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Royal Princess arrives at the port in Istanbul
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
THERE WOULD be a day at sea between our stop at Ephesus and Istanbul. Athens and Kusadasi are on the Agean Sea, almost directly across from each other. From Kusadasi to Istanbul involves a longer distance sailing, back north to The Dardanelle Strait; east through the Strait and into the Sea of Marmara, and across to Istanbul. Unfortunately, we sailed through most of the Dardanelles during the night (both ways), so didn't really get much chance to see it. To the north of the strait lies the continent of Europe. To the south is the continent of Asia. I didn't give that much thought at the time. Shortly after our visit to Istanbul, there was a period of severaly years when cruise ships stopped making port stops in Istanbul, due to world unrest. Ours may have been the last year some of the mainstream lines (like Princess, HAL and Celebrity) stopped there. These days, they are making visits again. Maybe I will get a chance to see the Dardanelle Strait again some day.
Istanbul is one of only 5 transcontinental cities in the world
WE EVENTUALLY realized that one of the many highlights of our visit to Istanbul was that it is one of only 5 transcontinental cities (parts of the city lying in two different continents) in the world. While there is some dispute about the exact definition of continent, Istanbul and Suez, Egypt are arguably the two most notable such cities (Suez being divided by the Suez Canal which separates Africa and Asia).
During their rule of Istanbul, the Ottoman Turks built 100's of mosques. This one - Nusretiye Mosque - built in the 1800's - is prominently displayed to the Galata Cruise Port berths and was easy to photograph from the top deck of our Royal Princess Cruise Ship
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved
THE BOSPHORUS Strait cuts between Europe een Europe to the north and Asia to the south, connecting the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea. Istanbul straddles the strait. While we could "say" we were in both Europe and Asia that day, in reality we probably were not. The Istanbul Cruise Port is on the European side, pretty much in the heart of the downtown. The day we were there, I mistakenly thought we had docked on the Asian side, because most of the sites we visited required us to cross a fairly large waterway up into the city, called The Golden Horn. I mistakenly thought that was the Bosphorus Strait. In retrospect, I am quite sure we never crossed over to the Asian side (and most accounts concur that there is just not that much to see over there when it comes to famous cultural sites).
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Galata Cruise Port - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
THE EUROPEAN side, on the other hand, holds an amazing collection of historical wonders, including the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosk, The Underground Cistern, Topkapi Palace and the Hippodrome, to name just a few. Most of them are on the peninsula that describes the southern side of the Golden Horn at its entrance, aptly named The Peninsula of Istanbul (a/k/a The Historic Peninsula). The ship actually sailed into port right at daybreak, and I was able to make some nice photos of the city from the ship deck. Our group of 8 met our guide on the pier as early as possible once we were cleared to go ashore,where we were joined for that day by another couple we had not met before. Today would promise to be the longest excursion day I can remember in all of our years of cruising. But what a day!
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View out over the Boshporus Strait from Topkapi Palace - Istanbul Peninsula - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
WE HAD a nice, roomy mini-bus that day, so our transportation was quite comfortable. Our guide (one of the few names I remember) for the day was Guli. She told us that she had only been guiding with her company for a couple years. You wouldn't have known it, had she not told us. She was one of the most thorough and knowlegdeable guides we have ever had through the years. She was young, enthusiastic and cute (maybe why I remember her name - LOL - but not really. I suspect the real reason will come more clear when I inject my "humorous anecdote - read on 😉). We also had a driver (I do not remember his name - but I think maybe he was young and cute too, 😈) who was a real pro, and had an engaging personality and an active sense of humor. As we left the port and began our drive to our first stop, Guli gave us some very brief history of Istanbul (including the point I had not caught until then: that the city is one of only 5 that lie partly in 2 different continents).
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These colorfully painted stairs immediately drew my attention as our tour began, driving through the middle of downtown Istanbul
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
OUR DRIVE took us right down the middle of the downtown portion of the city of Istanbul. I think we were there on a weekend day, but there seemed to be plenty of urban "bustle" going on. It is virtually impossible to get meaningful photographs from a moving vehicle. We were fortunate that our mini-bus had fairly large windows, and I was able to make a few. Color! I have said many times before, I am immediately attracted to color in my photography. The painted stairway in the middle of the city was a no-brainer. If I ever get the chance, I will certainly seek it out on foot and try to make a better rendition. In addition to the moving platform, the day had started out with low clouds. Fortunately, as the day went on the weather improved some.
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Entrance to Topkapi Palace - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
FROM THE cruise port, we drove across The Galata Bridge and headed down the peninsula to our first stop: Topkapi Palace (the first three "main event" stops were Topkapi, The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque - in that order from north to south along the end of the peninsula). The palace was built at the behest of Sultan Mahmed The Conqueror, with construction beginning shortly after the Ottomans conquered the city. It became a kind of "theme" for the Sultans to create something bigger and grander than every one of the former Roman buildings. It began with the Palace, but didn't end there. Originally just "The New Palace," Topkapi served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for roughly 4 centuries, as well as the primary residence of the Sultans (and, of course, their families - including their harems).
