I am in love with Istanbul, Turkey! The city is awash with history, culture, architecture, faith, beauty, good eats, and more. I only spent two days there, but I fell in love. The people are super friendly. The blend of ancient and modern is a part of everyday life. The sights, sounds, scents are all real and reek of life.
When I told people I planned to visit Turkey, most of them questioned the idea. Is it safe? What about the recent terrorist activities? What about their neighbor, Syria? A few, on the other hand, said I would enjoy it. I didn’t feel unsafe at all in Istanbul. Everyone was going about their lives. They did not appear frightened. There was a definite police presence, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the city.
My two days in this great city were spent experiencing and learning about its rich history and culture from local tour guides. On day one, we visited the World Heritage-listed Sultanahmet sites including Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace. Day two included a snowy cruise on the Bosphorus and wanderings through the city.
Hippodrome
The heart of the old city, now called the Sultanahmet, is the ancient Roman hippodrome. This grand arena hosted chariot races and other competitions starting nearly 1,700 years ago. The center pieces of the hippodrome were artifacts showing the might and reach of the empire. Three of these monuments are still standing.
One obelisk was built to honor the Roman emperor. Once clad in bronze, it must have been quite the monument. Crusaders, however, removed the glittering metal assuming it to be gold. When they went to melt it down they learned all that glitters is not gold.
A second obelisk is the oldest thing in Istanbul. A relic pillaged from Egypt, this imperfectly topped stone monument is a beautiful piece of art. When the Romans planted it where it now stands, they put it on a lovely carved stone plinth.
In between these two pointed towers is a much smaller relic from the Greeks. It is part of a bronze serpentine column.
I can only imagine what it may have been like to watch a race in that venue. When the Ottomans took over Istanbul, the hippodrome lost much of its infrastructure. The Blue Mosque was built in part of it and other buildings soon encroached. Other remnants can be found, but they are not nearly as impressive as the three vertical monuments.
Grand Bazaar
Every great city has a great marketplace. Istanbul is no different. The Grand Bazaar has thousands of shops in a labyrinth of corridors. It is a fun place to peruse. They have just about any souvenir you could want and more. Today, though, it is not a normal market for everyday people. We found that too, but the Grand Bazaar is not that.
If you are a fan of James Bond, you will recognize the bazaar from the opening of Skyfall. He rides a motorbike across the market’s roofs then crashes through a window and drives through the market. It isn’t the only Bond film location in Istanbul. We saw two others.
At the Grand Bazaar, I fell victim to my love of textiles. I found several shops selling cotton towels and blankets. They are very simple but seem well made. I got a couple of towels and a blanket. I’ve been using one of the towels as a scarf. I checked at a few other shops and found that I got the best deal where I went.
Spice Market
The second market we visited is the spice market. Much smaller, this market specializes in spices and foods. It smells amazing. However, the real treat and the better prices come in all of the narrow roads and alleys around it. This is where the locals shop. This is a real market for useful stuff, in addition to the touristy stuff like an insane amount of Turkish delights vendors. By the way, Turkish delights in the West are not like the real deal. They are cheap knock-offs. The real things are amazing! They are ecstasy! Oh, and pistachios are delicious, if you didn’t know, and Turkey has them all over the place in all kinds of tasty treats.
Constantine’s Column
Another ancient monument crowing one of Istanbul’s hills was built in the 4th century A.D. to honor Constantine the Great. This column is banded with metal rings, which is why the locals will call it the banded or ringed column. Those rings are not part of the original monument. They were added later when cracks were seen to hold it together.
The next few posts will highlight some of the places in Istanbul that require more than a paragraph or two to share including something from my bucket list—being edified in the Hagia Sophia.
