Seeing the sights in Istanbul

The Sultanahmet district of Istanbul is chockful of sights to see.  Scoring rooms at a low-cost hostel in this district was a godsend, but we learned there's more to Istanbul than just this geographically small area.  Regardless, it was a good starting point for our adventures, and a good jumping off point for more far-reaching exploration.

Our second full day in Istanbul was Christmas Eve.  I awoke super early with the first call to prayer.  It was fantastic to hear the call richocet around the area from one mosque to the next.

After breakfast on the roof of our hostel, we started our sightseeing with a trip to the Blue Mosque, just a few city blocks from our hostel.

We passed a number of interesting neighborhood inhabitants.

A turkey in Turkey.

Pretty bird.

Not-so-pretty birds.

The Blue Mosque itself is mammouth.

This angle doesn't quite do it justice, but it does convey the sense of  being dwarfed by its magnitude.

I brought along headscarves for Alison and me, recalling my experiences at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem where guards demanded proper attire.  I wore the beautiful scarf my daughter Nina brought me from Morocco, and Alison wore a fuchsia scarf I had purchased last spring.

I expected we (Alison and I) would have to add skirts over our slacks, but they let us get away without doing that.  We had to take off our shoes, but that was it as far as clothing accommodations went.

 We found the space inside to be remarkable.

The main dome.

The prayer area of the Blue Mosque.

At that point, however, we really didn't have a basis for comparison.

We didn't spend too much time in the interior.  This might be because it serves as a working mosque.  We wandered around the courtyard.

And then we headed to the Mosaic Museum.  We weren't completely sure which direction to take, but a gentleman offered to walk us in the correct direction, and promised to wait for us after we were done so we could visit his carpet store (a very common phenomenon).  The Mosaic Museum is tucked away in a corner of the Blue Mosque property which visitors might miss if they're not determined to find it.  Once again, I recollected my trip to Israel 13 1/2 years ago where we saw many fine mosaics.  This collection was remarkable.

We weren't interested in our escort's carpet store, so once we had finished looking at the mosaics we took a diversionary route to escape him. 

Note the cat Alison found.  There were cats everywhere we looked.

We walked along the Hippodrome and found obelisks, columns and a fountain.

Rough Stone Obelisk

The Serpent Column

The Egyptian Obelisk, aka the Theodosius Obelisk

The neo-Byzantine German fountain

From the Hippodrome, w e made our way over the Hagia Sophia, aka Aya Sofia (holy wisdom).  As we headed over to the ticket stand, a man approached us inquiring whether or not we would like a private tour.  We hesitated, but then he said we could decide whether or not the tour he gave was worth the price he charged.  We decided to go ahead and take him up on his offer.  This is a spectacular site.

 

Virgin and child, flanked by Justinian I and Constantine I

The interior of the domes.

The names of Islamic leaders grace the front of the mosque.

Lustration urn from Pergamon.

Muezzin's Loge--the muezzin leads worshipers in prayer

The mihrab standing in the vicinity of where the altar once was.  It is pointed toward Mecca, and  is off center.

The Sultan's Loge, built in 1847

Mosaics in the northern tympanon

Comnenus Mosaic

The Deesis Mosaic

Three churches have stood on this site as far back as the year 360 of the common era.  It was converted to a mosque in 1453 after Sultan Mehmed laid siege to the city.  It's a fantastic site. 

By the time we had gone through the Hagia Sofia, it was time for lunch.  We walked up a bit beyond the tram site to find a restaurant where we could eat lunch.    I ordered a chicken dish with a fanciful name.

Lunch was delicious, but there was still time to explore one more site. 

Just around the corner from where we ate was the Basilica Cistern, aka Yerebatan Sarayı.  Alison and Jacob were completely enthralled.  Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do well in such low light.  It was a fascinating venue.  There were plenty of tourist traps, but it was truly was easy to avoid those problems.  The Medussa head was probably my favorite, followed close behind by the carp swimming away in the water. 

It was a satisfying (and full) day.  There were still plenty of other sites to visit, but we had time to explore in the days to come.