Tuesday, July 7th - Istanbul

This morning was the first morning of our holiday, which started on June 9th, where we didn't have to set an alarm or be anywhere by a certain time.  It was lovely.  Because we were so exhausted from the day before we all slept well and were still up at a decent hour.  I think we were the first ones up for breakfast.  Everyone seems to start the day slowly in Istanbul.

We walked down to the Blue Mosque.  Along the way Gillian booked a day trip for tomorrow, which took us a while as they wanted cash so we had to pool our resources.  Luckily the Blue Mosque is free as we didn't hit a bank machine before the mosque.  Randy and Gillian had to go to the line to get wraps to cover their knees but I was allowed to go straight in as my capris were below the knee.  Randy came back out to catch me and say that there was a long line so he was going to wait until tomorrow but Gillian was going through.  I wandered in the courtyard and then decided to go into the mosque itself as Gillian hadn't appeared and I decided they may have had a different entrance for that line.   As it turns out, I couldn't go in where I thought I was going and I got sent around to the visitor section, which was indeed the start of the line that Gillian and Randy had been in so I was way behind her and she had to wait for me - just another one of those things you learn as you go.

The Blue Mosque was the built in the early 17th century under Sultan Ahmet I who died before it was completed.  From the outside it looks like a lot of curved earth-coloured domes that from small to large as you get deeper into the complex.  The courtyard is large and open, and was very busy with people taking pictures.  They had a great exhibit in various languages about the Islam religion and it was a great reminder of just how close the Islamic faith is to the Christian faith.  Mohammed is a descendent of Ismail, and all of the people in the Bible including Jesus, whom they consider a great prophet but not the Saviour or Son of God, were included in the chart.  Mohammed was a prophet who came later and who wrote everything down and who is considered their great prophet.  Allah or God is the the same as our God.

The inside of the Blue Mosque is beautiful with 260 stained-glass windows and beautifully decorated pillars, columns, wall and domes - the centre of which is very high.  There are only four main pillars inside the mosque and they are huge.  There were some small balconies in the upper areas.  Unfortunately the lighting that is hung low all around the interior does not allow for great picture taking but I tried.  As usual, the camera just does not do it justice.

There were people doing prayers or readings at the front and people listening and/or praying near the front.  It was not prayer time as to the five daily prayer times so we assumed it was something special for Ramadan.  For the regular prayer times they close the mosque so the people can pray without tourists and cameras around them.

After the mosque we went to the Arasta Bazaar, which is right behind the mosque and part of the rent for these stores supports the mosque.  It was a long and nice alley of stores but again we didn't buy anything.  We did stop and have some lunch at the restaurant at the end of the market though.  Originally, the mosque complex included a hospital, soup kitchen, school, etc. but those are no longer operating.

Part way through the bazaar there was a mosaic museum so we went to that an it was quite amazing.  Constantine in the 4th century BC had some grand palaces around and  they just in the 20th century discovered the remains of some of them.  The excavation and restoration work was just completed in the 80's and 90's.  The mosaics were pictures of animals, people, nature and mythological scenes.  The mosaic tiles were tiny and there were many sections/pieces missing, but they were still impressive.

After lunch we went to the Cistern for a tour but it was really lined up so we decided to take a break instead and go back later.  Our balcony was a great place to relax for a few minutes - until the sun came over to our side and the 38 degrees was a bit too much.

About 4:30 we went back to the Cistern and the line-up wasn't too bad so we went in.  Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century,  It is an underground water cistern 140 m by 70 m with domed roofs supported by 336 9-m columns and arches.  The walls are almost 4 m thick and waterproof.  The 9,800 sq m cistern can hold 100,000 tons of water.  Now there is very little water in it but definitely enough to support a lot of very large carp and some gold fish.  The columns are pretty much all the same but in the one corner there are two columns with supporting bases that include Medusa heads.  It is assumed that these were from earlier Roman times and moved from another location to the cistern when it was built, simply as base supports for the columns.  One of these poor ladies was even placed upside down in the water.  Some of the other pillars have now been replaced for safety reasons but mostly they are originals.  The cistern was discovered by an archeologist who saw people getting buckets of water and wondered what kind of a well they had.  He went down and then had to get a boat to take him around all the columns in the dark until he determined exactly how big it was.  In the 80's, to make the cistern accessible to others, 50,000 tons of mud had to be removed and walkways added for visitors.  It was a pretty amazing place.

From there we headed to the Hodjapasha Cultural Centre to see the Istanbul Dervishes.  I have certainly heard of whirling dervishes but I've never seen them.  There was a small orchestra and chorus, and five dancers.  Most of the dances were quite similar and they would go for five to ten minutes a dance doing nothing but twirling around and around in the same direction with their arms up in the air and their eyes closed.  The seating was in the round and the dancers had very little extra room on the dance floor.  They were totally synchronized and never missed a spin.  I really don't know how they stayed standing and dancing.  We were getting dizzy just watching them.  They only danced for 45 minutes but that was certainly enough for us to understand just how demanding their performance was.

We left the theatre and just went around the corner to a narrow street with outdoor seating and had dinner.  It was fast and it was great.   Others gathered around us as we sat there and they did not eat.  They just sat and waited until the call to prayer was heard from the mosque, and then after a quick blessing they all began to eat.  Salads and bread and water were already in front of them and the soup arrived just before the call.  It was chaos for a few minutes getting everyone started but then even the restaurant staff took time to eat.  I don't know how they go for so long without food or even water, but the devout muslims certainly keep the fast and wait until the given signal to eat at night.  It is actually quite amazing to see.

We walked back for our hotel passing hundreds of other restaurants, all of whom tried to geet us to come in and eat.  Between the restaurant people, the carpet sellers, the tour guides and the shop keepers, you are never alone on the streets.  Someone is always there to talk to you no matter what time it might be.  It gets a bit frustrating at times but it's also just part of the Istanbul culture so I guess it's something to be experienced.