Two Weeks in Istanbul - Part 1
What a treat! Two weeks in Istanbul. I’m still working, but managing to get out and about as I can. Before I get into all that, let’s address the elephant in the room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XlO39kCQ-8
Yes, why did they change the name?
That was much less exciting than I was expecting, but we’ll always have the TMBG song to sing along with. With that cleared up, here is what I did on my first outing that included about 5 miles of walking.
Sultan Ahmet Park
Sneakers hit the ground just in front of my first “pointy building”!
There are 3000 mosques in Istanbul, so it is pretty good luck you’ll see the distinctive tall and thin towers all around the city. I was fortuante enough to visit the https://martin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/jazzyearl/blog/2018/06/07/455245825 and I don’t think I’ll ever see a more elaborate religious structure, so no need to go into any mosques for me. I do enjoy admiring the architecture of these beautiful building.
A few more steps and I was in the park which is the home of the Hagia Sophia museum.
On the southern side of the park is the iconic Blue Mosque.
Basilica Cistern
My next stop was across the street from the park; the Basilica Cistern.
A giant human-made underground water chamber that is 453 ft x 213 ft and 30 feet deep. If can hold almost 3 million cubic feet of water. Yes, wow!
You might even recognize it from some movies that filmed here.
It was very very big. There were elements you felt like you in some D&D adventure.
Gulhane Park
A short walk took me to a the beautiful Gulhane Park.
When I visited it was about 90% tulips and so pretty.
City Stroll
Here are a few pics from the walk I had to my next major destinations.
South of the Galata Bridge
Once I made it to the part of town I visited a few places like a museum of banking and a religious building that entombs many of the sultans of Turkey.
Yeni Cami Mosque
The biggest building in this spot is yet another giant mosque. It is often referred to as the New Mosque, but being completed in the late 1600’s it seems the Turks have a different time scale than I do.
Egyptian Bazaar
I had to get past this guy first! He even had a twin on the other side of the walkway!!
This place is also known as the Spice Bazaar and has I lot to see and smell (and taste if you dare).
Crossing the Bridge
I seriously thought about ending my day with a leisurely dinner on one of these boat restaurants.
It was probably good that I didn’t realize that I’d only walked about 50% of what I’d do on this outing or I likely would have sat on my butt and declared “I’m done”. Crossing the Galata Bridge I could see the Galata Tower in the distance.
Once across the bridge, I took the Beyoğlu Tünel (I figured I’d get the character set right for once since I’m linking you to the Turkish Vikipedi) further north into town (and saved a LOT of walking).
Istiklal Avenue
Just out of the tunnel ride I was greeted by one of the cute nostalgic tramways.
Oh Snap! As I reading about this I see that there are TWO separate heritage tram systems. One on the European side and the other on the Asian side. And there’s the “Oh Snap!”… I’m betting not everyone knows that this city of over 15 million people is actually half in Europe and half in Asia.
When I asked some locals what the residents of both sides call themselves wondering if the made a big deal about which side they lived on. I was told that everyone simply calls the other side, “the other side” – regardless of which side you are from. There was a childish grin on both of the folks who told me about this, so I’m assuming there’s a bit more to the story, but hey, when in Rome, do at the Romans. Same goes for being in Istanbul.
Back to those little red cars were the southern end of Istiklal Avenue, which is the most famous pedestrian shopping street in Istanbul. Many high-end shops along this long stretch, but I guess that’s not really my thing.
Catholic Churches
While there are a LOT of mosques here, there are still other religious places of worship. Along Istiklal Avenue there are two very big ones that were nice to check out.
Wrapping It Up
Finally, my tired feet and then the Istanbul showers finally caught up with me and by the end of the mile long adventure of the shopping street I was glad to catch the metro and head back for some relaxation.
More to come!!