Travel Log: A Long Escapade (Day 16)

Previous Day (Disembarkation & Transfer to Istanbul)

Destination: Greece & Turkey

Duration: 18 Days 17 Nights (Aug 06~Aug 23, 2012)

Day 16: Istanbul

Our day started with breakfast at Daphne Hotel before being picked up by SHE tour for Tour 1 & Tour 3. As in our 1^stday in Istanbul with SHE (link), we were picked up and being consolidated at their tour center. We were told that our morning tour was basically a WALKING tour! What?!

Breakfast @Daphne Hotel

Our 1^st destination of the day was Hippodrome Square which funnily enough was like 5 minutes walk away from our hotel. We actually walked pass this square many times on our 1^st day and also yesterday. Our tour guide started to explain the historical fact of this place. Basically there were three major ancient structures still standing today:

1) Walled Obelisk – built in 10^thcentury and originally covered with gilded bronze plaques but the plaques were stolen which left only the stone core

2) Serpent Column – built to celebrate Greeks ‘ victory over Persian, there was supposed to be a gold bowl on top of the 3 serpent heads but it was again destroyed or stolen

3) Obelisk of Thutmose III – Brought from Egypt where the obelisk was cut into 3 pieces but only the top section arrived. That was why it was placed on a marble pedestal to look higher.

Walled Obelisk

Serpent Column

Obelisk of Thutmose III

After the Square, we walked to the Blue Mosque which was basically beside the square. There were lots of tourists today and we had to queue to get into the praying area. Our tour guide mentioned the most frequently asked question about blue mosque was: Why is it called Blue Mosque? It doesn’t look Blue at all! Well, the name basically came from the beautiful blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.

Blue Mosque Entrance in Daylight

Blue Mosque in Daylight

Queuing Up

In order to get inside, no shorts or any sexy outfit were allowed – you had to cover yourself up with scarf or towel and you had to wear a shoe cover too. The mosque was built from 1609 to 1616 and the most interesting fact about this mosque was it had six minarets – rather than the common four minarets. The tour guide mentioned this was actually a misunderstanding between the builder and the emperor on this. But being a clever builder, he simply told the emperor that it was intentional to show the status of the emperor. Hahha.. smart huh?

The Interior

Praying Area

Dome

Can you see the Blue Tiles?

So many People!!!

Miniature again...

We continued our walking tour to Hagia Sophia which was also near the Square. There was a long queue for tickets but thankfully our tour guide already bought the tickets earlier. The most fascinating aspect of Hagia Sophia was that it was once a church from 360 until 1453 before being converted into a mosque under Ottoman rules from 1453 until 1931. It was now a museum with Islamic calligraphy and angels together under the same roof. They did cover up the Christian mosaics and painting when it was a mosque but now everything was being uncovered so basically you could see two different religions in the same room side by side.

A Structure before reaching Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia? Look like a Church?

An Cathedral?

Christianity

Islamic Dome and Angels together

Angel in Close Up

Magnificent?

This will bring you luck if you twist your finger 360 degree in it.

Walking up to 2nd Floor

View from 2nd Floor

Sammy was there!

Stone Columns

See the Islamic Calligraphy in a Christian looking interior?

Mosaic on the Wall

More Christian Mosaic on the Wall

Walking down

Goodbye Hagia Sophia

The Exterior

The Queue is still Long!

After Hagia Sophia, we took a slightly longer walk to get to Grand Bazaar which was closed today due to public holiday (Hari Raya!). Some of the team members followed the guide to carpet shop but we still roamed around the area as some shops were opened.

Random Mosque near Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaaar is closed!

All the Shops are closed!

Walking on an Empty Street

Another Entrance of Grand Bazaar

Lunch was at Masal Restaurant in the area which served typical Turkish food. The chicken kebab tasted okay but there was a strange taste on the lamb kebab. I must say Amebros café was so much better but since this was a group lunch so we couldn’t expect much.

Appetizer

Turkish Bread

Lamb Kebab

Chicken Kebab

Masal Restaurant Exterior

After lunch, we were ushered to watch another ‘fashion show’ to avoid the traffic jam – or that was what the tour guide said. Well, I preferred the show at Kusadasi (link) though since the male model there was more handsome. Hehhee…. Anyway the cheapest leather jacket would cost you EUR250 which was like RM1K! No thanks!

Leather!

Fashion Show!!

We continued our journey on bus to drive through the bridge that connected Europe and Asia to visit Beylerbeyi Palace – a summer palace for holiday and to entertain visiting heads of state. Unfortunately photos were not allowed inside the palace though. Let’s just say this place was extravaganza-ly luxurious! The whole place was full of crystal chandeliers and also a pool and fountain at a reception area.

View from the Bus

Another View from the Bus

Going to Beylerbeyi Palace

A long Corridor before reaching the Courtyard

The Main Building Entrance

A Chandelier in the room near the Entrance

Another Angle of Beylerbeyi Palace

A Doorway to the Sea

A building near the Exit

Our bus then took us to Camlica Hill for panoramic views over the city from both Asia and Europe together with the bridge. The view was just normal – definitely not the best view in our little escapade. This ended our last day tour for our entire trip.

Picture from Bus

Panoramic View from Camlica Hill

A View from the Top

We decided to walk to Hippodrome Square again for some street food and managed to buy a lamb kebab sandwich and some toasted pepperoni and cheese sandwich. The lamb kebab sandwich was quite dry but the toasted sandwich tasted nice. It was bought from a roadside stall which had long queue during our day 1 here. In fact, a lot of their choices were sold out today as well. Our night ended with a roasted corn – but I would say Malaysian typical corn from Indian stall was much nicer. This was also our last night of our trip before flying back to Malaysia tomorrow. *cry*