Istanbul and Turkish Delights

Man I am glad we did Turkey when we did. Needless to say, the political situation seemed to worsen dramatically not too long after we left Turkey. But we had an incredible experience in this amazing city. I have never been to a part of the world that is so culturally different from ours. Istanbul is very much westernized--a bridge between Europe and Asia. It is about 99% Muslim, and as we drove from the airport to the hotel, we could see mosques dot the city. I must be honest, when the first call to prayer started going off the speakers at 5am, it scared the snot out of me! What was that?!?! Andy had traveled to the middle east before, so he knew exactly what was going on. I put my head back on the pillow and decided I needed to somewhat educate myself on this culture!

We stayed at a really nice Holiday Inn right in the middle of the city. It was fun to have different things for breakfast--a nice break from the classic bacon and eggs. If there was one thing I really loved about his city was the food. It didn't disappoint!

It was kind of stressful figuring out the tram system and how to get passes for it, but once we did, we made our way down to see the famous Mosques. We got some corn on the cob at the food stands and just soaked in our surroundings. Because of worship services, we didn't go inside the mosques that first day. Instead, we made our way over to the Topkapi Palace, the historic residence for the Ottoman sultans for over 400 years. It was pretty fascinating. What blew my (artistic) mind was the gorgeous tilework. I was totally geeking out with the intricate tile designs! It really was an art form deeply engrained in their culture and was a way of praising deity.

One of my favorite designs

the picture in no way does this justice

After touring the main palace quarters, we walked over to what was formerly the Turkish Harem. Yep, this is where all of the sultan's women abided! I have always heard turkish harems spoken about in jest, but this was actually really fascinating to learn about. And more amazing telework and architecture!

Where the Sultan would sit and receive visitors and his womenfolk;)

Um, window envy?!?!? And a handsome man to go with them.

After our palace tour, we walked back over to where the mosques were and we found an amazing restaurant! This was our first introduction to truly delicious Turkish cuisine and how much Turkish men love babies. And Im not just talking about old grandpas, I'm talking about young men, in their mid twenties! Every time one of them saw Bennett, be it on the tram or in a restaurant, they would smile, pinch his cheeks and make baby noises. It was the funniest thing. But it was one of my favorite things to watch! You definitely don't see that in Geneva.

Anyways, food! We got this amazing roasted eggplant appetizer. They know how to prepare eggplant! We got amazing grilled meat and rice with to-die-for veggies. So, so tasty! And it wasn't too expensive, always a plus! Loved it!

After a good night's sleep, we awoke to another yummy breakfast, and then we headed over to the Grand Bazaar. Another Turkish treasure! I didn't realize how big it was and how easy it was to get lost! We stopped at a rug shop and even got ourselves a Turkish kilim rug! It was a bit of a splurge that we totally spent too much money on, but it is our one Turkish treasure. Pretty cool background actually. The women in the rural parts of Turkey weave these kilim rugs during the winter time when they can't farm. They are each made by hand and are exquisite. The one we bought had some wheat grain motifs on it. I love the biblical symbolism of wheat, so it is really meaningful.

We continued through the bazaar, which was probably more exciting for me than Andy, but he was awesome and indulged me as I gushed over fabrics, ceramics and all of the of the other beautiful things this culture has to offer. After we had our fill, we tried to fight through the crowds (oh the crowds) until we came across a yummy lunch destination--Burgers. Not Turkish, but really really delicious nonetheless!

To get away from the crowds, we took a boat tour of the Bosphorus Strait. Took a little longer than we thought and Bennett was really patient. But it was nice to be able to sit and be off our feet for awhile. The tour took us along the Straight, which is lined with beautiful towns and estates. It made us want to go into the countryside and explore some of these towns.

By the waterfront

waiting to board the boat. Sexy.

This stroller has been good to us!

On our Bosphorus Boat Tour

Our sweet little guy!

diaper changing time

:)

Sunset

By the time we were done with our tour, it was dark and we were pretty tired. We decided to order dinner in at the hotel and call it a day. Even room service food was delicious!

The next day, we decided to see the Mosques! We took the tram over to the Blue Mosque, one of the most famous and well-known mosques in Turkey. Since it is a working mosque, I had to wear a scarf on my head and had to have my legs completely covered. We went inside, and wow! Beautiful, exquisite tilework and so stunning. In Islam, you don't see paintings of any figures in these places of worship. Instead, it is about the plant motifs and geometric designs. Very true here!

Outside the Blue Mosque

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In front of the Hagia Sofia

After seeing the Blue Mosque, we made our way over to the Basilica Cistern. This cistern is the largest of hundreds of cisterns lying beneath Instunbul and was built during the reign of Justinian. It was so dark down below, so we didn't get any clear pictures, but talk about cool! It pretty much felt like a huge cathedral underground, and apparently provided a water filtration system for the palace.

I love this pic;)

We came above ground, which was nice. Always good to be out in the light! We went to a rather touristy place for lunch, and it was pretty good. Grilled meat, salad and veggies. Nice to be off our feet!

lunchtime!

our personal favorite pic

After eating, we headed over to the Hagia Sophia. I was most excited to see this as we planned our trip to Turkey. I had studied this in my art history classes, and I was not disappointed! Hagia Sophia was originally a Greek Orthodox Church, but when the Ottomans took over, it was converted into a Mosque. Nowadays, it is secularized.
(Little history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia)
When I was a freshman at BYU, I wrote a paper on the mosaics depicting Emperor Justinian. Naturally, I was excited to remember some of them were found here in the Hagia Sophia!

One of the Mosaics. Pictures do not do them justice! So intricate and exquisite!

After the Hagia Sophia, we just took a rest outside on a bench and people-watched. It was a beautiful day. I felt like we barely tasted this city, yet still felt so enriched by it.

our little Swirly head!

When it was a working mosque, people first wash their feet here.

After our rest, we took the tram up towards our hotel and decided to sample some turkish treats. We heard all of this hype about Turkish delights, so we had to go try them right? We found a confectionary shop, which was a colorful place in and of itself! So many things to sample and look at. We got a sampling of Turkish delights, which, at best, was okay. I guess we aren't Turkish delightful people. But something that was absolutely divine and delicious was pomegranate tea. Whoa! So, so good. So good, we regretted buying the Turkish delight and should have stocked up on that tea! Andy is not an herbal tea person, but that amazed him! He also indulged and got himself some baklava. It looked good and Andy loved it!

We had our last dinner in Istanbul. Honestly, I can't remember what we ordered, but I remember leaving and saying "Dang, that was good!" But probably the best part of this dinner was our conversation with our waiter. He and his family are refugees from Syria. They fled earlier that year because of all the unrest and found refuge here in Istanbul. You could tell that he felt a lot of gratitude to be here. He felt so thankful to have job as a waiter, because in Syria, there was nothing there for his family and they constantly lived in fear. This really opened up our eyes to the refugee crisis in the middle east. I think I had this generalized misconception that all of these refugees are just like the beggars and panhandlers we see in downtown Salt Lake. But the reality is, most of them are educated and they want to contribute as citizens. Shortly after leaving Turkey, the political climate became quite dangerous due to the terrorist attacks. I wonder about that waiter and his family. This was one of our favorite trips, probably because it was so eye-opening.

I hope one day, we can go back and see more of Turkey. What a blessing to have been able to visit!