Thanksgiving Extravaganza 2012 - Part Two!

Next stop...Istanbul!!
Time keeps getting away from me...so I better get this taken care of before Christmas is here!
Two flights, a 2 1/2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi, and 15 "real time" hours after leaving the hotel in Bangalore, we arrived in beautiful Istanbul!  Half hour cab ride to the old city centre, Sultanahmet, and the Ayasofya Hotel.  Patrick has already been in Istanbul for two days, so he is ready and able to be our tour guide!  On the way in from the airport, we spotted a rainbow...amazingly enough, it was still there after we checked in, freshened up and got on our way to exploring!  What a perfect photo op!

Rainbow over the Aya Sofya.

Patrick has our next 48 hours mapped out - today's plan is the Grand Bazaar...nothing like jumping right in!  This crazy tourist trap is full of over 4,000 shops including everything from Turkish Delight (a type of candy) to Turkish carpets...and everything in between!  We went with the intention of purchasing a few things, including a carpet, and dove in...wallet first!  After a few small purchases, and a lot of rug viewing, we left for the day...promising a couple of rug dealers we were going to think about it and be back tomorrow...not sure they liked that answer!

One of the many entrances...

Lots of activity and color everywhere!

Beautiful pottery...unfortunately we were told most of the
colorful pieces aren't food safe...

Creepy baby heads for sale??

Dropped our purchases off at the hotel, checked with the owner (a great Australian woman!) for recommendations of places to eat, and headed out to the tram and a trip to Istiklal Caddesi in the Beyoglu area.  The street (Istiklal Caddesi) was a bustling, energetic place full of people, shops, and restaurants that Friday night.  We finally found our way to The House Cafe - our dinner destination.  Despite our lack of reservations, we were able to get a table, and enjoy a selection of yummy food!  

On our way back from the Grand Bazaar -
Aya Sofya in the background (but the rainbow is finally gone!)

Nice job on the architectural lighting! :)

Lights of Istiklal Caddesi.

Felt sooooo good to get in bed and have a good night's sleep...busy day ahead!

Saturday we need to see the major sights - Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque...and go back and buy a rug!  Patrick suggested we go to the Topkapi Palace first to beat the crowds...and he hasn't steered us wrong yet!  The Topkapi Palace was the seat of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years, and includes lots of different exhibitions (Treasury, Palace Clothing, Imperial Armory, Holy Relics etc.) as well as the the spectacular Harem which includes the living quarters of the Sultan, as well as his mother, his wives, his concubines, future heirs to the throne , and the Black Eunuchs...quite the place!  Tilework in The Harem is spectacular...

Tour Guide prep time!  Nice job matching the walls!

Patrick and Steve...they love posing for pictures :)

Tile and marble in so many colors!

It was definitely a good move to go to the palace first - we seemed to have beat the crowds in most of the rooms.  Now, on to the Aya Sofya (or Hagia Sophia) - subject of so many of our photos already! This enormous golden-domed Byzantine church, completed in 537 A.D., was the largest Christian church in the world for almost a thousand years...until it became a mosque in 1453...and then a museum in 1934.   During its conversion to a mosque, the frescoes and mosaics where covered, a minaret was added (with more to come later) and the altar was shifted slightly to the right to indicate the appropriate direction of Mecca.  

According to Frommer's, the Aya Sofya is so massive that the Statue
of Liberty's torch would barely graze the top!

Entrance to the enormous cathedral.

Uncovered Christian mosaics.

Note the altar seems a little off-center - pointing
towards Mecca.

More beautiful marble work.

View from the Upper Gallery.

I'm not sure you should be leaning on that pillar...

Last stop on the tour - the Blue Mosque.  Unfortunately we got there during one of the five times a day it is closed for prayer.  Instead of waiting in the rain, we decide to head back to the Grand Bazaar and attempt some bargaining for a rug!  Rug guys were pretty surprised to see us again.  After much haggling back and forth, we come to an agreement at what we feel is a reasonable price for the rug we wanted (of course they're probably still laughing all the way to the bank...) and we've got a great souvenir of our trip!  Interesting note - as Steve went to an ATM to get cash to pay for the rug (better price that way) - one of the rug guys told Patrick and I that "people never come back."  A lot of people say, "I'll be back, I need to think about it," but they never come back - until us!

Sunday morning made a quick trip to the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii) between calls to prayer.  It was built between 1609 and 1617 by Sultan Ahmet I to rival the Aya Sofya, as well as to leave behind an imperial namesake mosque.  It took on the nickname "Blue Mosque" in reference to the overall dominance of blue tiles throughout.

Spectacular!

Looking up at the domes through one of the light fixtures.

Soon it's time to head out to the airport for our short, 2 1/2 hour flight back to Zürich!  Little did we know as we flew off home that Patrick's flight to Newark had been cancelled and he'd be spending yet another night in Istanbul - but this time at a 5 star hotel - gratis!