Impressions of Istanbul 4

Istanbul is proving bigger as a subject than I would have expected, so here we are at episode 4, hopefully the final one. This time palaces and the archaeological museum.
Topkapi Palace is beautifully set out with extensive gardens, currently displaying beautiful beds of tulips for the tulip festival.

Topkapi Palace Gates

The palace is a series of buildings and pavillions, some very beautiful but the harem section seemed very cold to me, a lot of plain stone passageways that felt rather grim. I guess there were beautiful hangings and ornaments once and some of the rooms had lovely tiling and graceful fireplaces which would have been welcome on cold Turkish winter days.
The newer sections of the palace were more comfortable and had some beautiful doors, decorations and windows. Not all areas allowed photos so the selection is somewhat limited.

Niche with water fountain Hanging ornament

Dome with chandelier Stained glass in a pavillion

Silver brazier Door to pavillion

Our visit to the Dolmabahce Palace was curtailed by bitter weather, cold and overcast. This palace was constructed later in the reign of the Sultans and was western in decoration. I noted that while the apartments were for the Sultan, his mother, his wives and children there was no longer a mention of concubines. The palace has grand gardens and the gates are very beautiful.

Palace gates

After lining up for half an hour to purchase the tickets (one ticket seller, and tour groups got preference) we chose to go first to the Harem section where we were advised the next English speaking guided tour would be in 20 minutes. We filled in time looking at a rather interesting clock museum and at the gardens.

Pond and fountain with daffodils

The tour was not guided, rather we were shepherded through the rooms and the information came from a pamphlet. The queue to enter the main section of the palace was so long that we risked being frozen and the return of our nasty colds, so we decided to leave. Moral, do the main bits first, before the queues develop. As we left people were still pouring up the road leading to the palace. I hope they didn’t mind the multiple queues to enter.
On our last day we visited the Archaeological Museum. This is a remarkable place,mainly because it is the embodiment of one man, Osman Hamdi Bey who turned a motley collection into a museum, had buildings purpose made, led expeditions and ensured that artefacts found in Turkey could not be removed from the country.
My Ancient History text was a thick tome with line drawings, not at all inspiring! But here on the walls and floor were those line drawings come to life. Collections from Assyria and Mesopotamia, carvings from the Hittites, the glorious tiled animals from the Ishtar Gate to begin.

Bull from Ishtar gate

Lion from Ishtar gate

Stone lion

Then fabulous sarcophagi, cuneiform tablets with love poems and laws and stunning, stunning statues and fragments of statues. We took many photos (and they had beautiful ones on the walls, all softly lit against a black background). I hope you like these.

Side of the Alexander Sarcophagus, originally brightly painted The Alexander Sarcophagus (from the carvings on the side)

Head of a horse Female athlete

Head Head of child

We had hoped to see the newly reopened Sulieman Mosque but it was wet and cold and we were tired. We had hoped for a cruise up the Bosphorous but it was still wet and cold and not at all the weather for boating. We never made it to the Asian side nor crossed any but the Galatea bridge nor sat at the waterfront gazing at the beautiful bridges at night. Maybe another time.
So dear friends, this finishes our impressions of Istanbul. There were other things of course and these may be represented on our website in the future. But for now, enough. We hope you enjoyed our stay. We certainly did.

Impressions of Istanbul 3

Amid the new sights and sounds, foods and people, the glorious architecture and art treasures stand out. We had no time for all the places we would have liked to see, and sometimes weather and geography conspired against us.
Nevertheless, we managed to see the Blue Mosque, imposing in its exterior and vast inside, its subtly patterned carpet providing the lines for the faithful to stand shoulder to shoulder, its columns and domes devoid of any human representation, but intricate in Arabic script and interwoven patterns.

Blue mosque At night Windows and script Script on column

Dome Interior of dome A man methodically vacuums the huge carpet, dwarfed by the soaring building. The low hanging lights are supported by many fine wires from above, seen in some of the other pictures

Across the park, Aya Sophia faces the mosque. Built as a church, later becoming a mosque, Attaturk displayed great wisdom in declaring it a museum. So now it retains elements of both faiths but without the rancour or bitterness associated with places such as Cordoba.
A return to the familiar elements of representations of angels and saints contrasted with the mosque interior. One poor guard was on duty to say “No flash” all day at the beautiful, damaged mosaics shown here. It didn’t stop some people from using flash anyway.

