Turkey: Hits & Misses

Places visited while in Turkey in 7 days:
-Istanbul
-Izmir
-Kusadasi
-Ephesus
-Bodrum
(Click city names above for links to articles/reviews)

Places visited I'd return to:
-Istanbul
-Ephesus
-Bodrum


Places in Turkey I wish I'd had more time to visit:
-Cappadocia (Land of Cave hotels, amazing rock formations and hot air balloons)

(Photos from: http://travelandtourismtoday.blogspot.com/2010/09/cappadocia-in-nevsehir-turkey.html)

-Olympos (check out this GREAT article on BBC.com/Lonley Planet about little-known Olympos)
Stay in a treehouse on the coast!

 photo from: http://www.olymposturkmentreehouses.com/

-Kas, where you can sea-kayak over an ancient sunken city

-Pammukele - I daydream of relaxing in these amazing hot springs:

Other Tips for Turkey:
-Book your own flights and side-journeys. There are a ton of travel agencies and hotels that will offer to book you a trip to Cappadocia or the like. It's hit and miss. You may end up with a good tour. Or you may get ripped off. I'd say the odds of getting ripped off are about 80%. Yah. Check out TripAdvisor to find good hotels and book your own travel and accommodations so you can do what you want, the way you want.  If you just want to join a group, then by all means, book a packaged tour.

-Americans like to tie up odds and ends like bus tickets and ferry tickets in advance, via the internet. Booking travel in advance via the web simply isn't available for Turkey like it is in the states. Don't worry about it. In Turkey, it's normal to book onward tickets within two weeks, or even days of when you want to travel. My advice: Book your arrival travel into Istanbul, or wherever you'll begin and then arrange your bus/ferry tickets for your next destination when you get to Turkey. For best/cheapest results, go directly to a bus depot or Ferry terminal. Or book through someone you trust. (Exceptions: Flights and hotels. Arrange these in advance.)

-Bus travel: it's great in Turkey. Really. Cheap, comfortable and accessible. If you don't want to risk renting a car in Turkey, travel by bus.

-Realistically you should allow three+ weeks to comprehensively see Turkey. Seriously.

2012 Calendar Project: September

ISTANBUL (Not Constantinople)

"If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul."
- Alphonse de Lamartine

(PS: I think this calendar page may be my favorite so far. Istanbul is a photography dream come true. This one and Santorini.)

A Tale of Two Continents

Istanbul is a place of magic and history and rich cultural tradition for many, many reasons. One of my favorite things about Istanbul is that it is the one city on earth that bridges two continents. I began my day in Europe, in the old sector of town (Sultanhemet) and set out walking. And walking. And walking. Forever. 

Past the Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar and the Calgalou Spa, down past Eminonou and the ferry port to a lovely, unassuming bridge that isn't very much to look at. The Galata Bridge. On it's length you'll find people walking, people fishing, people peddling bottled water and various crafts. It's only cool if you know that it's the bridge that will take you to Asia, to the Kadikoy and Uskudar sections of the city and beyond...

 The Galata Bridge, facing the Asian side. (Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Galata_Bridge_From_Tower.JPG)

My photos:

 My favorite shot from the walk:

Day Trip to the Black Sea!

Involving: 1 Ferry Boat. 1 Christy. 1 Bosphorus. 1 Sea of Marmara. 1 Black Sea. 1 Yogurt treat. & Loads of fun.

 Walking toward the ferry terminal in Eminonou. Eminonou was probably my favorite Turkish word to say. Eh-Mee-No-New. Isnt' it fun?

My ride for the afternoon.

Packed ferry full of people just out to enjoy the day.

On the tip of the Bosphorus. Aya Sofia nearest to the boats. Blue Mosque behind to the left.

The vendor food being peddled on the ferry all afternoon included: Pretzels, Ice Cream, Candy and these cups of plain yogurt + a sugar packet. Pretty tasty actually.

Dolmabahce Palace. It was finished in 1856. It replaced Topkapi Palace as the royal residence.

 

A couple of sisters out for a day excursion. They were lovely! They really reminded me of me and my sister. Smelly, let's always do fun things together, okay?

Sea of Marmara leading to the Black Sea

Ewwwww. My least favorite type of toilet ever. Squatter.

Very cool old graveyard I found while hiking around in the hills. The tombstones are engraved in the old Turkish language.

