(Part 8) Traversing Turkey: Istanbul's Secrets!!

- Dec. 30, 2019, Monday.

- Istanbul is a vibrant city of surprises despite its calm ambiance - or maybe I felt it was rather "calm" since it was winter when tourism experiences its low season. Although I wouldn't say that it isn't as colorful on the outside as I thought it would be (as compared to India's colors that overwhelm you the moment you land in one of its main airports,) much of Turkey's surprises can be found indoors - inside palaces, restaurants, museums, and bazaars.

- We started our day after a short photo stop in front of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, before returning to the Topkapi Palace, which our tour group visited a couple of days prior (see here). My family decided to visit it again - now that we were on our own - as we weren't able to fully explore all its exhibition halls, including the palace harem. The Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, and the Hagia Sophia are located near the Sultanahmet tram stop. As explained in my earlier post, the Topkapi Palace was built in the 1400s as the main palace after the Ottomans took over Istanbul after defeating the European Byzantines in the 1200s, and established their Islamic Empire from this old capital.

Hagia Sophia.

Full Turkish-inspired garb in front of the Blue Mosque.

Another one in front of the Blue Moque.

- We started our palace visit by going inside the harem, which has a separate ticket from the main palace. The harem contains many of the royal family's private chambers, and the halls of the palace's female slaves (i.e. concubines,) the queen mother (Valide Sultana,) and the eunuchs who run the harem. Apart from the royal family, consorts, and the eunuch guards, no one was allowed beyond the harem. Because of this, many of what happens in the palace (sometimes, even the development of political agenda) actually take place in the harem and its more than 400 rooms.

View from the entrance of the harem.

Chamber of the Queen Mother.

Decorated, don't expect any less.

Royal toilet.

The highlight of the harem, the imperial hall (seat at the right is the sultan's throne.)

Hall of the favorite concubines.

Harem mosque.

The golden road: the main entrance of the harem. Some say it is called as such because of golden coins thrown to the concubines during festivities, but it may also be called such as it is the "road" to the sultan's and the princes' private chambers in case a concubine was chosen to spend the night with the sultan or any of the princes.

- After leaving the harem, we were able to explore much of the palace, which included several ornamented kiosks, the library, kitchen, and the council room. The council room stood out because of its golden color.

Library.

Outside the Baghdad Kiosk, which was built after Sultan Murad IV captured Baghdad in the 1600s.

View of the Bosphorus (and the Galata Tower) from the terrace.

The actual throne of Sultan Mahmud II, from the 1800s.

The circumcision room, and yes, it functions as what the name of the room suggests.

The Sultan Ahmed III library fountain, located outside the library of the same name. It was built in the 1700s as a benefit to the Enderun School students. The Enderun School is the building which houses the library, and the school was used to educated the royal family, as well as non-Muslim boys that the Ottoman palace took from different territories as a way to train them to be good Muslims and eventually serve the palace as able guards and soldiers.  

Interior of the council hall.

Where council meetings were held.

Council hall entrance.

- We had a regular Turkish kebab lunch before visiting the Basilica Cistern, also located in the old town. Built in the 6th century during the rule of Byzantine ruler Justinian I, it functioned as any other cistern - an underground water storage. However, what makes this cistern interesting is not only its size, but also the appearance of the pillars, as well as its creative use of Medusa heads formerly found in a different building, but were repurposed as pillar bases.

Who knew that this existed under the modern roads of Istanbul!!

Hen's eye pillar.

Sideways Medusa.

Upside down Medusa.

- From Sultanahmet tram stop, we rode the tram to Eminonu tram stop to visit the Spice Bazaar, also called the Egyptian Bazaar. Built in the 1600s, roughly two centuries after the Grand Bazaar was built, this bazaar was the main center of spice trade in Istanbul, while the Grand Bazaar remained the main center for textile trade. The Spice Bazaar was initially called the "New Bazaar" as it was newer than the Grand Bazaar, but eventually gained the name "Egyptian" Bazaar as it was built from the revenues of Egypt, which back then was part of the Ottoman Empire. Today, spice markets still line the halls of the bazaar. However, what I really wanted to see were the shops OUTSIDE the Spice Bazaar, which sold cheaper souvenirs, and Turkish-style play jewelry.

Spice Bazaar.

By the way, just a tip: if you say "market" in Turkey, that usually refers to a grocery or a supermarket. If you want to visit places such as this one, it's called a "bazaar."

Spices!

Can you show me your world of spices hmmmmm??

I love the paintings and calligraphy on the ceilings and walls of the bazaar.

- To take cover from the rain and to have some time to rest, we tried this restaurant that sold a popular Turkish snack called "kokorec" ("ko-ko-rech.") It can come in the form of a burrito/roll or a sandwich, but do note that the meat filling is actually lamb or goat intestine and other innards. As a Filipino who eats food like isaw (grilled intestine) and sisig, the kokorec was a pure delight! It did not have too much for the game-y smell or taste (maybe it's just me, or depending on who made the kokorec), and you'd feel that you're just eating any other kind of ground meat.

Kokorec.

- We went back to the hotel after eating our kokorec as it was getting dark, and the rain would not stop falling. Although the rain really did....rain on our parade that day, it did not stop me from exploring the (not so hidden) secrets and colors of Istanbul behind its walls and under its roads!!

- Don't forget to read about my other adventures in Turkey:

Part 1, Troy and the Trojan Horse: here

Part 2, Virgin Mary's House and Ephesus: here

Part 3, Laodicea on the Lycus and the Alien Travertines: here

Part 4, Konya: here

Part 5, Cappadocia: here

Part 6, Istanbul's Royal Old Town: here

Part 7, Istanbul Between Continents: here

Part 9, Istanbul on New Year's Eve: here

(Part 7) Traversing Turkey: Istanbul Between Continents and Royal Tombs

- Dec. 29, 2019, Sunday.