Aya Sophia Aya Sophia with fountains at night Remains of beautiful mosaics Angel Gabriel mosaic

Elements of Christian and Islamic faiths remain Interior of dome The marble railings above have had the cross chiselled away The lights form patterns from above

Nearby was the Cistern of the Basilica, an underground cistern built to collect and store water. Rediscovered some time ago it has now had walkways built so you can wander through. It is mostly built of brick, and softly lit with orange lights it is a magical place. Carp live in the water and it is said that the cistern was rediscovered when someone thought to question why the locals were catching fish through the holes they had made.
The interior also has some strange stones, including two medusa heads, one sideways and one upside down, supporting two columns. There is also one column marked as if it is a palm tree trunk. It was not unusual for older sites to be plundered for columns and stones and some recycling to take place.

Cistern Reflections

Medusa with her tresses in water Palm like column

Next instalment, the Tokapi and Dolmabahce Palaces and the Archaeological museum.

Impressions of Istanbul 2

Though I was fairly convinced I would find something tasty in the food of Istanbul, Nick’s rather conservative tastes were another thing, especially as he is not much into salads or cheese.
Our first night, jet lagged, we wandered out of the hotel early evening, through a local bazaar and found this very large restaurant, Muradan, complete with chandeliers and a view out over the sea. It was far too cold for the roof terrace but inside was fine.
The waiter was very friendly and happily provided gorgeous puffy pita bread rolls that they baked themselves. Nick ordered a shish kebab and I had a lamb skewer of minced lamb with spices and chili. No alcohol so I had a pomegranate juice which was delicious, tart and refreshing. The fresh fruit platter Nick had was a delight. My quince dish was very sweet, almost a jam. Home to sleep off the jet lag.

My lamb skewer and pomegranate juice

The food varied a bit but was mostly delicious and Nick surprised himself with the variety he ordered and enjoyed. Just a word, if you get a good look at the menu and nothing appeals, leave. We got caught at the “Cosy Pub” with atrocious pizza and an open chicken sandwich that was covered in white sauce. After that we stuck to local food and did well. Food such as pide and kofte were more than acceptable and I just once gave in to sweets.

Katafi and pistachio with Turkish coffee

One evening we were recommended to go to a street of fish restaurants near the fish markets. We were taken there and back by mini-van for free and so were a bit apprehensive, especially when we saw this brightly lit street and the menus with pictures and in different languages. However, the fish was outstanding, beautifully cooked and simple. We shared a garlic shrimp entree, then Nick had salmon and I had sea bream. We both finished with ice cream which was dense and tasty. Food cost about 60 Turkish Lira or about $37aud. Wine, unfortunately, cost about the same. It is very expensive in 

 Istanbul and not very tasty.

Kalamar fish restaurant at Kumkapi

Walking down the street you see windows just stuffed with food, often sweet, but sometimes fast food for the hungry workers. Everything looks fresh and bright and clean.

Baklava Various sweet things

Take away puddings and cakes Take away meals Nuts and Turkish delight

In the Spice Bazaar the variety of foods, spices and other comestibles continued and spilled out onto the streets. The weather was foul, cold and rainy, so we were happy to be undercover.

Umpteen varieties of caviar Various spices And still more spices

Rosebuds for rose tea Sardines

Olives Amazing varieties of fish And for monsieur…

The Grand Bazaar was full of carpet shops and salesmen who really, really wanted to show you carpets, “maybe just a small one, we ship anywhere, be there when you arrive” type invitation. We responded with lots of smiles and “No thank you’s”. Apart from carpets, which I dared not show an interest in, there were shoes and lights, jewels, gold, tea sets, powdered teas such as apple tea (yummy) linen and boxes and piles of Turkish Delight.

Children’s shoes Turkish slippers Gold bangles galore Pretty lights

Embroidered boots Dolls for sale Antique silver Turkish delight boxes, tea sets, soap

So the food, street and market scenes of Istanbul gave us great pleasure, really a whole new world.
Next episode, the glorious buildings, art history and archaeology displays.