Topkapi Palace reception/waiting area for the Sultan to receive visitors
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved
A LITTLE history would probably be in order here. Founded by the Greeks as Byzantium around 660 BC, the city was later renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor, Constantinople, in 330 AD. At that time, it had become virtually impossible for a single emperor to continue to administer the vast and growing Roman Empire, and a somewhat natural split caused the formation of the eastern (new) and western (old) empires. Ultimately, after moving the capitol to Byzantium and renaming the city Constantinople, the eastern empire became known as the Byzantine Empire. The original Roman Empire experienced rapid decline as the influence of Rome in the western world also declined. One of the most famous and progressive of Roman Emperors, Constantine, made the city the modern capital of the Roman (later the Byzantine Empire) a modern city to which the world modeled its civilizations. While the Roman Empire eventually colapsed in 476 AD, the Byzantine Empire continued on until the 1453 conquest by the muslim Ottoman Turks. Thereafter, Constantinople served as the capital of the Ottoman Empire, as the Turks took over and essentially re-made much of it to their design. It's renaming to Istanbul ocurred centuries later and the history of that change is relatively mundane. The Turks did not rename the city, but the Turkish meaning of the word, "Istanbul" is - roughly - "the city." During the Ottoman Empire's reign, "Istanbul" became a popular colloquial name for Constantinople. After a long period of decline, the empire eventually fell during WW1 and was governed as a territory by the British and the French. Ultimately, in 1923, the Turkish Republic was founded. During that process, the name was officially changed to Istanbul.
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Topkapi Palace
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
TOPKAPI PALACE is probably the most elaborate, over-the-top-ornate palace I have ever visited. Of the multiple buildings on the grounds (there are said to be over 100 separate rooms - though only certain of them are open to the public), nearly every one of them is lavishly decorated with a mix of beautiful marble columns, ornate artwork (mostly mosaic), and gold. That gold colored stuff you see everywhere? Yup. You guessed it. That's gold! Not paint or a substitute. It is hard to image the riches that were put into the palace (and in later years, subsequent Sultans would build their own, new palaces - we didn't see any of them, but I can imagine how they might look in the competition for "mine is better than yours"). In 1923, the newly formed Turkish Republic government turned Topkapi into a museum. If you ever have the ability to visit Istanbul, this is an absolute do-not-miss destination!
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Topkapi Palace - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
OUR NEXT stop was the famous Hagia Sophia Mosque. Formerly a Roman Catholic Cathedral built during the Byzantine Empire, it was converted to a Mosque when the Ottoman Empire took over. A church that was originally built on the site during the rein of Constantine I, burned in 532, and the then Emperor Justinian seized the opportunity to build a major replacement. When the Ottoman Empire took power, over a period of time, the current-day minarets (which were not part of the original Hagia Sophia Church) were added. The church-turned mosque survived until the 1935 when the Turkish government turned it into a museum. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985, it is certainly one of the wonders of the world (though not officially, and not one of the original 7).
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The Hagia Sophia - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved |
BYZANTINE CHURCH architecture followed a rather straightforward plan of a large square central building, usually with 4 arms extending out from the corners, and usually a domed roof over the central building .The massive dome of the Hagia Sophia is probably its most notable feature. Over its years of history it endured a couple collapses and reinforcements. But to me, the interior of this cathedral-turned mosque was the real show-stopper. As you can see from the photograph, the interior finishes are rich in color and appearance. As restoration efforts have continued over the years, evidence from prior versions appear (including frescoes from centuries back). As you stand inside this massive building and and look up into the dome, you cannot help but marvel at the fact that it was built well over 1,000 years ago. No cranes. No power tools. No fancy metal fasteners, studs, or prefabbed trusses. Just men. And mortar and stone. Amazing.
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Inside the Hagia Sophia - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
THERE IS an interesting historical interplay between the Hagia Sophia and our next stop: The Blue Mosque. They are built in the shadow of each other. The Sultan who commissioned the Blue Mosque did that with some purpose - primarily to "overshadow" the Hagia Sophia. Everything woud be bigger and more grandiose. The mosque dominates the Istanbul skyline and as you stand in the court between the two mosques, you can easily see both. It is a pretty awesome experience.
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The Blue Mosque, as viewed from the Hagia Sophia Grounds - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
AGAIN, AS I stood inside the Blue Mosque, it put things in a historical perspective for me. I contemplated how few young U.S. citizens had any knowledge of historical sites like this, and how we tend to think we are the biggest and best of everything.. But the perspective changes that. We are not yet 300 years as a nation. This Mosque is over 1,500 years old - and at that, "young-ish." As for big, it is a massive space. I contemplated how we could move our U.S. Capitol Building inside the mosque with lots of room to spare! While I know it isn't feasible, I have thought many times since then that a trip outside the U.S. (and Canada and the Caribbean don't count - 😏) should be a mandatory part of our public education system.
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Prayer area - Blue Mosque - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
UNLIKE THE Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque is still a working mosque today and though open to the public, there are times when it - or at least parts of it - are closed for worship. You can see here, that even though we were there during a time is was open to the public, there were people there praying. The few people in the space gives an idea of just how huge this mosque is.
