Where East meets West

This is the city that straddles Europe and Asia, where East meets West. Welcome to Istanbul.

Begin with a stroll. Pick up something light like a simit, the wanna-be-bagel sesame roll that the street vendors sell on nearly every corner. Maybe take a walk through Gülhane Park for a peaceful start.

A street vendor outside Gülhane Park selling simit (rolls).

Fill up on something hearty to prepare yourself for the day of touristing. You won't have trouble finding a rich, meaty dish, and normally there is at least one eggplant-based meal for the vegetarians among us. (Plenty of fish, too, if you are so inclined.) If you're traveling on a moderate budget (let's say mid-range hosteling or low-end Airbnb-type travelers), you won't be disappointed at the Sultanahmet Gulhane Kebab House (and the location in the heart of the tourist district isn't too bad either), just don't take a seat if you're stomach is rumbling or your watch is ticking. In Turkey, no one is ever in a rush.

After you've capped your meal off with a Turkish tea, if you have time for just one stop, the Hagia Sophia should probably be it.

The Hagia Sophia!

This singular building encapsulates so much of this land's history. The Hagia Sophia, whose name means Holy Wisdom, was built in 532 AD under the rule of Emperor Justinian I. It was built over two earlier Hagia Sophias, that latter of which was destroyed in the Nika Riots during which angry, overtaxed mobs tried to run Justinian out of office. The threatened emperor ordered this incarnation of the Hagia Sophia just a month after the riots, a masterpiece designed to show off his prowess. It was built in only six years. The architecture is a unique blend of Greek, Roman, and Asian that defined the Byzantine era. Stones were brought in from Egypt, marble from Greece, and yellow rock from Syria for the construction of the cathedral. At the time it was built, the central dome was the world's largest, amazing visitors with its seeming defiance of gravity. The Hagia Sophia rivaled Rome, standing as the world's biggest cathedral for nearly a millennium. Over the centuries, emperors continually added their own touches, as can be seen in the crumbling tiles of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and various Byzantine heads of state.

In 1453, the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, and the ageing cathedral was converted to a mosque. Mosaics and paintings were covered in plaster, and minarets and medallions displaying the monograms of the four caliphs were added. Though it was not originally built as a mosque, the architecture of the Hagia Sophia was so admired that it served as a model for many mosques built in the Ottoman Empire, including the Blue Mosque.

In 1934, the newly secularized government of Turkey converted the Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum, as it is to this day. By law, it is illegal to use the Hagia Sophia as a place of worship.

Inside the Hagia Sophia

You could probably wander around the Hagia Sophia for hours, but a peek out one of its windows reminds you that there's still much to be seen.

Looking out from the Hagia Sophia onto the Blue Mosque

From the Hagia Sophia, it's just a short walk across a little grassy park to the Blue Mosque. Built in the early 17th century upon the grounds of the former Byzantine emperor's palace, the Blue Mosque occupies a historically significant site in downtown Istanbul. One of the features that makes this mosque so extraordinary is its minarets. Specifically, it boasts six, whereas the standard is four, sometimes less. In fact, this was rather scandalous at the time as the mosque in the Ka'aba at Mecca boasted just the same number. Ultimately, the Turkish sultan had to send his architects to Mecca to build them a seventh minaret just to smooth things over. For your average tourist, especially someone not so familiar with mosque architecture, the most memorable feature is hardly the minarets: the interior is lined with 20,000 blue tiles from which the mosque gets its (English) name. So line up, grab your gender-appropriate covers from the tourist counter, and take a peek inside.

The Blue Mosque

So you've wandered through architectural feats with walls tickled by the sun's rays. By now, it's late afternoon and the sun is bearing down. How about a monument further from the sun's reach? Just round another corner and descend a flight of stairs to discover the Basilica Cistern. You'll wander along planked walkways between seemingly endless rows of columns, whose reflections against the watery depths only extend the apparent size of the place. Slow-moving carp slip in and out of the patches of the light rising from the water. The dim lighting produces an eery, ghostly atmosphere, which you'll have to enjoy without sharing on social media: the light levels render it nearly impossible to photograph. 

My best shot at a photo of the Basilica Cistern

The cistern was built in the 6th century from recycled Roman monuments as a water storage facility for the emperor's palace and the local populace, who were always at risk of siege. The cistern builders repurposed a variety of sculpted and carved Roman columns, including two Medusa heads now serving as pedestals (one on its side and the other completely upside down!) through which water still trickles today. You'll be surprised to find something so calm and mysterious right in the heart of Istanbul's tourist district.

Emerging into the sunlight again, you'll quickly be reminded of the summer temperatures in Turkey. It's time for an afternoon snack. So take a stroll down to the harbor and grab a seat overlooking the water at Hafiz Mustafa. Enjoy a lemonade or a tea and something sweet. Have a drool over their dessert selection at their photo gallery, or don't take my word: Trip Advisor currently ranks them at #45 of 11,427 Istanbul restaurants.

A much-needed break at Hafiz Mustafa

Rejuvenated, why not do some late afternoon shopping through the typically Turkish markets? And you can't go to Turkey and not admire at least one Turkish lamp store. Personally, I had to hold myself back. We'd already stocked up on goodies back in Selçuk, where we got a finishing touch for our entryway and a fifth lamp to bump up the count and add some more color to our bedroom chandelier, which I'd purchased in Grenada earlier this year.

In Turkey, we got the finishing touches for our apartment: a lamp for our entryway, and a fifth (purple) lamp (and green replacement) for the bedroom chandelier.

And speaking of goodies you can pick up in Turkey, have you heard of zultanite? If not, do we know the salesman for you. That lampseller in Selçuk sure knew how to make a sell. Zultanite is a gem found only in the Turkish Anatolian mountains. It is very unusual in that it undergoes a striking color change under different lighting, from a bright kiwi green in sunlight to a champagne shade in intermediate lighting to a raspberry pink under evening or indoor light. Needless to say, I couldn't resist. If you pick one up yourself, I think you'll be just as entertained to watch it change throughout the day.

Zultanite, a fancy color-changing Turkish gem stone

As the night falls and the calls to prayer from neighboring mosques compete for Istanbul's airspace, take a moment to enjoy downtown Istanbul and the lively Sultanahmet district.

Istanbul by night

This is a city where you'll never have enough time to explore every corner.

The Sultanahmet water tower by night

Soon enough, the trip to Istanbul will inevitably draw to a close. Drag your suitcases back down to Taksim Square and catch the bus to the airport.

Leaving our corner of Istanbul behind.

Say güle güle, or farewell, to Turkey for now, with wishes to meet again soon.

Güle güle, Turkey!

Enjoy a quick lunchtime layover in Copenhagen...

Calm, quiet, clean, and traffic predominantly of the two-wheeled variety. Yep, we definitely made it back to the right country.

And even if you wish you could still be back in that sunny, exotic, and welcoming land in which you had awoken, it's safe to say someone will be happy to see you return.

Happy to be home