Istanbul

After our first night in a hotel on this trip, we got to have a full day in the city of Istanbul! Istanbul was one of the cities I was most excited for because I know of the history surrounding the city. It is the only city in the world that spans two continents and was once called Constantinople, and was the head of the Eastern Roman Empire. Istanbul is a unique city with a very interesting culture.
My first stop in the city was at the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque). Mosques are everywhere in Istanbul because it is a majority Islamic country. You can hear the call to prayer ringing out over the city five times a day. I was really excited because I had never seen inside of a mosque before and the Blue Mosque did not disappoint. You have to take your shoes off in mosques as well as in the courtyards because they are considered as holy as the mosque itself, and the Blue Mosque has foot-washing stations outside of the mosque. With stunning blue mosaics and gold, the Blue Mosque is a breathtaking experience.

After this we headed to the Grand Bazaar, the largest outdoor marketplace in the world and I have to say that I was disappointed. It seemed to me to be very touristy and many of the things were either western products or the same tourist baubles that are not what I would buy, but there were some shops that had proper products and I’m glad I had the experience. 

Brenton and I went and got lunch first before heading to the Hagia Sophia. He and I spent the entire day together seeing the sights so that was pretty cool. We had Kebabs at this little place that seemed to be frequented by locals near the Grand Bazaar so that was nice.

After that, we headed to the Hagia Sophia, which was an amazing experience. Unfortunately, there are parts of the Cathedral/Mosque (yes, you read that right) that are under scaffolding but that happens. It was really cool because it was a mixture of Catholic, from the Roman times, and Islamic, from the Ottoman times. The Emperors of the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire were crowned there. It was a very interesting combination.

Our final stop of the day was at the Topaki Palace. This is the Palace where the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire would have lived. It is huge and an absolutely beautiful palace. Inside they have a treasury that contains the Spoonmaker’s Diamond that is 86 carats. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures throughout most of the inside but I still ended up with lots of photos of the palace. Afterwards, on the way back to the hotel, Brenton and I ended up grabbing a Turkish beer on draft at a café along the way called Efes. It was pretty good.

The day ended with our first optional of the trip. The optionals are events that are not included in the price of the tour so I had to pay extra but the event was worth the money. It was a combination dinner and belly dancing show. It was really cool. The belly dancers were extremely talented and they gave us a four-course meal and enough wine for two and a half glasses. There were several different acts in addition to the belly dancers that did a great job as well. In the end it was a couple of hours of entertainment and dinner as well.