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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
THE BLUE Mosque was built during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I and is more correctly named the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. The "Blue" comes from the thousands of blue tiles used in the interior costruction and decoration of the building. The mosque is built in what was the traditional Ottoman Architectural style for mosques. It consists of a central, main dome, with 4 domes (one on each corner) of the building designed for alternate places of worship. The most also has several roofs that look like half-domes. It is an imposing structure and architectural masterpiece.
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The Underground Cistern - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
THE TWO Mosques were both built on the site of the ancient Hippodrome (chariot racing track) in what is now Sultanahmet Square - one on each side of the square. The "footprint" of the track is still there, but the grandstands have long been gone. There are a couple of obelisks marking ends of the old track. I didn't make any pictures of that area. Very near there is the somewhat famous Underground Cistern, a/k/a Basillica Sistern. There are actually a few hundred underground cisterns in and around Istanbul. But the Basilica Sistern was the largest of them and supplied water to Topkapi Palace and other government facilites for years even up until and for some time after the Ottoman conquest. Over time, however, it was mostly forgotten and abandoned. In 1985, it was restored (removing over 50,000 tons of silt and uncovering the old "medusa-headed" columns - one of which it is said if you kiss it you will have good luck for life. We saw it, and I watched some other folks get down on their stomachs and kiss it. Not me. "Not gonna do it. Would not be prudent. Not at this (or any) time" (I would make a similar decision some years later when we saw the "Blarney Stone"). Once re-opened it was done so as a museum exhibit in 1997 It is kept with only low levels of water, to facilitate the public visiting. Wooden walkways were installed. Since we visited in 2013, in 2022, it was again restored and this time old rusted iron was replaced with stainless steel and steel walkways installed. It would be interesting to see how different viewing access is today. For those of you who are fans of (the somewhat controversial) Dan Brown, the "Inferno" plot revolved heavily around this cistern and (of course incorrectly) the supposition that it is a major water supply for Istanbul.
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The Grand Bazaar - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
THAT IS a pretty busy morning! But wait. There's more. Guli took us to the metropollitan area where the Grand Bazaar is (less than a mile from where we had been all morning). It was well after noon by then, and she gave us 45 minutes of "free time" to find something to eat or drink, before arranging to meet us outside the main entrance of the Bazaar. We found a nice shop and had a small snack - and I had my first "Turkish Coffee," which is pretty much an espresso. I like an espresso from time to time, so it was good. We then headed down the block to the Bazaar entrance. The photo tells 90 percent of the story. The other 10 percent is about the carpets - but not really much difference. No surprises. A huge cross between a mall and a flea-market, with lots of haggling and hard selling. Some people love that atmosphere and if you do, this will be a fun place. Neither of us are really much into that scene. It was fun to do a (thankfully) quick walkthrough and be on our way.
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Handmade Turkish Ceramics - Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved |
IT WAS nearing the time we needed to be back to the ship. Guli rounded us all up and we head to our rendezvous with our driver. After we all loaded on, she mentioned that one of our group (the couple that had joined us earlier) wanted to stop at a local shop to pick up some gifts for friend and family. We could see that we were going to push up against deadline, and that traffic in the city was pretty heavy. She promised us it would be a short stop. We stopped and all got out and walked through a couple of the shops. As you can see, the Turkish artisans make some wonderful ceramics. We probably spent 20 minutes or so. Again, Guli rounded us up and herded us to the bus. We were all on and accounted for. Except . . . you guessed it. Our new friends. We waited. And waited. We finally were all grumbling and Guli went to get them. They finally came on the bus with shopping bags, apparently not a care on their minds. Our nervousness was short-lived. As we got onto the main road, we could see that there was a pretty much total traffic-jam on the bridge back over to the port terminal. We had 20 minutes before all-aboard time and it was pretty obvious we weren't going to make that.
all you have to do is beat the last one of those coaches back to the port
SO HERE is my "humorous" anecdote. Guli was very nervous. She huddled with the driver and eventually, she stood back up and got our attention. Her proposal was that our driver drop us all at the nearest subway stop, and that we all - Guli would go with us - and pay - get on the subway and ride it to the port. We knew she was new with the company and we also new that it could be career-ending if we missed our ship on her watch. Yet we all - to a person - kind of laughed and said "not to worry - we don't need to get off - we are going to be just fine. We had all noticed the (in those days ubiquitous) "Princess Coaches" all around us. Though we understood that we were responsible to get ourselves back because this was a private tour, we also were confident that the ship wouldn't leave as long as any of those coaches were still out. Around us we could see several of them, some of them well behind us on the road. We told our driver, all you have to do is beat the last one of those coaches back to the port. He laughed and agreed - and said he was pretty sure he could do that. I think Guli continued to sweat all the rest of the way. But as we pulled up to the port we could see a lineup of a whole lot of passengers getting back on the ship. We gave Guli a hug and a nice tip and a big thanks. I am sure she went home and breathed a deep sigh of relief that night. We had a long sail (and another at-sea day) ahead of us, back out into the Agean and down to the southern end where the Agean meats the Mediterranean Sea - and Mykonos.
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