Fish Catching Travel
One thing that makes Turkey so interesting is the fact that while somewhere around 95% of the country is Muslim, it is a secular country. When the last Sultans of the Ottoman Empire sided with the Germans in WWI the country was torn apart as most of Europe was. What followed was an invasion by the Greeks, French, and Italians.
Their war for independence followed, and in the 1920’s the country was established as a secular country ruled by civil law. While the Sultans had imposed Islam as the state religion for over 500 years, Turkey is now a democratic country. When you combine that with the history, which is to overwhelming to describe here, you have one of the most intriguing countries on earth.
Istanbul is now a modern city of 15 million people. What makes it so interesting is that the history runs thousands of years. We toured the standard tourist stuff yesterday including the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, little Hagia Sofia, and the Topkapi Palace among others. I wanted to give you a quick taste so we can head out the door and start another day of walking.
The Hippodrome
The site of chariot races during the Roman times and Islamic gatherings during the period of the Sultans, it has some interesting stuff. Every culture attempted to leave it’s own mark.
Solid granite, this is a third of it, it was brought from Egypt centuries ago I believe when Istanbul was the capital of the Roman Empire. This thing was huge.
What makes this so interesting is the fact that it was brought back from a war with the Persians in ancient times and is made of metal.
I believe it was from a battle between the Romans and the Persians, and was made by melting the weapons of the dead Persians. Notice how far it is in the ground? That is how much soil has accumulated over the centuries since it was brought here.
Hagia Sofia – The Blue Mosque
I do not know where to start, just say this things is old and beautiful. Still a functioning mosque, it allows visitors between prayer.
It has 6 spires. In the ancient language gold and six were similar, the Sultan wanted a gold spire, the architect heard 6, so there you go. Apparently he lived to breath another day.
The Way In. No shoes allowed, women must cover their heads.
21,000 Hand Painted Tiles.
Topkapi Palace
After they ran the last Sultan off in the 20’s they confiscated much of the wealth. This place basically had 3 courtyards and 70,000 square feet.
You were not allowed to film in the various museums inside. Suffice to say we saw jewels galore, including a 76 carat diamond, swords as old as 1000 BC, beautiful clothes and armor, including a bow and quiver with arrows from 1300. The Sultans would have the 4 wives allowed by law, but kept a couple of hundred girlfiends in the Harem.
Just a small part of the Palace. This place was enormous.
The Grand Bazaar.
Over 4,000 Shops, it a maze and you could be easily lost. Crazy!
Corridors leading off to God knows where. The answer in this place is a polite NO!
Taksim Square and Istiklal Street.
This is the area that is considered the New Istanbul. It is where you find the artists, students, professional folks, and the “unwashed rabble”. (Just kidding – it is where the kids hang out.) It is the area where the trouble was a few months ago. It has a vibrant night life. We took a taxi, the traffic is something else, and then walked back to the hotel. Another real experience. There is a trolley running down the middle of the street but it gets so crowded with folks that it often has to stop running.
Istiklal Street.
This is the small fish I told you they were catching off the bridge. I called them bait, but these little suckers were good.
One of the many ancient buildings at night as we walked back to the hotel. What was it? I do not have a clue, it is just old.
And that is just a small part of the day. I have hundreds of pictures and videos to go through but this gives you a flavor for Istanbul. With over 14 million people Istanbul is to big to even describe. We have another day here before we head to Cappadocia, and we will see how it goes. I know it is one great experience. So keep stopping in and I will keep posting as we go.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
