The Blue Mosque
Molly Newborn
Europe’s most populous city is split by the Bosporus River
into two distinct regions. Half of it lies in Europe and the other half in
Asia. The Black Sea is to the north and the Marmara Sea to the south. Istanbul
is the only metropolis in the world that lies on two continents, and over 10
million people call it home.
I arrived at Ataturk Airport at around 6 am with several men
asking me if I needed a lift to my hotel. I ended up having to haggle over the
taxi fare to my hostel. On arrival my hostel room wasn’t ready so I decided to
take a walk around the neighbourhood to acquaint myself with the city I’d call
home for the next few days.
I was staying at the Bauhaus Guesthouse. It was ranked #1 in
the world at hostelworld.com and I would
soon learn why. It’s located in an area called Sultanahmet, aka Tourist Town,
with almost all the main attractions within walking distance. There is an area
of about a one-mile radius packed with hostels and boutique hotels, each of
them with beautiful rooftop terraces with views of the Bosporus, the Blue
Mosque, and Hagia Sophia.
My little walk didn’t last long. It seemed as though every
Turkish man I walked by called out to me, either for a date, or to buy a
carpet. This was a culture shock I wasn’t expecting and would be forced to get
used to if I wanted to explore and enjoy this city. I hurried back to my
hostel, wrote an email to my Turkish friend, Ahmet, telling him how scared I
was, and hid and cried for the rest of the day in my room. I was going to be
stuck in this town for a while.
I met a Columbian guy on the rooftop. He’d been there for
about a week and was about to leave. He said Istanbul was magical, though I was
unable to see the magic at that point. I didn’t like having to bargain for my
taxi ride, nor was I amused by men who hassled me everywhere I walked. Ahmet, a
man of few words, wrote back simply that everything would be okay and that he
would pick me up the next day at 10 am to be my personal tour guide for the
day.
A room in the harem of the Topkapi Palace
I hadn’t seen him since the summer of 2002 at UCLA. When I
left I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again. There we were, five years later
on his home turf. He looked more distinguished and notably comfortable, since I
was used to seeing him on the UCLA campus like a fish out of water. I supposed
it was my turn to play the fish.
After a brief stop for a cup of Turkish apple tea, we headed
straight to the Topkapi Palace. This massive palace, which at the height of its
existence was home to about 4000 people, is not to be missed. Topkapi was home
to the royals from 1465 to 1853, including Sultan Selim the Sot, who drowned in
the bath after drinking too much champagne. It was occupied by the Valide
Sultan (mother of the Sultan), who ruled the harem, plus the Sultan, the
Sultan’s wives, up to 300 concubines and their children, and their servants.
The royal residence is an exquisite display of Ottoman
architecture, housing beautiful displays of antique porcelain, weapons, and
murals. We spent about 3½ hours strolling through the four courts. The
murals are masterpieces by themselves. Don’t miss the treasury. There I found a
seemingly endless array of treasures including gold and diamond candlesticks,
jewel-encrusted swords, a throne made of mother-of-pearl, the Topkapi Dagger
– decorated with three enormous emeralds – and the pièce de
resistance, the Kasikci, aka Spoonmaker’s Diamond. The Kasikci is a
teardrop-shaped 86-carat diamond surrounded by 49 smaller diamonds. It is the
fifth largest diamond in the world.
Steps away from the Topkapi Palace is the world-famous Hagia
Sophia. Originally built as a church in 537, Mehmet the Conqueror had it
converted into a mosque in 1493, as it remained until Ataturk proclaimed it a
museum in 1935. As we walked into this massive structure, I must have looked
pretty silly with my head tilted back and my mouth open wide. I was stunned at
the indescribable grandeur of this building but it must have looked like I was
trying to catch raindrops in my mouth. Oh well, I assume many others looked as
I did.
Both famished, we took a two-minute taxi ride down to
Eminounu (I guess we could have walked). From there we walked along the Galata
Bridge, an experience in itself. Hundreds of fishermen line the top of the
bridge, where restaurants lie underneath. I asked Ahmet why all those men were
fishing. He answered simply, “to catch fish.”
We ate at a nice Turkish restaurant with lots of vegetarian
options for me. Turkish food seems similar to Israeli food, or maybe that’s
just the Middle East. Loud singing from speakerphones suddenly interrupted our
lunchtime conversation. What was that?!! Where was it coming from? I looked
around and nobody seemed to take notice. I didn’t see any police and Ahmet
continued eating. Should I be concerned? No, because once you’ve been in
Istanbul for more than a day you’ll notice these loud prayers from the mosques
penetrating the city 5 times a day. I was not pleased with the first one, which
was at 6 am.
From there we walked up through the 350-year-old Spice
Bazaar. There I found Turkish delight, spices, nuts, teas, lotions, potions and
trinkets for tourists. A bit overwhelming at first, but it’s a mere warmup to
our final destination, the Grand Bazaar, aka paradise.
The Grand Bazaar is no simple task. Take the advice from the
master – moi – who after the first time, with Ahmet, conquered the
labyrinth three times thereafter. Put on your bargaining hat, take out the
compass and map, hold your bag and brace yourself. There are over 4000 shops,
with every shopkeeper trying to lure you in. From the carpets and pottery to
the jewelry and the belly dancing costumes you’ll be sure to find what you
want! I found the perfect belly dancing costume, but $400 was a bit out of my
budget, so I settled on a beautiful turquoise and silver bracelet. I bargained
down from 120 lira to 50 lira, and included matching earrings. I suppose the
carpet wouldn’t have fit in my suitcase.
We spent the night partying with Ahmet’s friends until
sunrise at the bars and clubs across the Galata Bridge in Taxim, the hip place
to be.
Assortment of spices at the Spice Bazaar
Ahmet was right. Everything was okay. I adapted to Turkish
culture and was soon roaming around the city on my own. Most people speak
English and the public transportation is fast and simple. I even impressed
myself by taking the train from Sultanahmet down and across the Galata Bridge
to the Dolmabahce Palace, which served as the imperial residence between 1852
and 1922. The palace was also home to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of
modern Turkey. It was Istanbul’s first European-style palace. It displays the
world’s largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat chandeliers, with the
world’s largest chandelier hanging in the center hall. Fourteen tonnes of gold
were used to decorate the ceilings, so once again I looked like I was catching
raindrops.
A good friend from Israel, Liron, flew to meet me. We
decided to visit the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (the Blue Mosque). The women are asked
to cover their heads, which made me uncomfortable, but after some time in
Turkey I accepted this rule. We stood in front of the mosque in awe. Liron told
me how strange it was to be so close to a mosque without feeling scared. The
mosque is decorated with tens of thousands of blue tiles, giving it its
unofficial name.
On my last night in Istanbul, on the rooftop of the hostel
with some new friends overlooking the Bosporus, I remembered my Columbian
friend. He was right. Istanbul is magical. There is no other place that
compares. I was so unhappy when I arrived in Istanbul, and now I was so unhappy
to leave. I slept through the three alarm clocks I’d set to wake me up in time
to catch the shuttle to the airport, and if it weren’t for the 6 am morning
prayers, I would have missed my flight.
Labels: Travel
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