Istanbul Turkey, Part 3

Today, it would be a leisurely day in Istanbul. The all aboard time was 7:30pm, which meant we had a lot of time. We had visited most of the sights that we wanted to see yesterday. So, today, was just to explore a bit more, and the one more major sight to cover would be the Hagia Sophia.

 Looking out of the balcony on a foggy morning, I realised that the Bosphorus Straits was really busy, with all the ferries.

I even made a video. Check out the sea gulls chasing the ferry.

This was how the pier looked like.


In this video, I show you the walk from the Sali Pazari pier, across the Galata Bridge all the way to the Spice market. Not a difficult walk Originally, we planned to take the Tram from Tophane station to the Hagia Sophia (drop at the Tram station for the Sultan Ahmed mosque). However, the machine was faulty at Tophane station and there was only one machine (see the video). We then decided to take a leisurely walk into the city. It wasn't far.

Just as you get off the ship, there is a convenient place to take taxis, if you wished to. They even put up the prices. Here it is. The video shows you the exact location of this place.

BEWARE THE SHOE SHINE CONMAN

Now, be very careful with these shoe shine guys. I got tricked by one of them and they use aggressive tactics. One of the most common trick is this. You see this guy carrying something like a bucket and pail of stuff (brushes, liquids) to do shoe-shine. As he approaches you, he will deliberately DROP a brush in your way and then keep walking.

He hopes that the good samaritan in you would either pick up the brush and give it to him, or you would shout out to him that he has dropped his brush. That is where he has caught you as he would come close and start to do your shoes very quickly. Nothing is free. He would then charge you an exorbitant sum. Don't fall for this dirty trick. If you see that somebody dropped something, especially a shoe-shine chap dropping a brush, just ignore and walk on.

This was taken at the start of the Galata bridge, before we crossed over to the other side of the city with all the historic sites.

A view of the ship from the bridge. For some reason, there were many men fishing from the bridge. Beware their fishing rods, especially when they throwing the line out.

Straight ahead, you see the Spice Market. You also can see a mosque on the left of this picture. This is NOT the Blue Mosque.

Inside the Spice Market. A cool place. All the colours. Just fun to walk around.

I put together this video showing you clips from the Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar and other Bazaars (when we were walking between the Grand and Spice Bazaar). Seriously, the entire Istanbul felt like one big Bazaar. Interesting to visit but I'm not a big fan of Bazaars. Call me silly, but I much prefer modern shopping malls. The Bazaars will get very crowded during summer. Take all sensible precautions and beware of your belongings. (i.e. from pickpockets)


From the Spice Bazaar, we made our way towards Gulhane Tram station. We walked past some streets, which had many hotels. One of the streets was called Ibni Kemal Cd. I put together a slide show showing the street view as well as the hotels from the outside.

From Gulhane Tram station, just follow the track and you will get to the Sultan Ahmed square. Lo and behold, lines for the Hagia Sophia! I took these photos of the line in front of me,



and behind me.Remember, Istanbul is a crowded place. And you can see the Blue Mosque in the distance.

Good thing that the line moved quite quickly. I don't recall having to wait that long. We were soon inside the premises. While in line, you will get propositioned by licensed tour guides, who will offer to bring you into the Hagia Sophia via some express route. I recall they charged 10 TL more per person, as compared to you buying your ticket direct at the ticket booth. Tickets were 30TL per adult. If you went with the tour guide, you paid 40TL per adult, at least according to the guides that tried to sell us their services. They were all wearing this licensed tour guide ID tag, similar to the one worn by our licensed tour guide in Ephesus.

I guess if the lines were really long (and the weather was really hot in summer), going with the licensed tour guide may not be a bad idea given that it was only 10TL more per person. But that's just my guess. I didn't try - at your own risk.

The Hagia Sophia, whose name means “holy wisdom,” is a domed monument originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the sixth century A.D.

It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a great dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above.

“Hagia Sophia’s dimensions are formidable for any structure not built of steel,” writes Helen Gardner and Fred Kleiner in their book "Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History." “In plan it is about 270 feet [82 meters] long and 240 feet [73 meters] wide. The dome is 108 feet [33 meters] in diameter and its crown rises some 180 feet [55 meters] above the pavement.”

In its 1,400 year life-span it has served as a cathedral, mosque and now a museum. When it was first constructed, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This state, officially Christian, originally formed the eastern half of the Roman Empire and carried on after the fall of Rome.