- Being in Istanbul may cause some visitors as it is the perfect city to see an embodiment of both "Asian" and "European" qualities. Not only is it geographically located between continents, but its history and culture also show a slow-cooked fusion of both continents. To me, some aspects of its Asianness can be seen in its traditions and values as well as its Islamic legacy, while some aspects of its Europeanness are shown in its use of the Latin alphabet, its Greek and Byzantine remnants, and some European-style buildings.

- That morning, we visited the Dolmabahce Palace, which is an interesting contrast to the Topkapi Palace that we visited the day before (see here). The Dolmabahce ("dol-ma-ba-cheh") Palace was built in the 1800s by Sultan Abdulmecid I as a contemporary counterpart to the old Topkapi Palace. This newer palace was built in the northern part of Istanbul's European side, in the district of Besiktas ("be-shik-tash") and was made to look like a European palace! It is interesting to note that the 1800s was also a time when the Ottoman Empire wanted to learn and be at par with Europe, so the influx of European influences (including the shift from the use of the Arabic Alphabet to a slightly altered Latin alphabet) during this century came in waves. Despite this openness to European influences, the Ottoman Empire was still firm in asserting its Ottoman identity and Ottoman nationalism. (The nearest tram station is Kabatas ("ka-bah-tash") but you'll need to walk for around 10 minutes. The more convenient way to reach the palace is through taxi, though you must note that the traffic situation in Istanbul isn't that good.)

Clock tower outside the palace.

At the palace entrance.

European-style arch.

The main courtyard's fountain. (Sorry, no photography inside the palace.)

Side gate.

At the side gate.

- Most of the palace exterior has a nice view of the Bosphorus Strait, overlooking the Asian side of Istanbul. This explains why this palace was a lot windier than the Topkapi Palace.

Exterior of the main hall.

It reminds me of Hawaii's Iolani Palace, although this one is a lot bigger.

Gate to the Bosphorus.

- Just a minute's walk from the palace is the dock where people can take cruises along the Borphorus Strait. Our tour group, of course, had a cruise too, and it took around one very windy hour. Some sites along the cruise include the Ortakoy Mosque or the "Grand Imperial Mosque of Sultan Abdulmecid," the Rumelihisari (Rumeli Fortress), and its smaller Asian brother, the Anadoluhisari (Anatolian Fortress.)

The Dolmabahce Palace from the Bosphorus.

Ortakoy Mosque.

Hatice Sultan Palace.

Another view of the Ortakoy Mosque.

Rumeli Fortress.

Anadolu Fortress.

Maiden's Tower (Kiz Kulesi,) built in the Byzantine period probably as a ship dock.

- After the cruise that (literally) blew me away, we had lunch at old town of Sultanahmet. After lunch, my family bid farewell to the rest of the tour group as they were on their way to another shopping escapade before heading to the airport. My family, on the other hand, had a few more days to explore Istanbul on our own. We checked in our hotel, which coincidentally was just at the street beside the restaurant where we had lunch, rested for a bit, and headed out to explore.

- The afternoon we visited the Suleymaniye Mosque, located a few blocks away from the Bayezit tram stop (the Grand Bazaar stop.) Built in the 1500s by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, this mosque is well-known today as the resting place of Sultan Suleyman, some of his children, and his favorite concubine-turned-legal-wife, Hurrem Sultan. Suleyman the Magnificent is one of the Ottoman Empire's most respected rulers as he was not only the longest-reigning sultan, but also the sultan responsible for further expanding the empire. Hurrem on the other hand was a Crimean girl named Roxelana and was captured by Ottoman soldiers before being sold to the Topkapi Palace. She quickly and surely caught the attention of Suleyman and became his favorite (later bearing the title "Haseki Sultan.") She was given the name Hurrem after converting to Islam from Christianity. Hurrem started an era called the "Sultanate of Women" as she was the first among many strong female figures in the Ottoman dynasty who had significant influence over political decisions which women were not supposed to mind. She was also the first to be legally married to a sultan, as Ottoman sultans were only allowed to have concubines, but not wives. These big changes during the life and times of Suleyman the Magnificent and Hurrem were so controversial and to an extent, inspiring, that their lives were the subject of interest of many films and TV series, including the multi-awarded TV series that I am a big big big fan of, "Magnificent Century" ("Muhtesem Yuzyil,") which aired from 2011 to 2014.

Suleymaniye Mosque.

Dome of the main hall.

Main prayer hall.

Finally, I'm seeing you face to face!! (Or at least, your casket.)

Left to right: Mihrimah Sultan, Sultan Ahmed II, Sultan Suleyman II

Left to right: Hanim Sultan, Prince Mehmed, Hurrem Sultan.

Hurrem Sultan.

View from the hill.

- After descending from the hill where the Suleymaniye Mosque stood, I explored some of the shops around the Grand Bazaar, as the bazaar itself is closed on Sundays. We also had an early dinner to have more time to rest at night after a week of jumping from one Turkish city to another. Since we had more time to explore Istanbul in the coming days, I was excited to see what else this city had to offer!!

- Don't forget to read about my other adventures in Turkey:

Part 1, Troy and the Trojan Horse: here

Part 2, Virgin Mary's House and Ephesus: here

Part 3, Laodicea on the Lycus and the Alien Travertines: here

Part 4, Konya: here

Part 5, Cappadocia: here

Part 6, Istanbul's Royal Old Town: here

Part 8, Istanbul's Secrets: here

Part 9, Istanbul on New Year's Eve: here