ISTANBUL!

Our first year here went so quickly, we realized Rick had better start

taking me places since it's much cheaper to get to Europe and the Middle East from London.

So, February 11-15 we spent in Istanbul!
Of course, Rick worked, I played.

What an amazing city...so much history...so fascinating.

It's sad to say, but my VERY FAVORITE thing in Istanbul is....

Fresh squeezed pomegranate juice!

I know.

  Pathetic.

  Can't help it...it's so good!

Fresh squeezed orange juice is wonderful too, but we're so lucky it was pomegranate season!
 

We stayed in the Old Town, so were within walking distance to Sultanahmet Square,

which is where most of the main touristy things are.
 

Blue Mosque
 

Because it is a functioning Mosque, women have to cover their hair.

And we all have to remove our shoes.

(Kind of smells like stinky feet inside) 

And we're not allowed inside during prayer time (5 times a day).

Notice the floor...the darker carpet is where they kneel to pray.  It helps them keep nice

straight lines...now we know.

Night



It's called the Blue Mosque because there are so many blue tiles inside.

The tile work was beautiful and amazing.  They use 4 colors...

blue, red, green and white...wish I could remember the
symbolism of the 4 colors. 

Hagia Sophia

Across the square is the amazing Hagia Sophia Museum. 

 

This started as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in 537 AD,

then was a Roman Catholic Cathedral in 1204 for 54 years,

then Eastern Orthodox again,

then became a Mosque in 1453.

It became a museum in 1935.

It was quite amazing to see how it was changed from a Christian place of worship to

a Muslim place of worship...

 

beautiful tile work and paintings were covered up,

the front of the Cathedral originally faced towards Jerusalem,

 but was offset slightly to face Mecca when it became a Mosque.

The women worshipped on the second floor....
The ramps to get there went on...and on...and on.
Lucky women.

 

 

Topkapi Palace
This was the primary home of Ottoman Sultans for 400 years.

The inner court...

 

 Situated beautifully on the Marmara Sea...

Hippodrome
For a Hippodrome, think of the movie Ben Hur, and the chariot racing.
Now it is just a paved plaza by the Blue Mosque.
There are several oblisques at the Hippodrome
including this one, which Rick thinks is related to us....

He calls it Uncle Theo's oblisque....

I'm still waiting to see his sources on FamilyTree before I'll call him Uncle.


Basilica Cistern
It's hard to get a picture in this deep cistern which held water for the city.

If you have read Dan Brown's "Inferno"....
no, Tom Hanks couldn't have been swimming here...
Medusa's head is actually separate from the other pillars....
but....it made for an exciting story.
Thinking I need to read the book again now that I've been here.

Wish we could have experienced a concert in there.

Taksim Square
This is where many demonstrations have taken place in the last year or so.
Thank heavens it was quiet this day, though it wasn't just a few days before.

There was still a police presence there.

Landscaping
A lot of beautiful landscaping....loved it!

Old and New
It was fascinating to see extremely old and sort of new right together.

Bosphorus
The river that separates Istanbul into Europe and Asia, and also leads from
the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea is the Bosphorus.
Twas quite windy crossing on the open-air top of a double decker bus.

Much nicer the day we took a boat on the Bosphorus.

I loved
being here,
understanding more about Muslims and their Islam religion,
understanding history better,
seeing old, old things,
and
fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.

I also love understanding the world better. 
With Russia taking over Crimea...I now get where these things are. 
The battle ships going up the Bosphorus to the Black Sea...I know exactly
where they're talking about.
The pictures on TV make much more sense.
Woohoo!
See?  Traveling is not just for fun...it's making me feel smarter!