Istanbul Day 2

Trying French Toast & NH Maple Syrup

The past few days in Istanbul have been absolutely wonderful!

On the first day we shared an american breakfast with our host by making french toast. He contributed some olives so it ended up being a sort of Turkish-American fusion breakfast you could say :) He liked the french toast but was confused by why Americans were making "french toast" and not "american toast". 

In front of the Hagia Sophia

After breakfast we headed up to do some sightseeing! We got our Istanbul Kart & hit the metro to get to where we needed to. I was really surprised at how nice the metro is! I mean it is 1,000 x better than NYC, so much cleaner and calmer. I guess the metro is fairly new so that explains why :) 

We got off at Vezneciler metro stop and sort of just wandered around trying to find the tram. We ended up at Istanbul University which is actually really nice. From there we got a map of the city to help with our navigation troubles. We were able to find the tram but there were a lot of interesting shops along the way so we decided to just walk. As we were walking the Grand Bazaar just sort of popped up! We took a mental note because we knew we were definitely going to return.

Blue Mosque 

Soon enough we arrived to Sultanahmet Square with stunning views of both the Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, & a beautiful fountain between the both of them. 

We decided to first stop in at the Aya Sophia, because I mean... come on. It is a world wonder and everything :)

Aya Sophia was originally a basilica but was looted during the crusades and then later turned into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered the city. Now it is just a museum which explains why no one was covering their heads when entering. The inside of the dome is massive! There was still some scaffolding on the inside (I suppose some restoration work was being done) but it didn't take away from the beauty.

Inside Hagia Sophia

There are two huge giant symmetrical panels which we read are to date the largest calligraphy in the world. You can take a narrow and dim lit path to the upper gallery to have a view from above. I think this was my favorite part of it. You could also see some of the older mosiacs from when it was a basilica. After taking our time, we decided to leave to check out the next site.

 On the way out a Turkish college student stopped us to interview Sam as a part of her tourist management final. Many of the questions were in broken English but it was fun to take apart of. She asked Sam, "on average how many times do you travel internationally?" His answer: zero. She looked very shocked that this was his first time out of the USA (with the exception of Canada)

Blue Mosque 

After the interview we decided to take a break and sat on a park bench watching the fountain & admiring the views of both the mosque & the Aya Sophia. After the break it was time to explore the the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or more commonly known as the Blue Mosque. We heard that it would be really crowded so we weren't too sure about going, but I am really glad that we did. It didn't take us too long to get in and luckily I was wearing a turtle neck sweater which flapped up to cover my head (so I didn't need to borrow a scarf). 

Underground in the Basilica Cistern 

The blue mosque was beautiful to say the least. We took the time to sit inside to admire the architecture, rest, and have an opportunity for quiet reflection. There was a section blocked off where people were praying. It is hard to imagine that the Blue Mosque is still a functioning mosque despite the thousands of tourists that I am sure are passing by. I feel that it would be difficult to pray while people are taking pictures left & right.

Medusa

After the Blue Mosque we were determined to find the Basilica Cistern, another famous place very close to the main square. This basilica is famous  because it is the largest cistern that lies beneath the city of Istanbul. This place was so cool!

Inside the cistern are two medusa heads whose origins are unknown. One of the heads is upside down and the other one is sideways which is thought to be done purposely to rid the cistern of negative energy. It is crazy to think that there is this much beauty lying underneath the city of Istanbul as we have heard there are many other places like this, just the Basilica Cistern being the most popular and intact.

After the Basilicia Cistern we were pretty wiped so decided to head back to Taksim Square to get something to eat to wrap up our long day of site seeing. Being in and walking around the main square further emphasized in my mind how cool Istanbul and all of Turkey is. It really is such a mix of East and West old and new.

Flowers near Taksim 

More stories & pictures to come! :)

Kendine iyi bak!
-Becca