Sunday, April 26, 2026
We flew in last night, having just completed the Best of the Adriatic Tour, visiting Slovenia, Bosnia, and Croatia. To read all about it, visit the travel log titled “Our Adriatic Pearls”.
After spending most of yesterday sitting in the hotel lobby waiting on our 6 pm transport to the Dubrovnik airport, we landed about 11:30 pm and spent the next hour standing in lines and waiting for transport to our new hotel in Istanbul.
It was the ride from hell. Imagine being put into a black box that smelled like cigarette smoke, then shaken about for an hour. At first glance, we were impressed. Our ride was a limo. White leather seats, fairy lights overhead, and that black screen separating you and the driver. But that’s where the dream ended. Residual smoke aroma permeated the surroundings, but at least the window was open a crack. Until it was closed and we found that we had no controls for the windows or the AC, which was off. The vehicle either had no shocks, or the tires hadn’t been balanced in forever, or both because it rode like a log wagon. We couldn’t see where we were going and could only see somewhat out of the very dark side windows. The driver took every back alley and hit every pot-hole possible. At one point we heard a crash and saw a bunch of people yelling. Apparently, we had run over some type of barricade. Have you ever ridden the tail end of an old-time wooden roller coaster? Yeah, like that.
But just before I completely lost my mind – and my dinner, we lurched to a stop in front of Galata’s Hotel – which by the way, is 1000% nicer than the limo.
After much needed sleep, breakfast, more sleep, and a visit to the grocery next door, and a trip to Galata’s Tower to collect souvenirs, Lyle graciously agreed to take the tram over to Emirgan Park, one of the premier sites for tulips in Istanbul. The Netherlands is known around the world for tulips, but the flowers actually originated in Turkiye, where it is the national flower.
(You
may notice that I have spelled the country name differently than we spell it in
the west. However, this is the correct
spelling in Turkiye).
The
trip over was supposed to be about 45 minutes using the tram and bus. The tram part went smoothly, once we were
headed in the right direction. But the
bus was a different story. It didn’t
show up for about 20 min after we got to the station, then took an hour and a
half to make the “27 minute” journey due to after work traffic. But halleluiah, we made it!
Beds
of tulips lined the walkways in the park.
I got all the pictures I wanted. I would have liked to wander the
grounds a bit more, but time was at a premium.
But there were red, white, yellow, purple, pink, and some nice
multi-toned petals.
I realize that I got a little carried away with all the tulip pics, but they were so beautiful!
Exiting the park, we could see the bus stopped dead in traffic, waiting for the police to clear a traffic accident. We decided to walk until things began moving but ducked into a café instead to grab some dinner. Lyle had a chicken wrap. I didn’t plan to get much, but ordered a 3-cheese pita, which turned out to be huge, and hugely delicious.
It
was a good plan to stop because things were moving quite well by the time we
finished. Tomorrow, our official tour
begins after lunch.
Monday, April 27, 2026 Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sofia
We headed over to the Basilica Cistern early so we could be first in line when it opened at 9 am. I really wanted a couple of pictures before everyone started planting themselves in my photos (if you’ve read any of my other trip notes, you’ll know that I really don’t like random people in my pics). We found the exit easily enough but could not find the entrance. One of the locals actually took us over to the proper location, then offered to show us his carpets after our tour. We said sure, never expecting to see him again. But to our surprise, he was waiting for us when we exited! But we said that we had to meet our group and walked away. Later at dinner, another couple told us that he did the same with them yesterday!
As it turns out, we didn’t manage to get in first, but did get in with the first group, so I could focus around the people for the most part.
This
cistern is one of several that supplied water to Istanbul from the Belgrade
Forest, about 19 kilometers north of the city, through a gravity-fed system of
aqueducts.
The
supporting columns were repurposed from older Roman buildings. Thus, the capitals vary in style and
complexity.
Most
of the bases were quite simple, but a few were more decorative, and two used
carved Medusa heads – strategically placed upside-down or sideways to strip her
of her power.
