Istanbul, Turkey - Part 1

Of all the travels we have experienced over the past 2.5 years - Istanbul / Byzantium / Constantinople was the city that amazed us. On arrival at this UNESCO World Heritage Listed site, we were hit by constant waves of culture and history (it was founded in 660BC). Geographically, this city bridges the continents of Europe and Asia and has held its place over time as the capital of four empires - Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Latin Empire and Ottoman Empire. The influence of each makes a visit to Istanbul and fascinating experience.


Arriving in Istanbul
The flight-time from London to Istanbul took around 4 hours. We took the Friday off work to ensure we had sufficient time to see all the main sights. We landed at Ataturk Airport in the early afternoon and hired a minicab to our accommodation - Byzantium Hotel.

City Walls
Travelling from the airport to the city center, the first things you notice about approaching the Old Town - Sultanahmet; are the old city walls. Reading up on the history of Istanbul, it was interesting to learn that these were the same city walls that held during the 8-week siege that killed the last Roman emperor Constantine XI and Sultan Mehmed II declared the city as the new capital of the Ottoman empire, converting one of the grandest cathedrals in the world - Hagia Sophia into an imperial mosque.

Byzantium Hotel
On arrival at the hotel, we were taken to meet the concierge who provided information on a number of tour packages and in-house beauty treatments from the day spa on one of the floors. We had already pre-booked our tour package using a different company; however there are numerous travel agencies in the Sultanahmet area selling very similar day tours and it pays to do a bit of research to ensure you get an English speaking guide and pay a fair price.

First Impressions
Present day Istanbul is a lively cosmopolitan city that is very easy to navigate around as a tourist; using either the Bosphorus, the minarets of mosques or other landmarks to get your bearings. The locals are extremely helpful and unlike our experience in Morocco, there wasn't a sense of being overly hassled at the bazaars.

The Bosphorus covered in fog -
one of the great waterways of the world

Looking over to Asia from Europe

Historic Ruins
Peeking through the concrete structures within the modern city are many historic ruins. These included the 'Million Monument' - used as the starting point for all distance measurements in the empire. Their existence, spread out around the city and not relocated to a museum, reminds tourists of the events in world history that they have been witness to.

The Million Monument

Blue Mosque
With a number of 'must see' items on our to-do list, we headed out to the main tourist area where the Blue Mosque stands out as one of the icons of Istanbul. The Blue Mosque has set opening times and women are required to respect the dress code and wear a head scarf. We didn't end up going inside as we were booked in to visit two other mosques on the Sunday tour.

Outside the Blue Mosque

Viewing the dome from the shade of the arches

Hippodrome
Next door to the Blue Mosque, is the area known as the Hippodrome of Constantinople, an ancient social and sporting area that dates back to the AD 203 when the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus developed the area for chariot races.

However the present day Hippodrome is only remembered by part of a wall and three monuments that were used to mark the chariot route. The monuments themselves have a very interesting history:

1. Serpent Column
This monument was taken from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, dates from 5th Century BC and originally had three serpent heads supporting a golden bowl. The serpent heads were destroyed around the 17th century (parts exist in the museum) but using Ottoman artwork, archaeologists can determine what the complete monument looked like.

Serpent Column

2. Obelisk of Thutmose III
This granite monument approximately 3500 years old came from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, cut into three pieces and only the top section currently survives where it was placed by the emperor Theodosius the Great in 390AD.

Still standing after 3500 years

3. Walled Obelisk
The third monument dates back to the 10th century AD where it was covered in bronze plaques that were stolen by the soldiers in the Fourth Crusade when the city of Constantinople was partially destroyed.

Only the stone core remains of this monument

Grand Bazaar
Our next destination was the Grand Bazaar - a covered market similar to the Souk of Marrakesh. As we intended to visit a number of mosques during our trip, Mei bought a light blue scarf as a head covering but we decided not to pick up any other souvenirs.

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar

Rows of shops selling modern t-shirts

Traditional Turkish lamps

Lunchtime
The walking around in the sun made us quite tired so we found a cafe for lunch by the main road, ate a lamb kebab and drank a pint local beer.

Authentic Turkish kebab

Seven Hills Rooftop Bar
Later that night we met up with Olie's colleague - Ian and his wife Debbie, for drinks at the top of one of Seven Hills roof-top bar. From this vantage point we had an amazing view of the Bosphorus, the Asia side of Istanbul and the minarets of Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia that dominated the skyline. The sound of the evening call to prayer resonated as each mosque continued in a sequence that could be heard throughout the city.

The Blue Mosque at night

Hagia Sofia at night

Hagia Sophia
The next day we met up with our London expat neighbours - Mayling and Jing to visit Hagia Sophia, picking up the museum card at the entrance that gave us complementary entry into a number of sites.

Hagia Sofia is a museum that was formerly a cathedral and an imperial mosque. It was constructed in 537 AD by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and has been rebuilt due to earthquakes and fire over the centuries.

The Dome is 55m high, a feat of engineering

Panorama shot of the interior 

Demonstrating the size of the building

The Omphalion, the coronation place for Byzantine emperors

Hagia Sophia - now a museum, once a cathedral and a mosque

Mosaics
Hagia Sofia is constantly under restoration with many mosaics showing signs of damage when they were once covered up by plaster. One of the most iconic mosaics is the Virgin and Child flanked by Justinian I and Constantine I.

Looking up at one of the best known mosaics

The Virgin and Child

Basilica Cistern
After Hagia Sofia, we walked to the next street to queue for the Basilica Cistern, an ancient water storage area that more recently has been used in the James Bond film 'From Russia with Love'. The site has been illuminated for tourists to walk around and an audio tour explains the significance of the Medusa head stones at the back of the cistern.

A captivating place

There are 336 pillars in the cistern

The upside down Medusa head pillar base

Sultanahmet Koftecisi
For lunch we ventured to a small restaurant, Sultanahmet Koftecisi that was frequented by locals and served a simple menu of lamb kofte, lamb pieces, pickled chillies and salad. It was delicious.

Grilled lamb

Lamb kofte

Istanbul Archaeology Museum
After lunch we were keen to complete the tour of all the museums. We walked further north to the Archaeology museum to see two of the main attractions:

Outside the museum

1. the Alexander Sarcophagus
This was a disappointment to Olie that it was not actually the tomb of Alexander the Great, just decorated with his image.

The Alexander Sarcophagus

Another marble sarcophagus in the collection

2. Kadesh Peace Treaty (1258 BC)
Signed by Rameses the Great and Hattusili of Hittite Empire, the oldest known peace treaty in the world and a copy if on the wall of the United Nations in New York City.

3. Harbour Chain

Another item in the collection included the remains of the chain that once blocked ships from crossing the Golden Horn and a key part of Constantinople's defenses.

Topkapi Palace
The palace complex was spread out on top of a hill and had many interesting buildings. By this stage we were a bit tired and had historical artifact fatigue. We only visited the Harem and the Treasury with its priceless collection of gold items - daggers, jewellery and candle holders that were dripping in diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones.

Topkapi Palace entrance

The Harem
The Harem was home to the sultan's mother, wives and concubines that were guarded by eunuchs.

Dinner with a View
Later that evening we met up with Mayling and Jing for dinner at a restaurant that offered great views over the city and had good recommendations on TripAdvisor.

Fish stew

Beef on a potato base

A milk based sweet with ice-cream

Istanbul at Night

Afterwards, we took a walk around Hagia Sofia to take some night shots with the fountain.

The colour changing fountain

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