Istanbul, not Constantinople

I just spend 10 days in Istanbul, visiting my wonderful aunt, and it was super. Ellen joined me for about a week, which was very fun because it was the perfect excuse to go to all the main attractions over again. The most impressive thing about our trip is that we managed to navigate the city and public transportation on our own, without getting lost! I have to give Aunt Noreen a lot of credit for this accomplishment, because she coached us nightly on which trams and ferries to take the next day, and called frequently to make sure we were still alive. The only trouble we had was on Ellen's first day in Istanbul. I picked her up from the airport, and then we took 2 trams and a ferry to Uskudar. Piece of cake. When we got in a cab, and showed the driver the map and written directions, I was confident. When he started driving in the wrong direction, I remained calm. When he jumped out of the car and ran over to a kebab place on the other side of the street, I got nervous. Turns out, he wasn't just hungry. Rather, he was totally lost and asking for directions. Bad. The next 5 minutes passed in a frenzy of phone calls, as both Noreen and Gary tried to explain to the driver where to go. By this point the cabbie was out of the car, standing over me with my door open. An English speaking Turk then gallantly came to our rescue, beginning his conversation with Gary with "Hello, ladies and gentlemen, can I help you?" This was the most discouraging moment of our adventure home.

We did, thankfully, make it to Aunt Noreen's, where the fun began. Sightseeing started on Tuesday, and we kept up a quick pace for the whole week, as we had a lot to do. We saw all the major attractions at Sultenamet, including the Blue Mosque (below) and the Hagia Sophia.
I like the Hagia Sophia a lot, because as a religion major I get a big kick out of religious spaces. I think that my first trip to Istanbul and subsequent fascination with the Hagia Sophia certainly shaped my interest in studying religion. Its fascinating to be in a space that has significance as both a Cathedral and a Mosque, and it's one of many reminders in Istanbul that Turkey has major historic importance as a center in both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. While many of the murals were destroyed when the Hagia Sophia turned into a mosque, they've recently been restored and are really beautiful. The Blue Mosque is also really cool-the size, beautiful tiles, and lack of clutter make it a really peaceful space.

We went into a couple of other mosques, which were equally impressive and beautiful. We were pretty nervous that we would accidently enter during prayer time, and so we developed a ridiculous routine to avoid such a faux paux. First, we scoped the scene for a good 10 minutes to see if any other tourists were entering, then we walked around the exterior at least twice, and when things looked good we'd ask a bystander whether it was ok to visit. While I'm sure we looked absurd, we were saved from any major embarassments. Here is a picture of Ellen decked out for visit to a mosque.


On our first day of sightseeing we also went to the Basicilica Cistern, which I think fails to get the proper respect from tourists, since it's not as flashy or well known as the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. However, the underground water holding structure is not only cool when the weather is hot, but is also quite beautiful in its own right. Added bonus: 2 enormous, mysterious Medussa heads at the back. Who doesn't like giant Medussa heads?


I think we might have set an endurance record as sightseers because after Sultanamet we headed over to Taxim, which is a hip and happening part of Istanbul. There, we browsed some vintage clothing stores, had awkward encounters with salespeople, and enjoyed some Baklava, which became a daily ritual. Instead of taking a taxi back to Uskudar we backtracked, a further testament to our ambition and frugalness. It was a lot of walking, but well worth it because Istanbul at night is beautiful:

Though the neon sign is kind of unfortunate.

Day 2 in Istanbul led us up the Bosphorus to Anadolu, where we ate a great fish dinner, climbed up to a very old castle, and admired the view of the Black Sea and the Bosphorus. We spent a lot of time enjoying the sun (it's ok, I wore sunscreen!), and I took a good 50 photos of Ellen's face and the ships coming in from the Black Sea. Ellen decided to be camera shy, which is why she's making ridiculous faces in all 28 pictures that I took of her that day. Other important incidents from this trip include hiking past a military zone (ie, Turkish men with machine guns), getting horribly sexually harassed by our waitor, eating more Baklava and discovering the terrific zoom function on Ellen's camera.


Thursday took us to the Istabul Modern Museum, where there was a great photo exhibit called "60 Years of Magnum" which featured the work of photographers from around the world who photographed Turkey for Magnum Photo Agency. It also showed photos that the same photographers had taken of other world events, which gave a nice perspective to their work. There were photos of many of the most significant world events in the last 60 years, including some of Solidarity! They were beautiful, and the contemporary photos were a nice contrast to the very old sights we spent the rest of the week seeing. We also had the pleasure of visiting the Museum at the same time as hundreds of screaming Turkish school kids. It's always nice to mix with the people.

The school kids apparently thought we were cool too, because they followed us to our next stop, which was Topkapi Palace. The Palace is beyond beautiful, and the weather was perfect for an afternoon of strolling through the gardens. We admired the beautiful blue tiles and the great view of the Bosphorus, silently shook our fists at the loud hoardes of students, and, added bonus, saw the hand of John the Baptist. All in all, a nice exhursion.


One of the perks of having a cool Aunt who lives in a cool place is that she has got shopping scene figured out, and so we spend the majority of Friday afternoon buying cool stuff and getting good deals. Here are Elle and I with our favorite guy in the Spice Bazaar-I think we went back to him at least 3 times. I've got an exciting collection of spices and teas for next year, which means I've got to learn how to cook. Worst case senario is just that I eat a lot of ramen and admire the lovely colors on my spice rack.


NPR does a segment called sound bites where viewers send in the 30 second clip of some interesting sound in their city. I've heard the sound of cans falling through the homemade recycling shoot of a college dorm and of sticks being dropped through an abandoned oil well in the West. I wish I could have recorded 30 seconds in the Spice Bazaar, which I think could win a prize for most absurd. The lines and catcalls that the vendors use are absurd and frequently insulting, and a quick walk through a few stands may very well sound like "Lady...did you say tea? Want to see my spices? I have a tea that will kill your mother in law. You-German? French? America? Oh, beautiful eyes. Come, see my scarves. No? LOSERS!"

On Saturday we went to Eyup and the Corra Church, which I think is my favorite outting in Istanbul. Eyup is a conservative Muslim area and there are many important mosques located in close proximity to each other. On an average weekend day, you can see wedding parties and families celebrating their son's circumcision there. It's very different from the tourist-packed Sultanament, and nice place to get a different perspective. A walk through Eyup leades to a winding stone road that goes uphill through a cemetary to a cafe where there is a great view of the Golden Horn.


After a few cups of chai and a nerve racking phenicular ride down to the center of Eyup, we boarded a cab and headed to the Corrah Church. The Church is very small, but is covered in beautiful frescoes that are well preserved. We met some nice Canadian boys, and were nearly giddy from the pleasure of communicating with young men who did not stare inappropriately or proclaim true love after a distrubingly short period of time. It was, to say the least, refreshing.


Ellen left early Sunday morning, and Aunt Noreen and I spend the rest of the day chatting, looking at photos, and resting. It was so wonderful to spend time with her and to visit Istanbul again.