Experiencing Istanbul -1
Istanbul is an immense city, and 3 days there is really not enough. We therefore dumped our luggage in a charming little 4* hotel we found near to most of the attractions and made our way into the city.
The first thing we encountered was a massive and very vocal protest against changes to the education system, held by teachers no less. There were many thousands of protesters and the noise was significant. The riot police were out in full force, but the demonstration was very peaceful.
Not exactly a riot control vehicle.
This looks more like it.
Our first stop was the
Blue Mosque. It was interesting to see, but after the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, most mosques look a bit drab.
Obelisk outside the mosque from ancient Egyptian times.
Entrance was free, but one may not enter the inner mosque during prayers, which occur five times a day, so pick your times carefully. You have to remove your shoes, but this is common to most mosques.
We then walked down the road to the
Basilica Cisterns which are some of the largest cisterns under Istanbul. While essentially empty at this point, they used to hold many thousands of kiloliters of water. The cisterns also featured in the James Bond movie
From Russia with Love where Bond used them to access the Russian Embassy. Ironically the embassy is nowhere near the cisterns, but that's the movies for you.
The cisterns are very peaceful and the water is filled with large fish. There are also two columns with upside down and sideways Medusa heads that continue to perplex archeologists.
After that we caught a ferry to Kadikoy (on the Asian side of the city) to visit my cousin who is on an exchange program in the city for a year.
Some friendly dolphins following the ferry
After finding a cafe in the very cosmopolitan area, we settled down to try out some Turkish coffee, which was remarkably potent. It was like drinking mud but was oddly enjoyable.
This was followed by Turkish tea, but this was bland and I soon found out that the apple flavoured tea was far more enjoyable.
The first of many street animals. There are many dogs and cats who live on the street but most of them are tagged and look healthy and well fed. Indeed, we saw many civilians feeding them or putting out food for the animals, so it seems that they are considered to be communal pets for the city.
On returning we paid 1 Turkish Lira to have our fortunes read by two rabbits with remarkable psychic powers. The messages promised happy lives and occasional problems proving their unique foresight.
Turkish roasted "chestnuts" are freely available on the street and taste a bit like hard potato. They grow on you but aren't anything special.
That night we ate at
Olive, a fantastic restaurant rated about 60 out of 11,000 restaurants in Turkey. The service was magnificent with arguably the best waiter ever.
Thereafter we all sauntered through the streets of the city and went for a display of Dervish Dancing. Photos were not allowed due to the religious significance of the ceremony. It's important to go with the right mindset! I was expecting a sort of dancing show. It isn't. They literally dance in circles without any variation for an hour. Its remarkable that they don't fall over from the dizziness.
