Eastern European Vacation Day 9

Friday November 5th, 2010.
During the night the ship sailed through the Dardanelles straits, into the Sea of Marmara and down to Istanbul. There was heavy fog throughout this period and our captain announced that we were the last ship through before the straits were closed to traffic – phew! Arrival time in Istanbul was 1PM, contrary to the published schedule which stated we would have a full day – needless to say this caused some consternation among the passengers; but, since the ship was actually staying overnight and all of the next day, it did not quite rise to mutiny level.
We had planned to explore Istanbul without the benefit of an organized shore excursion; Sandra had been here before and felt the Cunard excursions were a bit overpriced. Most of the main tourists sights in Istanbul and concentrated on a small peninsula on the European side and our ship was docked across an inlet called the Golden Horn; the recommended transportation from the ship to the tourist area was the streetcar (tram). The tram line runs right outside the dock and it was just a short walk to a station. It took us a little while to figure out the system; you have to buy a token to get on the tram and all rides are the same price – 1.5 Turkish Lire. About six stops later and we were at the Blue Mosque.

Along the way I was able to pick up my first impressions of Istanbul; it is mix of very old and very new, clean and well organized, Islamic but not extreme. There are many mosques with the characteristic large domes and tall towers called minarets. Five times per day the call to prayer is blasted out across the city from speakers at the top of the minarets. A couple of very strange things caught my eye on the way into town; a man standing by the side of the road with a large wooden cage on top of a table – on top of the cage was a very large live white rabbit and it appeared that passers by would approach the man and give him money that he would then place in a drawer built into the top of the cage. A little further along the road I saw a man squatting by a bathroom scale holding a long stick. Hey – I’m just telling you what I saw!

We got off the tram at Sultanahmet station and set off in the direction of the Blue Mosque which, along with the Hager Sophia Mosque and the Topkapi Palace, is all located in this area. On the way to the Blue Mosque we picked up a tail and we could not shake him off; his name was Mahmet and he claimed to NOT be a tour guide, but rather a carpet salesman. The unspoken deal was that if he guided us through the mosque we would visit his carpet shop. Mahmet was very well spoken, not aggressive and for someone who was not a tour guide he sure did a great impression of one. He seemed harmless enough so we let him tag along.

Mahmet ushered us to the tourist’s entrance to the mosque – this is a working mosque so you have to be very respectful of the customs and traditions. In fact we just made it into the place before they stopped the intake in preparation for the 3PM prayers. Mahmet showed us where to remove our shoes and how to carry them in the provided plastic bags. Sandra and Kat had also brought along headscarves to cover their hair.

The interior of the mosque is nothing short of breath-taking; thousands (Mahmet knew the exact number) of blue tiles line the interior walls and the gigantic dome. Mahmet was full of interesting little tidbits of information, including how the pattern on the carpet is used to facilitate the prayer process; “first foot here, second foot here, first knee here, second knee here, left hand here, right hand here and finally bend and touch nose here”. All very practical – I’m glad he did not ask us to follow along.

As we walked through the mosque the data just kept on coming; “hanging down from the center of the dome are three Ostrich eggs and inside is chemicals that keep away spiders – see no spider webs anywhere in Mosque”. I made mental note to get try this method when I got back home. We came out of the mosque and then delivered the bad news to Mahmet that we would not be visiting his carpet shop; he tried only very weakly to convince us to come, but we politely declined and he did not push the issue. We did, however, insist on paying Mahmet a small fee for his services – even though he did not ask for one.

We made a short stop for coffee and baklava and then headed for the Haghia Sophia Mosque which is just a very short walk from the Blue Mosque. Haghia Sophia is distinct from the Blue Mosque in that over the centuries it has been at times a Christian Church and also a Muslim Mosque. Sophia does not appear to be a working mosque; an entrance fee is charged and there is much restoration in progress. Inside the massive domed structure you can see both Christian images and Muslim texts on the walls; apparently the Christian images were uncovered during the restoration work. Compared to the Blue Mosque, Sophia feels distinctly older, decrepit and less functional – however the architecture is very impressive and the place is well worth a visit.

From Sophia we crossed the street and entered the Basilica Cistern – no it’s not a gigantic toilet! The cistern is a very large underground Byzantine water storage facility; we first spotted this place in the James Bond movie “From Russia With Love” when Bond takes a boat through the caverns to spy on the Russian embassy. The cistern consists of a very large tiled basin with a stone roof that is supported by dozens of stone columns – it looked to be about the size of a football field and the water is a couple of feet deep. To facilitate tourism, walkways have been constructed that let you stroll around and soak up the atmosphere. Many of the columns have also been illuminated from the base with yellow lights creating a beautiful sight.

By this time we were hungry and thirsty so we headed for a convenient restaurant and had shish kebabs and beer (or soda for Sandra). Then we headed back to the tram station where we boarded a very crowded tram (like Tokyo at rush hour) for the journey back to the ship. A fantastic first day in Istanbul.