Istanbul

After a few weeks of small, deserted Greek towns the loud, vigorous crowds of Istanbul were an exciting change of pace. In five days, Aaron took over 300 pictures (ahem, manic!!), so I'll be posting in installments. Today: the historic sites.


The Blue Mosque may be the most famous mosque in the world. The exterior is majestic. The interior is a visual maze of porcelain tile work.

Directly opposite the Blue Mosque is its less refined, though no less impressive neighbor, Aya Sofya (which I could have sworn was Hagia Sofia the last time I was in town, but apparently not).

Sofya was a Christian Cathedral in Constantinople and this history is partially preserved in the structure of the building and the uncovered ceiling mosaics.


While on the topic of mosques ... this is our first Muslim city since Sarajevo and our first Muslim country period. Thanks in large part to the secularizing reforms of Turkey's long-time leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (yes he changed his name to Father of the Turks and had his face printed on every single denomination of Turkish currency as well), Istanbul is a totally cosmopolitan city and one of the few Muslim ones that welcomes non-members into its mosques and other religous establishments. I've been wearing jeans without a problem and donning a headscarf only in the mosques themselves.

Anyway, the other main attraction in the old quarter of Sultanahmet is the Topkapi Palace, which housed the sultan - and famously his harem - for most of the Ottoman empire. Nice work if you can get it:

Of course nothing's easy, and the tradition throughout most of the empire was to produce as many potential heirs as possible (hence the harem) and then let the whole thing sort itself out via fratricide. Eunuchs were entrusted with the delicate tasks of strangling (silk cord was preferred) the less than fortunate princes and drowning (in sacks in the Bosphorus) the pregnant members of the Harem. Last man standing gets the posh digs.

All things considered I would have much preferred to land somewhere in the middle tiers of the aristocracy. Granted, no palace, no harem, but you still get a lovely spot on the Bosphorus and you don't have to be in a bag to see it:

Our last stop among the tourist attractions was to the Basilica Cistern - an eerie remnant of Roman times. Why you would want a bunch o Corinthian columns mixed up in your water supply is beyond me, but don't say the Romans didn't know how to build a well.

We'll be back in Istanbul to hit up a few remaining spots. In the meantime I need to tell you about all the stuff we ate, so stay tuned...

xoxo Jessie