Istanbul

Over Easter Warren and I met up with my sister and brother-in-law in Istanbul. It was a cold weekend but we had a great time seeing all the sights and eating all of the foods. Seriously, we tasted everything we could. More on that later.

In front of the 'Blue Mosque'

Warren and I headed to Topkapi palace first thing Friday morning and almost had the place to ourselves! Topkapi is an Ottoman palace where the sultans lived between 1465 and 1830. We also toured the harem, the private quarters for the sultan's concubines and courtiers. 

I went to Istanbul for the first time in 2009 and was really struck by all the beautiful tiles lining the interiors of so many buildings. They were just as amazing this time. I especially love the ones with Arabic writing seen in the photos in the upper left corner and the right hand photo. 

Istanbul's signature building is the Sultanahmet Mosque, built in the 1600s. The interior is lined with over 21,000 blue İznik tiles which is why it is often referred to as the blue mosque. 

Another top sight in Istanbul is the Aya Sofya (or Hagia Sophia in Greek). It originated as a Christian church in 537 and was converted to a mosque in 1453 which makes it a fascinating mix of two religions. Mosaics of important figures in Christianity are still being discovered underneath plaster walls. 

The food in Istanbul is incredible. We ate some old favorites but also tried a few new things. We tasted (starting in the top left corner moving clockwise) pudding made out of chicken breast, clotted cream covered in honey, lamb with mashed eggplant, sour cherry juice, pide (Turkish pizza), pistachio baklava, kunefe (a dessert made of syrup, melted cheese, and pastry the consistency of shredded wheat) and kebabs. The middle photo is of Yedigun, a more delicious version of Fanta.

The Basilica Cistern was built in 532AD. It was built to store fresh water (up to 21 million gallons) for the Great Palace and surrounding buildings but was closed when the Byzantine emperors moved from the Great Palace. It was rediscovered in 1545 when a visiting scholar heard stories of locals drawing up water or even fish from their basements. He investigated what was below and discovered the cistern.

Two of the 336 marble columns have stone carvings of Medusa heads. There are several theories of why one Medusa head is upside down and the other is sideways. One idea is that Byzantine builders only saw Roman relics as reusable rubble. Another is that it was done this way because early Christians put pagan statues upside down as a statement about their faith. 

Our last day we went to Kariye Museum, a church where the walls and ceilings are covered in mosaics and paintings. There has been a church or mosque on this site since 536AD. The current building is from the 14th century and was turned in to a museum in 1945. It is a bit harder to get to but definitely worth a visit. 

We did a lot of shopping throughout our weekend in Istanbul, our favorite being the spice market. Vendors would call out invitations to come to their shop and some were funny enough to say things like, "Let me help you buy something you don't need."

We had such a great time in Istanbul and came home with some great souvenirs and memories. I'd love to go back again as there is so much more to see.