The
water is so clear that the stone base looks like tilework.
The
“weeping column” is so called because moisture condenses around the elongated
swirls, resulting in “tears”. Another
bore the inscriptions related to its previous life.
Art
displays occupy some of the open areas, providing a unique venue.
A
brief stop on the exit stairway presented the ultimate reflection of the
cistern arches. Then it was time to
dodge our carpet salesman and make our way back home.
Near
the corner of the plaza was the Milion Stone, not all that impressive now, but
very important in its time. It marked
the starting point of the roads of the Roman Empire. It was used as a reference to determine the
distance of all roads to the capital.
Until the 19th century, it was regarded as the center of the
world.
After
some lunch, we met the rest of our group and set off for the Topkapi
Palace. The palace complex includes the
Sultan’s private quarters, several courtyards, housing for the guards, the
Treasury, and a mosque.
Most of our visit centered on the harem, or the private residences of the Sultan and his family and servants.
Beautiful
tilework decorated both the interior and exterior of the buildings.
Marble
in the Sultan’s private bath was trimmed in gold.
This
was the “living room” area of the Sultan and his family. I dare say it’s a bit more lavish than any of
ours.
The tiles adorning these walls are a bit different from the tulip patterns in some of the other rooms. These are actually made in Delft, in the Netherlands. By this time, Turkiye and the Netherlands had established diplomatic relations and a thriving trade network.
In
this last photo from the harem, notice the ostrich egg hanging from the
ceiling. As we learned on a previous
trip, the unhatched egg slowly decays, emitting an odor that humans do not
notice, but insects hate. It was a very
ornate pest control method.
Besides
the harem, we had access to the Treasury, where bejeweled items were
everywhere. Check out the jewel in the center of that serving platter!
And
in the courtyard were…more tulips!
We
also visited the Hagia Sofia, which means “Holy Wisdom”. Unfortunately, almost the entire exterior was
covered in scaffolding due to refurbishing work. But fortunately, we had visited last year on
a cruise. I was able to get a really
good picture by crossing onto the little grassy area in the plaza and taking a
really low shot to get the marigolds that were blooming.
The upper section is now a museum, while the lower part is a functioning mosque. We were allowed only in the museum section. Here we saw mosaics from the early Christian church. Some of them had been plastered over when the building became a mosque, but some were still visible.
Although
we didn’t go into the lower section, we could see it from above.
The structure is especially significant because it is a unique structure for its time. Many buildings had a round dome over a circular structure, as in the Pantheon in Rome. This is a circular dome over a square enclosure. It was accomplished by setting four massive pillars, over which were constructed four arches. The areas between the arches were filled in with rounded triangles. The dome was them set over the arches and arched triangles.
The
Hagia Sofia is the 4th largest dome in the world, behind St Peter’s
in Rome, the Duomo in Florence, and St Paul’s in London. However, it preceded all of them by 1000
years!
Our
welcome dinner consisted of a variety of appetizers, after which we were all
quite full. But the main course was fish
cooked in salt. Yes, I thought I had
heard it wrong too, but it was actually covered in salt, then drenched in
cooking wine and set alight.
A little squeeze of lemon, and it was ready to eat. Surprisingly, it was not overly salty. In fact, without the lemon, it was actually a bit bland.
Dessert was fruit drizzled with a warm sauce of honey and toasted sesame seeds so finely ground that they because one with the honey.
After
dinner, we had a fantastic view of the “New Mosque”, just across the Galata
Bridge. It is still called the New
Mosque even though it was constructed in the 1700’s. 😊 I liked this picture so much that I used it for the Istanbul title page.
We walked back across the Galata bridge and down to the hotel. The wind had come up and the temperature had dropped. I had only a light jacket. By the time we got to the hotel, my teeth were chattering almost uncontrollably. I was so glad to be back inside!
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 Spice Market, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar
Istanbul
has multiple spice markets, nearly one on every street in the tourist areas,
some more reputable than others. Our
guide Yaren took us to the Hayfene market, a “Rick Steves” certified authentic
market.
