Days 3 and 4 in Instanbul

March 22, 2015

After breakfast, we walked across the street to the Istanbul Mosaic Museum.  Beautiful mosaic tile is being preserved for the future.  The tiles were recovered from the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors.  The palace had hundreds of rooms, many with gold mosaics.  What they have recovered is about 2,000 square feet, which makes it one of the larges preserved mosaics in Europe.  The craftsmanship is just mind boggling!  Each tile is about 5 mm and the effect is very similar to oil painting.  There is still a lot of color in the tiles so they must have been very vibrant when first laid.

We wandered through the shopping area.  We decided that if it remains warm and sunny this afternoon, we'll have lunch at one of the side walk cafes.  The only remains of the Hippodrome are some of the columns.  Most of the Hippodrome is underground, buried by today's buildings.  However, the columns are reminders of the biggest sporting complex of that time.  The Obelisk of Theodosius (Egyptian Column) was erected in 390 AD and the Serpentine Column is from Delphi.  Our wanderings took us to the Fountain of Kaiser Wilhelm II erected in 1898.  It looks rather out of place among all the "older" ruins.  The fountain is still being used today.

Our next stop was at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art.  The building used to be the palace of Ibrahim Pasa.  One of the ministers to the King/Emperor of the Ottoman Empire.  He was executed because he thought himself equal to the King.  One of the many treasures in the museum is a boat shaped Beggar's Bowl.  It is from the Safaved Period, early 17th century.  There was a room dedicated to the Relics of the Prophet, whiskers of his beard, footprint, plus the keys to Kaaba.

There is also an impressive collection of carpets/rugs from the 13th Century Seljuk to the Ottoman Empire.  Some are fragments while others are whole and only slightly worn.

Lunch at a sidewalk cafe!  Had a lentil soup and rocket (AKA arugula) salad - yummy!

March 23, 2015

Met up with our small group of intrepid travelers.  Visited the Blue Mosque and learned about the history of the mosque.  There are thousands of tiles inside that were made by master craftsmen.  The patterns are unique to the mosque and cannot be replaced as no one today knows how the tiles were originally made.

The entry fountain to the Topkapi Palace is representative of Turkish Rococo/Baroque art.  It is a combination of Islamic, European, and Turkish art.  Very interesting blend and pleasing to the eye.  Started raining by mid-afternoon.  Saw the Baghdad Pavilion - beautiful wood doors with inlay of mother of pearl.

Brain is on over-load!  More to come.

Day 2 in Istanbul, Turkey

After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we wandered over to the Archaeology Museum.  The museum is really 3 museums in several different buildings.  The majority was closed for renovations, but we were fascinated by what we were able to see.  We started in the Ancient Oriental Museum which was initiated by Osman Hamdi Bey.  There are thousands of artifacts from pre-islamic Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Anatolia.  Here's an interesting side note:  on a sign about the Late Hittite period (9th Century BC), one of the words caught my eye, "aslan," which translates to "lion" in English.  So, did C.S. Lewis "borrow" this name?  Things that make you ponder!  One of the gems we saw was the earliest known parity peace treaty, the Kadesh Treaty (1269 BC).  The cuneiform script is very tiny!

We did learn that the Neanderthal culture did burials.  A cave was discovered in Anatolia that contained bones and articles for the Afterlife.  From this amazing place, we went to the Tiled Kiosk Museum.  The building is the only sample of Civic Ottoman Architecture built with Seljukian impression in Istanbul.  Inside were many exhibits displaying the unique styles of Seljuk and Ottoman tile and pottery.  There was a sherbet strainer from the late 18th to 19th century.  Sherbet is Turkish for a drink prepared from fruits or flower petals.  So, one needs to strain out the bits before drinking!  After admiring the tile and pottery, we ventured over to the Archaeology Museum.  We lost several hours inside!  Saw exhibits on pre-historic era, Greek Roman era, Byzantine era, Troia, Anatolia during the Troia age, Phrygia, plus "Surrounding Cultures of Anatolia:  Syria, Palestine and Cyprus."  We left the museums about 2 pm with brains overloaded.  Paula did a bit of shopping; bought a scarf to cover her head while visiting a mosque.  After the quick purchase, we had lunch at a kebab shop.  Very yummy!  Feeling a bit refreshed from our meal, we decided to do a quick walk through the Blue Mosque.

  Paula donned the head scarf and removed shoes and in we went.  The interior has the most magnificent blue mosaic tiles!  Time to head back to the hotel for a respite from crowds and the cold wind.  Another side note:  everyone wants to sell us carpets!  "Don't worry, I'm not a tour guide.  Please come to my shop and look at my carpets!"  We just smile and "No, thank you" and we keep moving on!  We did meet one carpet salesman whose fiancee is attending Seattle University law school!

First Night in Istanbul, Turkey

March 19, 2015

Well, had quite the adventure already!  At 3 am on the 18th, Lufthansa cancelled our flight due to a pilots' strike.  Overseas Adventure within 30 minutes of our call, had booked us on Delta to Paris, then Paris to Istanbul.  Checked in at SeaTac and the Delta agents booked us all the way through to Istanbul first class!  Yahoo!  Made for a very long day anyway.  Arrived in Paris, actually just the airport, on the 19th and left late for Istanbul, Turkey.

Arrived at Istanbul without any incidents!  Unpacked, took a much needed shower, which revitalized us just enough to walk to the restaurant for dinner.  Wonderful lamb dinner with great service!  The pillows are calling my name....time for some real sleep!  Note:  This hotel is really quite beautiful.  Rick is also tired - more photos to come.  Another note:  We're not in Kansas, Toto!  The call to prayers is real, real loud!!!  Our hotel is directly across the street from the Blue Mosque!

More later.

Here we go!

Just waiting to board our flight.  Lufthansa cancelled our flight early this morning and now we're flying Delta into Paris, then Paris to Istanbul.  It's an adventure!!