiandom, to becoming a significant mosque in the Muslim world. Modifications include the addition of minarets, a a grand chandelier along with a mihrab (niche positioned in the direction of Mecca), a minbar (pulpit) and a madrasah (school).

Haiga Sophia also had many names over its lifetime and these include:

- Ayasofya in Turkish,

- Sancta Sophia in Latin,

- Holy Wisdom or Divine Wisdom in English.

- Hagia Sophia

My final stop on my three days in Istanbul was the Basilica Cistern. This was a large underground water filtration system, was the largest built below the city of Constantinople and was located only 150m from the Hagia Sophia. It was used to provide water to the Great Palace of Constantinople as well as the Topkapi Palace. The Cistern is approx138m by 65m (approx 9,000msq) and is capacble of holding 80,000 cubic meters of water. The cistern is supported by 336 wooden columns. These are split into 12 rows of 28 columns that are spread 5m apart and each column is 9m high.

I truly enjoyed my time in Istanbul. The food was amazing, the sights spectacular and the people friendly. I hope to return to see more on another occasion.