Category Archives: city

city, Europe, history, travel

Last day in Istanbul – Kariye Muzesi

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One attraction of Istanbul that I hadn’t managed to see previously & was apparently worth visiting was Kariye Muzesi (Chora Museum).  In rather the opposite direction to the main attractions, I vaguely followed my nose walking west & after half an hour or so picked up the tourist signs.  Up sprung the usual shops selling the usual guff to tourists, but they as usual were of no consequence to the fantastic building next door.  With an unusual lack of symmetry, this building is supposedly one of the best-looking examples of a Byzantine church left.  Like Hagia Sophia, this church was converted to a mosque and later a museum.

However, much of the Christian art remain & is most spectacular – in the form of mosiacs & frescos.  The mosiacs really are the highlight though – such vivid colouring & fine detail.  The audioguide is well above average & did a great job of explaining so many different scenes from Mary & Christ’s lives. Once a coach-load or two had passed through, it was nice enjoying the intimacy of a building much smaller than most of the other big sights in the city.

Much of the rest of the day was spent walking randomly around town towards the Golden Horn, stopping to read when I found an appropriate shady bench or patch of grass to lie (nap) on. More excellent seafood harbourside before walking back up the hill home – did get the best & cheapest Turkish delight (baklava) I’ve ever had (7 lira/kg! – that’s less than three quid), that was a hit back in England.

So that’s my week in Turkey – what a great place, I was continually surprised and fascinated. A strange mix of first world and third world, not to mention being on two continent – those factors may or may not be related. Another five o’clock start for the flight back to London, I’m still getting over that facet of the vacation.

Asia, city, engineering, Europe, history, travel

A casual Istanbul day

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With the forecast slightly cooler for Wednesday, it was a good time to don trousers early in the morning so I could visit the Blue Mosque – Sultan Ahmed Mosque.

After putting my shoes in the little plastic bag, I was free to wander around the mosque.  As far as the floor goes, it was a little bare inside – this guy had his work cut out for him with such a small vacuum cleaner. Once again, there were hundreds of small lights suspended from dozens of cables. The designs on the ceilings were astoundingly intricate & it was so long I stood staring up that I’m surprised I don’t have a worse crick in my neck.

My airbnb (sort of like couch-surfing, but people rent out their spare rooms/houses) host, Erdi, had recommended that I visit the Basilica Cistern – which is underground near Hagia Sophia. A sucker for engineering & history – it instantly appealed.  There are many cisterns under the city dating from Roman times – this one is the best kept & best to visit. Built in the sixth century to store water brought in on an aqueduct (substantial remains of which are near where I was staying) from almost twenty kilometres away, the 336 marble columns hold the roof nine metres up.  With a substantial floor area, the cistern once held almost a hundred millions litres!

Most recently restored & opened to the public in 1987, the cistern is flooded to a depth of about a foot & there are sufficient walkways to walk the length & breadth of the area.  The lighting & background music is really well done to create quite the relaxing atmosphere.  It was of course pleasantly cool down there & nice to escape the bustle outside – the four metre thick brick walls sure do keep the sound out. One of the highlights of Istanbul for me.

The base of a couple of the columns had inverted carvings of Minerva on them

I had a quick walk through the Grand Bazaar before popping out at Istanbul University – which provides a reasonable photos of big flags. Turks love their flag & it’s easy to find it flying somewhere or other – another country that makes me wish we had a better NZ national flag that we would more readily fly & use to identify us.

A quick trip home to get into some more suitable clothes for the quickly warming day was soon followed by a walk through back streets to get to the Spice Bazaar & the ferry terminal again.  I took another local ferry across to the Asian side of the city to have a little explore.  There’s not a lot over there for the tourist to see, but I always enjoy a good walk around – even better when it’s hot & there’s a ready excuse to buy ice-creams.

Looking back over the Bosphorus to the Old City from Asian side

Maiden’s Tower

Asia, city, Europe, history, travel

Catch-up photos from Istanbul

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A few pictures from my first two days in Istanbul that have now made it off my camera.

Beautiful domed ceilings in Topkapi Palace Museum

Cityscape from Topkapi Palace Museum

More intricate decoration

There were odd pockets of brightly coloured houses

Inside Hagia Sophia Museum

So many cables holding up all the lights

Hagia Sophia

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque)

Seaside amusements by the Sea of Marmara, there at least ten of these “shoot an air-rifle at things” stalls – you can’t see the people swimming just out of shot

Across the Golden Horn – Galata Tower in the background

New Mosque – near Galata Bridge

Leaving Istanbul on a Bosphorus ferry

At the Black Sea end of the Bosphorus – near Anadolu Kavagi

The view from the castle in the previous photo – that’s the Black Sea yonder

Many beautiful palaces & houses line the Bosphorus

The view from Galata Tower

Galata Bridge across the Golden Horn & New Mosque – from Galata Tower

Asia, city, Europe, travel

Bosphorus Cruising

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I saw a completely different side of Istanbul today as I got the very reasonably priced ferry up the Bosphorus. It does make a few stops along the way, but seems to be mostly used by tourists. For some reason I’d always thought the Bosphorus was a dirty, mucky waterway mostly used by commercial boats. That may be to do with one end being at the Black Sea and the connotations of that name. Interestingly there are two currents (countercurrent naturally) – the one on the surface is due to a height differential, while the one down below is due to a concentration differential (salinity) between the Black and the Marmara Seas.

But on another stunning warm & clear day, the Bosphorus turned out to be an exceptionally beautiful stretch of water. For most of the ninety minute trip Istanbul kept stretching towards the end of the Strait. It wasn’t more of the same housing either – there were many palatial buildings and it was easy to see why some of the highest property prices in the world are here. Istanbul surprises again. Many nice yachts and other boats too.

At the end of the route there was three hours to occupy before the ferry headed back. I, & many others, climbed fifteen minutes up to an old castle to get a glimpse of the Black Sea – which is more of the same vivid blue. Back down at the dockside town, I shared a seabass with a group of Americans I’d met on the boat. They were on a faculty trip from some liberal arts college in Allentown, PA. Once I told them I’d spent a month just down the road in Doylestown, I was very well received.

There were a few big tankers & naval ships to see on the return voyage – as well as some wonderfully turned out polished wooden launches. Back in town, I crossed the Golden Horn & climbed up to the base of Galata Tower – which was closing just as I got there yesterday. Unfortunately you are not allowed to climb up it, just take the elevator. Decent views of the city – the only picture I have to share today.

On the way down the hill I found myself in yet another market. Belwilderingly, yet interestingly, this market near a lot of tourists, seemed to be given over to small process and maintenance equipment. I was eying up things that we need in the plant back at work. Alas, the photos of that are on my camera – so the only person who is likely to care, Farmer Liz, will have to wait.