29-30 May 2009
DAYS 13-14 EUROPE TRIP
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE - Istanbul
Magic Istanbul – as we sailed into Istanbul at noon except for the pollution – the skyline was magic. We sailed up the Marmara Sea to the Golden Horn to find Istanbul, on the shore of the Bosphorus.
We woke up early hoping to see Gallipoli but it was too dark, se we went back to sleep. As we sailed towards Istanbul I attended a Photoshop workshop whilst hubby relaxed. From noon we were out on deck to see the boat sail in whilst listening to the lovely guitar music.
Minaret’s, domes of mosques and churches, palaces grace the skyline as well as some high rises that have begun to spring up in the last decade.
It was a truly beautiful sight.
We had booked 2 half day tours for our stay here. Thank goodness we did, as the traffic here is worse than in Rome. The streets are narrow and chock a block with cars of all sizes.
It is a unique city as it spans two continents – Europe and Asia. A suspension bridge, that is beautifully lit up at night joins the two continents.
Istanbul is so rich in history and historic treasures. It is on a hill surrounded by the three seas and its port has natural protection. In the past there was a chain across the Golden Horn (as seen at the Archaeological Museum) to stop unwelcome ships from sailing in.
There are about 2,700 mosques here. A sea wall then a land wall protected the city in historic times. As we drove into Istanbul over the Golden Horn we absorbed the atmosphere of the place. It is a colourful, vibrant city.
Our first stop was the Topkaki Palace.
It is a large walled complex on the shores of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. It was once an opulent domain of the Ottoman Sultans and their harem. Mehmet 11 built it in the mid 1400s as a summer palace. We walked through several courtyards to get to buildings that housed the Treasury and the Council meeting rooms. The 3 spoons diamonds, 86carat in size was just so brilliant. A highlight was seeing the gold armour, the gold baby cradle, the golden Topkapi dagger, the pearl studded throne, St John the Baptist’s hand encased in gold and Mohammad’s footprint. There were so many jewels set in swords, jugs, and other objects. There were also many uncut emeralds in a bowl. One of these uncut emeralds weighs about 3.25kg. It was amazing to see so many jewels in one place. I was however disappointed that the harem was not one of the places we visited. Maybe next time - wishful thinking. . .
We then walked across a busy street to Hagia Sophia Museum (Aya Sofya). This is a very imposing building. It was originally built as a basilica. Later it became a mosque and now it is a museum.
A mathematician and a physicist designed it. Emperor Justinian commissioned the building and it took 5 years and 9 months to build. It was completed in 537AD.
It had the largest dome in the ancient world when it was built. We were told that it is considered to be a most important Byzantine monument in the world.
Its columns soar into the air. The columns were recycled from Egypt.
Some frescoes still remain.
The floors are very uneven – they tend to slope inwards in places.
The doors were brought from Egypt and placed there much later. They have never been opened or closed. They were set in the open position and have remained there in that position ever since.
From here we made our way to the Hippodrome which was an ancient Roman stadium built in 198AD by the Emperor Septimus Sererus. Circus Maximus in Rome served as a model for this stadium. Many street side traders try to get your attention as you walk by so that you buy something from them. There were loud but not that pushy.
Chariot races were held here. There were several columns brought here from Egypt. We saw the remains of the Serpent Column here and the top part in the Archaeological Museum.
By this stage our feet were very tired standing around on uneven cobblestone paths. Finally we made our way to the Blue Mosque.
We had to wait till it reopened after prayers. It is a comparatively new building built between 1603 and 1617. It has a series of magnificent domes and six minarets.
Beautiful blue tiles and stained glass windows decorate the inside of the mosque.
It took quite some time for the bus to make the short trip back to the ship through peak hour traffic. The cafe with the flags was not far from the ship but we took some time covering the short distance.
The fishermen were still on the bridge fishing and oblivious to the traffic around them.
Finally, exhausted we were back on the ship. After a quick dinner we went to the top deck to view the city at dusk.
It was beautifully lit up.
We could see the Galata Tower clearly from the ship.
It was a very early start the next day. Our tour bus was the first to take off at 7.00am for Asia via one of the sultan’s palaces.
We drove across the suspension bridge to go the adjoining continent.
What a strange feeling to be in one country but crossing between two continents.
We were presented with certificates to mark the occasion.
We returned to Europe via the Orient Express train station and stopped near the Hippodrome to take some photos. A local caught my eye with his tray of bagels.
Then onto Galata we went for a rug making demonstration and beautiful Turkish apple tea.
I found a beautiful rug but there was no way I could barter the price down to something I could pay.
Around the corner was the Grand Bazaar. We didn’t have that much time here – only an hour so we restricted ourselves to the covered part of the bazaar so as to avoid getting lost. The traders here are very pushy. As soon as you admire something they try to sell it to you. I was too busy shopping and forgot to take any photos here.
Our final stop was the Archaeological Museum. We really only got a taster here. We saw an exhibition that is currently on about Istanbul throughout the ages. The highlights included the Alexander Sarcophagus,
the head of Alexander,
the artefacts of the various settlements in Troy especially the pots from the 6th -7th century BC, and the large jar from the Bronze Age found in Troy dated 2300-2100 BC,
the gold ornamental pins and beads from the 2nd settlement of Troy 2500-2300BC,
gold jewellery from Troy,
columns inlayed with amethyst and green glass paste,
floor mosaics 6th century AD.
We also stopped and had a look at the children’s museum - we couldn’t understand anything that was written but the presentation was great. And so our time in Istanbul came to an end. As we had a late lunch we sailed out.
We just loved Istanbul.
After dinner we went to the top deck to watch the ship sail along the Dardanelle’s Strait and past Gallipoli.
We wished we had familiarised ourselves with a map of this area before we left so that we could identify Lone Pine and Anzac Cove. We could only guess where they were. A wind farm is situated on top of the hills near the town of Gallipoli (Gelibolu).
We thought we saw the controversial sealed road that seemed to lead to the coast.
To complete the day we went to see the show “Pulse” by the Celebrity performers and orchestra. Another entertaining show.
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