As well as individual spices, this store sold special blends, along with information on how to use them. Because we were a Rick Steves tour, we were also allowed to taste the spice blends. The aromas were impressive and I liked the taste of most of them. But I decided to pass on the one that was heavy on onion and garlic.
There
were also many varieties of dried fruit, candied and salted nuts, and of
course, Turkish Delight.
There was also a selection of various grades of saffron, and we were taught how to distinguish quality saffron from imitation and low-grade spice. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices, but the prices here were much better because there was no middle-man markup.
The pomegranate tea blends were tempting, but now that we’ve found the blueberry-pomegranate blend at home, we decided to pass. Our suitcases are already getting too full.
Next stop was the Blue Mosque, correctly called the Sultanahmet Mosque.
I
got a nice shot of the mosque using the blooming pansies in the
foreground. The little hedge behind them
(in reality only about 10 inches tall) also camouflaged the people standing in
front of the structure. Perspective is everything! LOL!
There
is fountain in the center of the plaza, and it made another nice photo with the
mosque in the background.
It
is referred to as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tilework in the interior
walls. That particular shade of blue, a
mixture of blue and green hues, was called turquoise, the “color of the Turks”
by early traders. The name stuck.
There
is no shortage of stained glass either.
Probably
the best exterior view of the mosque is from the courtyard with the ablution
fountain in the foreground.
The large
rectangular area next to the Mosque was actually at one time a Roman hippodrome
where chariot races were held. It is
also the site of an obelisk that the Romans brought over from the Karnak Temple
in Egypt. Actually, this is only the top
third. They actually lost the other two
parts at sea. The method used to cut the
granite obelisk was quite interesting.
The material was – you won’t believe this—SILK! Silk is actually stronger by weight than
anything else except -- spider webs! But
both are stronger than steel. And a cord
made of silk was used to cut the granite.
Is you have
read the report on Greece (“Greeky Gallivants”) you will remember that the
serpentine column in Delphi is only a replica.
The original is actually in the plaza here in Istanbul.
For lunch
today, we had roasted corn and tried some of the roasted chestnuts sold by the
street vendors. I have already heard about “chestnuts roasted on an open fire”
and thought I would try them since we don’t have them at home.
I have to admit
that I was not impressed with the chestnuts.
This is likely because it is not really the season for chestnuts, and
these have probably been sitting around since last fall, then sitting again for
who knows how long once roasted.
But they were
interesting to look at anyway.
After
lunch our last stop was the Grand Bazaar, which is akin to a huge shopping
mall, complete with coffee and tea shops, and eateries. It is so large that you actually need a map to find your way around.
I
had some specific purchases to make today, and I found all of them. Later I will talk a bit about the purchases,
but for now they must remain confidential because some are gifts for Christmas,
and the recipients should not find out about their gifts by reading this blog!
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Because
it was our last day, I got up early to snag this sunrise pic over the Bosphorus
from the Galata Bridge.
Princess is a rare orange female. They make up only about 20% of the orange cats. This is because the orange color trait is linked to the X chromosome, so females must inherit the gene from both parents, where males need only one X with the orange color trait.
It was a gorgeous day for our boat trip, but it was a cold day as well. Of course, most of us chose to ride up top because the pictures were better, but the wind was cold.
We
passed several historical palaces and some large mansions situated on the
river. Many of the palaces have been
converted to universities, and some to museums.
Yaren
told us about a stray dog that was using public transport all around the
city. He would even go down into the
underground and ride the metro. When
officials heard about it, they put a tracker on him and found that he was going
to three different neighborhoods every day, probably to collect handouts. 😊
The last thing we passed was the Rumeli Fortress built by the Sultan Mehmed II in 1452 to control the Bosphorus Strait. It was built in record time, completed only 4 months after construction began. The project employed over 3000 workers. It has served as a customs house, a prison, and now a museum.
