Coming to you from Istanbul on a brisk Spring day.
After too many hours flying from Wellington to Sydney, Sydney to Dubai and finally Dubai to Istanbul, we made it!
I have to say those long 14hour flights are killers, every time we say never again but you soon forget once you are on the ground exploring. After a crazy long taxi ride to our hotel in the old town, we showered and hit the hay - laying down flat never felt so good.
Our hotel offered a wonderful breakfast and once suitably fortified we got walking!
Our first stop of the day was the Grand Bazaar. With our funny sleep patterns we woke early so we got to see the bazaar waking up, the shop keepers mopping the marble floors, the bazaar cats being fed so they could catch mice, the chai/tea wallahs serving shop owners...it was fun and not at all crowded, the best time to visit. Interesting to pass through a police metal detector/screen to enter the bazaar - times have changed since last here about 25yrs ago 😁
It's huge, probably the world's first shopping mall. It employs about 26,000 people, is visited by between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily, and is one of the major landmarks of Istanbul.
Next stop Hagia Sophia Mosque.
The red colour on the exterior is more faded than I remember but it's still a sight to behold. This mosque has quite the back story, a former church (Eastern Orthodox) from 360 AD to 1204, when it was then converted to a Catholic church following a crusade, it was later reclaimed and remained Eastern Orthodox until it was conquered by the Ottoman's in 1261 and it served as a mosque until 1935, when it became a museum. In 2020, the site once again became a mosque. Enough 'back of the envelope' history, there's more on Google if you are interested, you just have to know it's gorgeous! Black and gold interior, marble everywhere you look, gold and green colours pop.....the dome is so large that the entire Notre Dame cathedral could fit inside, it's pretty impressive.
Luckily some of the gold mosaics in the upper gallery survived the Crusader sackings. However the Ottoman's subsequently plastered over the mosaics.... which actually saved them further down the track.
The blend of styles, Arabic calligraphy, mosaics, lighting and the scale are all epic. There's even 9th century Viking graffiti carved into the marble, that's dedication. You can see why it's one of the most visited sites in the world.
Deesis Mosaic, Jesus, flanked by Mother Mary and John the Baptist, 1261
Commenos Mosaic 1122AD. Mary holding baby Jesus flanked by Empress Irene and Emperor John Commenos II.
Next stop the Basilica Cistern which can hold up to 27 million gallons of water. Built in 532AD by Byzantine Emperor Justinius it's an engineering marvel with the city of Istanbul chaos carrying on above ground. It took 7000 slaves to build the structure of 336 supporting columns in order to provide water to the city.
It took even more slaves to build the aqueduct to feed the water to the cistern. It's mind boggling. It's been beautifully restored and lit since I came here in the1990's.
Still not tired we took a walk in Gulhane Park and Topkapi Palace - both sanctuaries of calm.
The park must have thousands of tulips, not out yet, but you can see it will be spectacular. Beautiful bird life, streets cats, street dogs and lush green calmness, perfect.
Stepping through the Imperial Gates at Topkapi Palace you can see why Sultan Mehed decided this was the spot for his palace.
It's on a headland with terrific Bosporus sea views, also the site of a previous ancient Greek Acropolis in early days of Byzantium. You follow through a series of walled courtyards which get more and more private as they progress.
Almost flagging with jet lag we couldn't go past the Blue Mosque. Built on the grounds of Constantine's Grand Palace the six towering minaret spires punctuate the skyline.
The massive 141 foot tall/110 foot wide main dome is incredible. The interior is covered with 20,000 blue tiles and stunning light filtering through stained glass windows.
The early French explorers loved the colour so much they called it turquoise ' the colour of the Turks'. You must remove your shoes and ladies a headscarf please 😁. It's beautiful.
A last few snaps from a terrific day but we really had run out of steam and needed a nap 😁
The tombstone shapes are so interesting and I wonder why the Police needs a Bentley?
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