Istanbul–6 May

Best breakfast yet:  sitting on the rooftop terrace of my hotel, looking out across a rather misty Bosphorus Channel.  Really nice way to start a Sunday morning.  And I think the bread was the best yet too!  (One could do an entire blog on the breads of Europe.  I haven’t been served the same type of bread twice yet in all the travel so far.  The variety is mind-boggling, and mostly the quality is good to excellent.) 

I finished off the compulsory sights this morning.  Firstly the Blue Mosque. It is across the road and on a slight rise above the Hagia Sophia.  It is a purpose built mosque, not a converted Byzantine church as is the Hagia Sophia and many others.  It was built to overshadow and outdo in splendour the Hagia Sophia in 1626.  Huge open prayer space inside.  The decorative patterns of the walls and domes are spectacular, all done with tiling as distinct from mosaics.  Over 200000 individually crafted tiles used.  Had to take shoes off and carry them around in a plastic bag.  Pity help any poor Muslim trying to pray in there:  the racket of tourist chatter was enormous.  Impressive place, and in very nice gardened surrounds.  Actually this whole area is undergoing major redevelopment as part of the tourist push.

Then a wander down the Hippodrome.  This is now a lovely long parkland with wide strolling paths and lawns.  It was a Roman racecourse (2nd century) originally.  There are a couple of imported obelisks still standing there that date way back.  Crowds of families just strolling there, kids with balloons.


My favourite came next. The Basilica Cistern is the largest of the many underground water storage areas in Istanbul built over the centuries.  It is like a huge underground cathedral with a watery floor.  Larger in area than a football field, its roof is held up by 336 marble columns.  It dates for the 4th century, was a Roman piece of architecture, and the water came by aqueduct from the forests 20km away.  Today it is very tastefully lit to show off its ancient splendour.  You’d never guess the beauty that lies hidden below the ground!

On way back to hotel I passed through one of the smaller markets:  the Arasta Bazaar that specialises mainly in rugs and pottery.  Istanbul gives Hong Kong a good running for its money with pushy shop owners touting for business.  They do all they can to drag you inside “just to look”…. or to sell you the “best book” or whatever they are marketing.  Case in point.  Today as I headed to the Cistern, a chap fell in beside me and asked where I was going.  “I will show you” he said… “I am not a guide; just heading in that direction.  I have a family business that sells historic carpets.”  Anyway he delivered me to the entrance queue, and said he would bring me his business card when I came out.  Half an hour later I emerged from underground, and there he was waiting for me.  Dragged me to see his shop, told me about his warehouse in Melbourne etc.  Despite my constantly telling him I wasn’t buying, I had to have coffee and admire his goods.  I left with his business card!  (Mind you, his stuff was very good.)

Another point of competition.  Anyone who has been to Rome knows how efficient the local nuns are in using their elbows and umbrellas to make it through the crowds to the very front.  The hijabbed mamas in black here are as equally ruthless and shameless in the way they elbow through the crush; a queue means nothing to them.

At 12.30 I was picked up from hotel by minibus and taken to a cruise boat terminal some km down the Bosphorus.  On board we were seated in a dining room and as we set out fed a “grilled lunch”:  very nice meal of chicken and Turkish salad with good bread and soft drink.  We headed towards the Black Sea end of the Bosphorus Channel which is 37 km long, joining the Black Sea the Sea of Marmara/ Aegean/ Mediterranean.  Some wonderful palaces along the way, and very expensive private homes line the waterfront.  Lots of dining places too, crowded today being Sunday.  passed a couple of riverside weddings under way too.  Water traffic is pretty heavy.  Big shipping is one-way:  to the Black Sea for several hours each day, the from the Black Sea for the rest of the day.  At the edge of the Black Sea we stopped at a little fishing village Poyrazkoy where we had an hour ashore and a geography and history lesson on the lookout hill facing the Sea.  A very relaxed and enjoyable afternoon.  All on board spoke some English and the commentary was solely in English.

Fish dinner tonight, Turkish style.  Was great.

Memo to self:   best appetiser so far:  at Carcassonne, slices of sweet fresh pineapple scattered on a plate, draped over with smoked raw ham and a little green garnish.  Yummy!
Best main:  here in Istanbul tonight.  On a rectangular platter, and grilled slice of Atlantic Salmon in centre, to the right three small halved picked onions covered in a brown sauce; to the left, a patch of lettuce and cherry tomatoes, a slice of lemon, and a half small baked potato surrounded by slices of grilled zucchini.  Hmmm … and only 20 lira too.

A visit to the express laundry has finished my day.  Tomorrow I move to Gallipoli.

Pics here as usual.