One of the most well-known mosaics is located on the apse of the church showing a 13-foot-tall (4 meters) Virgin Mary with Jesus as a child. Dedicated on March 29, 867, it is located 30 meters (almost 100 feet) above the church floor, notes University of Sussex professor Liz James in a 2004 article published in the journal Art History. Another chapter in the Hagia Sophia’s life began in 1453. In that year the Byzantine Empire ended, with Constantinople falling to the armies of Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Piltz writes that “after the Ottoman conquest the mosaics were hidden under yellow paint with the exception of the Theotokos [Virgin Mary with child] in the apse.” In addition “Monograms of the four caliphs were put on the pillars flanking the apse and the entrance of the nave.” Read more here: http://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html

There was a lot of restoration work going on, but the place was certainly quite majestic, even behind all the scaffolding.


Outside, you can see remains of the Theodosian Hagia Sophia, from the 5th Century.

Starbucks, Istanbul, Turkey.

Short video of the Starbucks.

This picture shows you the Cemberlitas Tram stop, which is the one stop in between Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque) and Beyazit (Grand Bazaar).

Another picture of Turkish Delights. Didn't try any.

A picture of a Tourism Police car we spotted. Quite cute.

We also bought some roasted chestnuts to try. Unfortunately, they weren't roasted very well. Some were still rather raw.

Here is the Galata Bridge again, with many men fishing. I did wonder how they spent their time. Just fishing? Anyway... Well, that's about all I have to share for our second day in Istanbul. We spent some time exploring the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar, but didn't buy anything save for a couple of scarves at 10TL each.

Well, that's about all I have to share for our second day in Istanbul. We spent some time exploring the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar, but didn't buy anything save for a couple of scarves at 10TL each.

Since we weren't too tired, we decided to walk back to the ship. So this was a day where we walked all the way from the cruise ship (Sali Pazari pier), over Galata Bridge, to the Spice Market, then to Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, back to the Spice Market and then back to the cruise ship, all on foot. Good day to burn off some calories after all that good food on board.

Let me end this post on Istanbul Turkey with a submarine sighting. Yes, I sighted this submarine sailing out while on the deck of the Norwegian Jade. Check out this video.



Thanks for reading!

Istanbul Turkey, Basilica Cisterns, Grand Bazaar, Tram Ride, Part 2

Continued from Part 1 After the Blue Mosque, we went to visit the Basilica Cisterns. This place is only about 100M walk from the Mosque. This is the video I made.

 


This place was fascinating. I hadn't expected to see anything like this before I came here. Basilica Cisterns? Wow. This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was constructed using 336 columns, many of which were salvaged from ruined temples and feature fine carved capitals. Its symmetry and sheer grandeur of conception are quite breathtaking.



Like most sites in İstanbul, the cistern has an unusual history. It was originally known as the Basilica Cistern because it lay underneath the Stoa Basilica, one of the great squares on the first hill. Designed to service the Great Palace and surrounding buildings, it was able to store up to 80,000 cu metres of water delivered via 20km of aqueducts from a reservoir near the Black Sea, but was closed when the Byzantine emperors relocated from the Great Palace.

Forgotten by the city authorities some time before the Conquest, it wasn't rediscovered until 1545, when scholar Petrus Gyllius was researching Byzantine antiquities in the city and was told by local residents that they were able to miraculously obtain water by lowering buckets into a dark space below their basement floors. Some were even catching fish this way. Intrigued, Gyllius explored the neighbourhood and finally accessed the cistern through one of the basements. Even after his discovery, the Ottomans (who referred to the cistern as Yerebatan Saray) didn't treat the so-called Underground Palace with the respect it deserved – it became a dumping ground for all sorts of junk, as well as corpses.



The cistern was cleaned and renovated in 1985 by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and opened to the public in 1987. It's now one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. Walking along its raised wooden platforms, you'll feel the water dripping from the vaulted ceiling and see schools of ghostly carp patrolling the water. (reference - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey/istanbul/sights/other/basilica-cistern#ixzz3NqzkkhdW)

There was even a medusa's head, kind of squashed under a large column. Very odd looking.

We spent about 45 minutes in the Cisterns. Be wary that the floor is wet and you often feel water dripping from the roof. Quite an experience and well worth the visit. I think it was 20 Turkish Lira per adult.


