I know our good friend Alev is awaiting our pictures from Istanbul so we will wait no longer. It's been a long three days and the internet in our hotel has been spotty at best so getting the other two posts up was a bit of a challenge. We arrived early to Istanbul on a flight from Athens. Turkish Airlines is probably one of our new favorites in Europe. They served us a meal on a one hour flight. Spain's Iberia wouldn't serve you a drink on a two hour flight. Getting into the city was easy as the tram/subway service connects the airport to the city center for under 5 Euros. The city is enormous and as of the recent population census, has a total of 13 million people living there. After unloading our stuff at the hotel and taking some much needed showers, we headed out to see Hagia Sophia.
The church was started in 532 AD by Emperor Justinian I when Istanbul was known as Constantinople. It served as a Greek Orthodox Church for over almost a millennia. For a 60 year period in the 13th century, it served as a church to the Roman Catholics. When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed immediately had minarets built and the building became a mosque. After the first world war, Atatürk established the Turkish Republic and the building was turned into a museum.
Inside, there are tons of chandeliers that give off lots of light. During the summertime, the outside heat and all of the people walking around make it a bit muggy. It only costs around 8 Euros to get in. The picture below is where the Emperors were crowned under the Byzantine empire.
The dome is a big point of interest for many architects because of its innovative design. They placed the round dome on top of pendentives, which allows for a circular structure to sit on a square base. The dome should give the walls better support but the builders used more mortar than brick so the walls were weaker. The walls and dome were eventually reconstructed to give the walls more strength in supporting it. The other interesting thing you can see are all the windows. There are over 40 windows. This allows lots of light to come in and can create the effect of making the dome appear to hover over the church.
Here is the altar the Muslims used to pray towards Mecca. It was originally centered under the windows but had to be moved because it was off by 7 degrees.
Outside is the fountain of ablutions so that people can wash their hands and feet before coming in for prayer.
Just outside the Hagia Sophia is a plaza with a fountain. Here you can get a great view of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, more commonly called the Blue Mosque. It was built in 1609 under the rule of Ahmed I. He decided to build it after unsuccessful wars with the Persians. Must be nice to just build some breathtaking place because your down and out about losing a fight.
There are many ablution stations around the mosque to wash the hand and feet before entering for prayer. This mosque is interesting because its one of only two that has six minarets. The Sultan was criticized for building the two additional ones because some said he was trying to outdo the grandness of the mosque at Mecca. To counteract these claims, he planned to have a seventh minaret placed at Mecca.
The mosque's interior gives it the nickname the Blue Mosque. It's tiled with a light blue and white in traditional patterns. There are over 20,000 tiles inside. There are lots of stained glass windows that let in light. The mosque is still in use so there are less places for tourists to wander around and to go in, you are given a bag to put your shoes in and women are given a head scarf and their legs covered. There are lots of lights hanging from the ceilings and it creates a very formal atmosphere.
Years ago, someone had to climb to minarets five times a day to call for prayer. Now, loudspeakers are hooked up and you can hear the calls to prayer from five in the morning until sunset.
After visiting the Blue Mosque, we returned to our hotel room to try and take a nap. The two days of sleeping in an airport and on a boat with screaming children was catching up to us. We relaxed for a bit then headed back out towards the Galata Tower area. To get there, you have to cross the bridge over the Golden Horn. The Horn separates the old city and the site of Constantinople and Byzantium from the rest of the European side. Along the bridge, there is a lower level full of restaurants and cafes. On the upper level, cars and trams go back and forth and tons of people fish from the bridge. We didn't see too many catches but it sure stunk of fish. The area is also abuzz with lots of ferries and Bosporus cruise boats.
The sunset provides a great light on the city.
The original Galata Tower was destroyed during the fourth crusade. The new one is located in the area opposite of Old Istanbul and provides a great panoramic of that part of the city. It was built in 1348 under the reign of Constantinople. It has since had a few renovations on its top. There is a restaurant and a club in the top levels. The area around it has lots of shops and restaurants. The crowd is younger so we felt right at home. We ate in the area twice. Our first time was at a middle of the road place with overpriced beer. The atmosphere was nice but sitting inside was like sitting in an oven. We ate quickly and then meandered slowly back to our hotel enjoying the night time side of the city. It was a great first day.
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