Monday: Arrival in Istanbul
Jun. 13th, 2007 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deirdreIn the last couple of days, I'd picked up at least one, if not two, separate bugs. I frequently have intestinal distress after wheat consumption, so I didn't think anything of it at first (accidental wheat consumption being a problem when traveling), but after a half day, it was obvious that wasn't the sole cause. I think I got that on Mykonos, but I'm not sure.
Also, Ephesus was cold and rainy, and it seems that both Rick and I picked up a cold there.
So by the time we were pulling into Istanbul, we were no longer feeling our best.
We arrived at the Dardanelles at night or very early morning, so we missed peering at the site of the ancient city of Troy or the Gallipoli peninsula. By the time we arrived up on the Deck 13 Spinnaker Lounge to watch our approach, the ship was well into the Sea of Marmara and headed for the Bosphorus, which separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey and is a gateway to the Black Sea. In part, the captain later explained, the long logistics to get into Istanbul port had to do with the number of ships (we didn't see a lot, but that's because they spread out in the Sea of Marmara and then bunch back up in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus) and the fact that they're currently building an underwater tunnel underneath the Bosphorus, limiting where one can go even further.
We were far away from the Bosphorus when we took aboard the pilot, then cruised slowly into Istanbul, turning the ship completely around for docking.
An hour after arrival into port, we got onto the tour bus that took us to Topkapi Palace. We walked from a spot near the Blue Mosque to the palace, then walked (what seemed to be) all the way across the palace grounds to get to the Harem. I will say: for a gilded cage, it was a stunning gilded cage, with lovely tiles and beautiful surroundings. I wouldn't want to live there, though.
We then went to see the treasury, but I was trying to pace myself, so I went through one (of four) rooms and sat down while Rick went to the portrait gallery. Among the decorative arts not practiced in Turkey, one of those would be painting, so Turks hired painters from other countries to paint their sultans. Our guide, Albert, made the point that the earlier sultans looked more Mongolian, and Rick said that was true, and they got more and more mixed into the classic Turkish blend over time. Rick got back just before we had to proceed on, then we did death march 2.0 back to the Blue Mosque.
The Blue Mosque is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets, so it's quite easy to navigate by if you're nearby (not all mosques have minarets, but more about that in another post).
The mosque provides plastic bags for your shoes, and, if a woman wishes, a plain cotton head cover (available in various shades of blue). Wearing a veil is not common in Turkey: it's almost the complete inverse of Egypt. This is especially interesting in that Egypt is 85% Muslim (most of the remainder are Christian, though they do have a small Jewish population) where Turkey is 98% Muslim. The distinction is the awareness that there's nothing in the Qu'ran requiring veils, and the fact that Turkey is effectively a militant secular republic.
Due to a misunderstanding (I thought we were coming back to the bus before heading to the mosque, so I traveled lighter than I should have), I didn't bring my head cover (I'm not Muslim, but I try to be reasonably respectful), and I somehow missed the gratis scarves available for use, so I went without, as did most tourist women. I felt badly about it, but I figured everyone had seen me by the time I found out scarves were available, so I wasn't sure there was a point. The mosque is only open to the public between prayers, so we actually had to schedule Topkapi Palace first, then the Blue Mosque, and we were somewhat constrained by prayer times.
After the Blue Mosque, we went to a street that is part of the entrance to the Grand (technically, "Covered") Bazaar, which truly has to be seen to be believed, if only because it has existed for more than 600 years in pretty much its current form.
Feeling a bit intimidated, I decided not to venture into the covered part of the Bazaar on Monday, but to do that on a later day. I was trying to find earrings, but the sort I was looking for (while traditional in Turkey) wasn't available in the higher-rent shops lining the entrance to the bazaar.
We headed back to the ship for our last night aboard, getting to sleep fairly late after putting our bags out in the corridor.
Also, Ephesus was cold and rainy, and it seems that both Rick and I picked up a cold there.
So by the time we were pulling into Istanbul, we were no longer feeling our best.
We arrived at the Dardanelles at night or very early morning, so we missed peering at the site of the ancient city of Troy or the Gallipoli peninsula. By the time we arrived up on the Deck 13 Spinnaker Lounge to watch our approach, the ship was well into the Sea of Marmara and headed for the Bosphorus, which separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey and is a gateway to the Black Sea. In part, the captain later explained, the long logistics to get into Istanbul port had to do with the number of ships (we didn't see a lot, but that's because they spread out in the Sea of Marmara and then bunch back up in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus) and the fact that they're currently building an underwater tunnel underneath the Bosphorus, limiting where one can go even further.
We were far away from the Bosphorus when we took aboard the pilot, then cruised slowly into Istanbul, turning the ship completely around for docking.
An hour after arrival into port, we got onto the tour bus that took us to Topkapi Palace. We walked from a spot near the Blue Mosque to the palace, then walked (what seemed to be) all the way across the palace grounds to get to the Harem. I will say: for a gilded cage, it was a stunning gilded cage, with lovely tiles and beautiful surroundings. I wouldn't want to live there, though.
We then went to see the treasury, but I was trying to pace myself, so I went through one (of four) rooms and sat down while Rick went to the portrait gallery. Among the decorative arts not practiced in Turkey, one of those would be painting, so Turks hired painters from other countries to paint their sultans. Our guide, Albert, made the point that the earlier sultans looked more Mongolian, and Rick said that was true, and they got more and more mixed into the classic Turkish blend over time. Rick got back just before we had to proceed on, then we did death march 2.0 back to the Blue Mosque.
The Blue Mosque is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets, so it's quite easy to navigate by if you're nearby (not all mosques have minarets, but more about that in another post).
The mosque provides plastic bags for your shoes, and, if a woman wishes, a plain cotton head cover (available in various shades of blue). Wearing a veil is not common in Turkey: it's almost the complete inverse of Egypt. This is especially interesting in that Egypt is 85% Muslim (most of the remainder are Christian, though they do have a small Jewish population) where Turkey is 98% Muslim. The distinction is the awareness that there's nothing in the Qu'ran requiring veils, and the fact that Turkey is effectively a militant secular republic.
Due to a misunderstanding (I thought we were coming back to the bus before heading to the mosque, so I traveled lighter than I should have), I didn't bring my head cover (I'm not Muslim, but I try to be reasonably respectful), and I somehow missed the gratis scarves available for use, so I went without, as did most tourist women. I felt badly about it, but I figured everyone had seen me by the time I found out scarves were available, so I wasn't sure there was a point. The mosque is only open to the public between prayers, so we actually had to schedule Topkapi Palace first, then the Blue Mosque, and we were somewhat constrained by prayer times.
After the Blue Mosque, we went to a street that is part of the entrance to the Grand (technically, "Covered") Bazaar, which truly has to be seen to be believed, if only because it has existed for more than 600 years in pretty much its current form.
Feeling a bit intimidated, I decided not to venture into the covered part of the Bazaar on Monday, but to do that on a later day. I was trying to find earrings, but the sort I was looking for (while traditional in Turkey) wasn't available in the higher-rent shops lining the entrance to the bazaar.
We headed back to the ship for our last night aboard, getting to sleep fairly late after putting our bags out in the corridor.