After we exited the Cisterns, we decided to make our way to the Grand Bazaar, on foot. It was easy because we just had to follow the route of the Tram, and according to my GPS, it wasn't too far away, less than 1km.

After all that walking, it was time to get a little bite to keep the energy levels up. So we stopped at a MacDonalds for a bite. My kids were with us, so I definitely wasn't adventurous with food.



I even made a short video of the MacDonalds and McCafe experience, including the prices.


Of course, since you were in Turkey and if you wanted to try local fare, there were plenty of cafes and eateries along the main road from Blue Mosque to the Grand Bazaar. I must say that the Turkish Delights looked really pretty.


After the break at Macs, we kept walking and found ourselves at the Beyazit Tram station, which is the station for the Grand Bazaar. There would be an entrance to the Grand Bazaar here. Bear in mind that the Grand Bazaar is very large, with more than 5,000 shops and various entrances. There were large streets (not sure what to call them) and also many smaller alleyways, all very bright lit and full of people. I can only imagine how crowded this place must be in summer. Remember to bargain aggressively if you want to buy anything from this place. I overheard some people on the cruise ship saying that they paid only 10% of the asking price.

Anyway, we didn't explore the Bazaar very much because we knew that we were likely to come back here tomorrow to take a look again. The kids had been great (with all that walking) and it was time to get back to the ship, get some food and rest. We took the tram back. Beyazit station was very bright lit and it felt very safe even though it was dark. The entrance to the platform where you put in a red token (cost 4TL for adults).

This is the video I made while waiting for the Tram at Beyazit station. To get back to the ship, we dropped off where we boarded earlier that day, at Findliki station, and then back-tracked to the ship. It was not difficult, however, beware that the road from the Findikli station to port gates was rather dark. Well, just take sensible precautions.
 

Onwards to Part 3.

Istanbul Turkey, Topkapi Palace and Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) Part 1

We were in Istanbul, Turkey.

We were in Istanbul, Turkey! This was an overnight port of call. This port was the highlight of our cruise. The ship would arrive at 1pm. All aboard time was the next day at 7:30pm. We had plenty of time to explore.We were docked at Sali Pazari Pier, which was very convenient.



This was Findikli Tram station. Walking here was very easy. Head out to the main port gates, take a right and walk about 5 minutes. Total time to get here from the ship is about 10 minutes. Trams were quite frequent. Cost was 4 Turkish Lira per person, my kids travelled free. This was Findikli Tram station.   

The video below starts with Findikli Tram station and waiting for the Tram. This afternoon, we would take the Tram to Gulhane and then walk to Topkapi. It was quite a walk because there was an uphill clilmb, but we made it.  The video shows you a glimpse of the Topkapi Palace.



The Topkapi Palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for about 400 years of their 600 year reign. Today, it is a museum and a major tourist attraction. It contains many exhibits, including Muhammad's cloak and sword (as claimed by the museum). This museum became a UNESCO Heritage Site, and is described as "the best examples of ensembles of palaces of the Ottoman period.

Walking into the complex.


The place was rather large, with many rooms to explore, and also many tourists. We took about 1.5 hours to view the rooms. We definitely didn't cover all the exhibits and didn't see the Harem either. But I think we saw the most important ones.


Thereafter, we walked towards the Hagia Sophia. I used my phone GPS to guide me. The Hagia Sophia was just next to the Topkapi. We exited the Topkapi compound through these gates. Notice the armed guards.


Once you exited the correct gates, she was there, about 200M. However, she was closed today. So we decided to proceed to the Blue Mosque, which was just opposite the Hagia Sophia, on the other end of the Sultan Ahmet square.

This is the Hagia Sophia. Closed today. So we will come back tomorrow.

That's the Blue Mosque in the distance, located right opposite the Hagia Sophia.

Note the opening hours. I am not sure if these hours change on a daily basis, but it is not open the entire day. The Blue Mosque is used by worshippers for their prayers.

The official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, built by Sultan Ahmet I, on the site of imperial palace of the Byzantine empire, opposite the Hagia Sophia (or Ayasofya as the Ottomans called it). The Blue Mosque is called Blue because of the blue paint used. See this picture of the interior.

Interesting to note that Pope Benedict XVI visited the Blue Mosque on 30 Nov 2006. This was only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship.

I made this video of our trip into the Blue Mosque. This place is definitely a 'must-see' in Istanbul. The insides were splendid and peaceful.