Istanbul: Sultanhemet Walkabout

 1. Impromptu Ramadan Street Market in the Hippodrome

2. Amazing honey-drenched donuts from Ramadan Street Fair 

in the Hippodrome

3. People watching in the open spaces between the Blue Mosque 

and Aya Sofia

 4. Gorgeous buildings found on the way to the Grand Bazaar

5. Inside the Grand Bazaar

 6. Live, in-person demonstration on how to make a meat popsicle Kebab

7. Contemplating utilizing the Oldest Hamam in Istanbul 

(over 300 years old!)... 

 8. Sunset over the Blue Mosque. (Check out the guys walking across the roof of the little bazaar)

Istanbul: Basilica Cistern

One of my favorite spots in Istanbul is the Basilica Cistern. It's one of several hundred cisterns that lays beneath the city. It's the largest in the city. And it's gorgeous!

Fun Facts: (As always, gleaned from Wiki)
-It's name comes from the fact that it was built in a spot that once held a Basilica. The Basilica burnt down and the Emperor Constantine (from which Old Constantinople derives it's name) ordered a Cistern built. Constantine's cistern was demolished later on when the city was destroyed by the Nika Riots in 532. The Emperor Justinian ordered the Basilica Cistern rebuilt after that, and it was accomplished by over 7,000 slaves!

-The interior of the cistern is supported by a collection of arches and columns that are a hodgepodge of styles - from Corinthian, Doric and Ionian to nothing classical at all and Columns with carved Medusa heads at the bottom! (There are three Medusa columns in the Basilica cistern, two are oriented on their sides, one is upside down. They are purposefully not right-side-up in order to negate the stare of the Gorgon [which, legend has it, turns those who look upon it to stone!]) The mismatching is due to the fact that most of the columns were repurposed from other buildings/ruins in the city.

-The Cistern can store 100,000 tons of water, but is mostly empty today. (Which is why we can tour it.)

-Until 1985 tours of the Cistern were accomplished by boat! In 1985 a series of wooden walkways were built to replace the boats.

 One of the Medusa Pillars

Istanbul: Topkapi Harem

Once inside of Topkapi Palace you'll eventually come across the Harem, or Women's Palace. To tour the Harem, it will cost an additional 15TL (on top of the 20 TL you paid to get into Topkapi in the first place...) but in my opinion, the Harem is the most fascinating place in the compound and feels like the heart and soul of the palace.

Trusty Wiki says this:

Layout of the Harem and the Sultan's Private Apartments. (click on image for details)

The Gate of Carts entrance

The Imperial Harem (Harem-i Hümayûn) occupied one of the sections of the private apartments of the sultan; it contained more than 400 rooms.^[74] The harem was home to the sultan's mother, the Valide Sultan; the concubines^[75] The harem consists of a series of buildings and structures, connected through hallways and courtyards. Every service team and hierarchical group residing in the harem had its own living space clustered around a courtyard. The number of rooms is not determined, with probably over 100,^[76] of which only a few are open to the public. These apartments ( and wives of the sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants.Daires) were occupied respectively by the harem eunuchs, the Chief Harem Eunuch (Darüssaade Ağası), the concubines, the queen mother, the sultan's consorts, the princes and the favourites. There was no trespassing beyond the gates of the harem, except for the sultan, the queen mother, the sultan's consorts and favourites, the princes and the concubines as well as the eunuchs guarding the harem. The harem wing was only added at the end of the 16th century. Many of the rooms and features in the Harem were designed by Mimar Sinan. The harem section opens into the Second Courtyard (Divan Meydanı), which the Gate of Carriages (Arabalar Kapısı) also opens to. The structures expanded over time towards the Golden Horn side and evolved into a huge complex. The buildings added to this complex from its initial date of construction in the 15th century until the early 19th century capture the stylistic development of palace design and decoration. Parts of the harem were redecorated under the sultans Mahmud I and Osman III in an Italian-inspired Ottoman Baroque style. These decorations contrast with those of the Ottoman classical age.


--

I entered the Harem with mixed feelings. The history of the place fascinated me. But what it stands for in contrast to modern Women's rights is a downright nightmare. Put simply: I'm really happy to have been a tourist here. I would not like to have been a woman living here.

This table is where meals were served in the Harem. It's a sort of buffet. 

The women were served according to rank/hierarchy.

 Courtyard of the Favorites

 It's just a drain. But I like the textures.

This plain hallway is called the Golden Road. It led from the Sultan's chambers to the Harem. It is believed by some to be called the Golden Road because the Sultan was said to throw golden coins to the residents of the Harem here on festival days.