Move on to Part 2 of our stay in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ephesus, Ancient City, Port of Kusadasi

Kusadasi Turkey, is a resort town on Turkey's Aegan coast, on the Asian continent. The nearest major airport is Izmir and the main industry is tourism. Indeed, Kusadasi is a summer tourist town. During winter, the population is under 100,000, with many empty apartments and shops that are closed. Come summer, the population swells to more than 300,000 (some say more than 500,000).

We were the only ship in port that morning. The port is conveniently located right in the main city.   

The port gates are a short walk from the ship. Even before you exit the gates, there are many shops, though not all were opened during winter. In the picture, you can see a number of yellow cabs waiting for passengers. You could hire cabs off the street if you wished, especially in winter, when there were few tourists.

We pre-booked a private tour and the guide was waiting for us just we got off the ship, holding a placard with our names. It was a very easy process to meet her.

The highlight of this port would be the ancient city of Ephesus. See this map for Paul's missionary journeys. Paul lived in Ephesus from AD 52 to 54.


However, our first stop of the day wasn't Ephesus, but the House of Virgin Mary. It is not clearly recorded where the Virgin Mary spent her last days. However, it is reasonable to believe that Mary's last days were spent in Ephesus, under the care of apostle John.

The apostle John was believed to have died in Ephesus, around 100AD. John, the beloved discipline, was the only Apostle that did not die a matyr's death. While nailed to the cross, Jesus entrusted his earthly mother to John.

John 19:26-27 "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

"Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

The house that we were visiting has a history. Please refer to this website for the description - http://www.kusadasi.biz/virgin-mary/

In this video, we meet our guide for the day, and proceeded to the House of the Virgin Mary as our first stop on this tour. Today, we had a driver and a licensed tour guide. Therefore, there was plenty of commentary for us.

At the House of the Virgin Mary, it was not crowded at all. We were told, during summer, the lines would be really long. The actual house is not very big. This was the entrance. No photos and videos were allowed inside but you can find some photos of the interior from the Internet.

The Roman Catholic Church has never pronounced on the authenticity of the house of Virgin Mary, presumably because of the lack of scientific evidence. However, several Popes have visited the site, including Pope Paul VI (1967), Pope John Paul II (1979) and Pope Benedict XVI (2006).

This would be the place where they conduct the services or prayer services.

We spent about 45 minutes at the Virgin Mary House and surrounding areas. Our next stop would be the highlight of the trip, the ancient city of Ephesus.

Here is the video (first of 3 videos of Ephesus). In this video, we enter the ancient ruins via the Magnesia gate. We were blessed with good weather (the day before it was pouring). Bear in mind this place is completely unsheltered, other than the Roman Terrace Houses that we will visit in Part 2 of the video. Therefore, it would be wise to bring an umbrella.

Ephesus Part 1


The Magnesia Gates entrance into Ephesus.

The site was beautifully kept. Sense of wonderment as I stepped in.

Look at this sign. We learnt a lot about this sign during our visit. Our guide took pains to explain to us what it meant - "Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

This video explains it well. Remember, the early church was persecuted. Paul, in Ephesus, faced a very hostile city whose inhabitants mostly worshipped pagan Gods, especially the Artemis (or Diana). This sign was used by Christians to identify with one another.

 

However, I was subsequently informed that what our guide told us above was likely not to be correct. This symbol, which is commonly found in the Roman Empire, was likely to be just a common Roman game called tabula lusoria.  It is a simple game but it is one that soldiers enjoyed. This link provides some information - http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/html/tabla_lusoria.html

More pictures of the ancient site. Here, they let you wander around freely and touch all the marble columns, if you so wished.

Check out this marble column and the piece of rebar in the middle. This was how the Romans strengthened their columns, using lead rebars. Check out the video where the guide gives a good description.

A tour group passing by. This was winter and at times, there was some congestion. Again, be careful when there are large crowds, especially against petty theft like pickpockets.


This was nice. The Goddess of Nike. Nike was a goddess that personified victory. She is seen with wings.

With a walkway like this, you can really have a good idea of how grand this place must have been, 2000 years ago.

Next, we would enter the Roman Terrace Houses. This was where the richest people lived. Getting in to view the terrace houses required a separate ticket, but it was well worth it. Here is the video.

This place was cool. There was a huge shelter protecting the Terrace houses. It looked like excavation work was still going on.

Take note that this site is definitely not disabled friendly. Plenty of steep steps to climb. The metal steps are all very new and sturdy. Take it slow and easy. Admire the Terrace houses along the way. Awesome.

They even found some grafitti on the walls. The drawings mainly show gladiators, caricatures and animals. The grafitti included names of persons, poems and even declarations of love. Especially interesting is a list goods and necessities of everyday life, including their prices. E.g. Barley 12 denarii, 1/2 ass; Onions 3 asses, entrance to the thermal bath 12 asses. In the Roman currency system, a denarious was a small silver coin, with the value of 10 asses (1 ass is a bronze, later copper coin)

Just look at how well preserved the walls and flooring of these Terrace houses were.

Once we exited the Terrace Houses, there were good views of the Ephesus site. Take note that we now had to climb down a long flight of stairs which could be slippery when wet, before we got back to the Ephesus ancient city.

Video of the Library of Celsus and the Theatre

Our next stop would be the library of Celsus. From wiki, I learnt that this library was built in honour of Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, hence the name Library of Celsus. Celsus had been consul in 92AD, governor of Asia in 115D, and a wealthy and popular local ciizen. He was Greek, but honoured as both a Greek and Roman in the library itself. Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth. The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus, who was buried beneath the library. It was unusual to be buried within a library or even within city limits, so this was a special honour for Celsus.

This pictures gives you a good sense of how magnificent the library would have been, 2,000 years ago.

After the library, we went to the famous theater. This photograph (off a signboard) shows how the theatre looked like around 1900, just as the site was being excavated. Hard to imagine at that time that the theatre would have the capacity of 25,000 seats.

The Theatre of Ephesus is mentioned in the Bible (Acts 19:23-41), the theatre was the site of the riot of silversmiths who made figures of pagan idols like Artemis (Diana). A silversmith by the name of Demetrius was named to have rallied fellow silversmiths to his cause. They stirred up the people of Ephesus, who were confused, and all rushed to the theatre. Acts 19:34 records the people in the theatre as chanting "Great is the Artemis (Diana) of Ephesus!"

This is the theatre today.


The Austrians have been heavily involved in the excavation of Ephesus. This is the second of such signs I saw that day. Earlier, the guide told us that the Austrians built the roof over the Terrace Houses too.

Took this picture of a happy cat resting on a broken Roman column.

Overall, it was a very impressive visit to the ancient city of Ephesus. There was a lot to see. We were grateful that the skies held up, though it got cloudy as the morning wore on. We exited Ephesus via the Harbour Gate (recall we entered from the Magnesia Gate) and our next stop would be lunch at a Turkish Restaurant.

Lunch was included in our tour. For lunch, the guide brought us to a restaurant called Agora Restaurant. According to tripadvisor, this restaurant was fairly well reviewed. We didn't have any choices for the lunch. We were served with some starters that included pita bread, side dishes, salads. This was followed by the main which consisted of two types of grilled meats, rice. I noticed many other tourists in the restaurants. Other tour groups (including cab drivers) also brought their passengers here. It looks like the restaurant has tied up with the various tour operators. Overall, I found the food just ok, nothing special.

The place we went to was called Bartok Authentic Looms.

This is a video I took of the experience at the carpet factory. They were literally throwing carpets at us.

To cut the long story short, after the elaborate sales pitch which literally included the sales staff throwing carpets at us. We ended up buying 2 small carpets at US$50 each.

By the time we were done with the carpet store, it was really raining. We went to the ruins of the Temple of Artemis (one of the seven ancient wonders of the world), but due to the rain, the family did not get off the bus. I got down to take a quick look and made a short video before getting back to the mini-bus.

We arrived back in port in good time. We walked around the port area as well as the beachfront. While it was drizzling slightly, it was still fun to explore the place. There were shops selling "Genuine Fake Watches". Oxymoron.

Yes, genuine fakes! I didn't buy any.

Thanks for reading!

Postlude - Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's Founding Prime Minister, passed away on March 23, 2015, age 91.  Singaporeans grieve and mourn the loss of their founding Prime Minister.  May Mr Lee Kuan Yew rest in peace.  Meanwhile, here is photo I saw on the local newspapers, where Mr Lee visited Ephesus in 1991.

Back to our Norwegian Jade Cruise (Greece and Turkey) Landing Page.