Well today was another eventful day. We got to sleep in quite a bit and I didn’t wake Kyra up until 10:30 am. We hung out at the apartment for a little bit to game plan the rest of our day. Kyra and I got a quick coffee and local bread for brunch, while Justin went straight for the pita sandwich! They sell local bread and a local pretzel type thing for only 1 lira each! After our mini brunch we walked down to a different part of the Bosphorus Straight and took a tram to one of the other main areas in the old part of Istanbul. This specific area has many mosques and monuments, including a palace! This area, like many others is also full of stray cats AND dogs! The dogs are all very large and seem to be sleeping most of the time, while they lounge in the sun. Along with the large dogs, there are small kittens roaming around the city.
Once we got off the tram we walked over to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or the Blue Mosque to see how to actually get in. We arrived during a prayer time so no visitors were actually allowed inside the mosque until they were finished. We started to admire the Egyptian obelisk located right outside of the mosque. As we were walking around the area, I thought I noticed an old parent from somebody I used to play with. Then I saw her daughter, my old teammate, standing next to her!! I called out to her and she immediately recognized me even though I haven’t seen her since around my freshman year of high school. That was at least 7 years ago! Kelly McNutt and I played club volleyball right when I started out playing. Such a small world! She said that she was coming from a cruise around Greece with the rest of her family and they were just visiting Istanbul, specifically the Blue Mosque, for only a couple of hours! It was such a fluke that we even saw her.
After we caught up and chatted for a little while they left with their tour guide and we decided to go find the Yerebatan Sarayı ("sunken palace"), or the Basilica Cistern, which is an underground area filled with columns and walking bridges over water. It was built in the 6th century, and it was used as a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople along with other surrounding buildings. There are very large fish in the water, and it was kind of an eerie scene! In one of the corners of the room there were two columns with Madusa heads at the bottom. Apparently, historians don’t know where they came from and they don’t know why exactly they are there! There was not a ton to see in the Cistern, but it was a cool sight to see over 100 columns still in tact after so many years.
Next we made our way back to the Blue Mosque, since prayer was over. The grounds are very elaborate and beautiful, and the mosque itself was built in the 1600s. We had to wait in a visitor line before we made it in. Luckily I wore a long skirt, Kyra wore long pants, and Justin wore kakis because there is a dress code. We planned ahead of time! Kyra and I also brought scarves because our hair and shoulders had to be covered. Before entering, all guests and worshippers must take off their shoes and be properly covered. Upon entering we immediately looked up to see amazing and colorful designs on the ceiling. There was a large area reserved for male worshippers, and there was a smaller area in the back for women worshippers (Kyra didn’t like this!). The whole space was amazing and very open, and the detail on all of the ceiling was incredible.
After the mosque we made the short walk across the courtyard to visit the Hagia Sophia, which was built in 537! It used to be a basilica, then it turned into a mosque, and now it is a museum. There are beautiful marble floors throughout the building. The first floor has different calligraphy and scripture displayed. In the center of the building you can look up to the high ceiling and admire mosaics on one side and more elaborate paintings on the very top. We walked around and took all of our pictures. We even saw a little girl trip into a roped off area that was a specific spot for coronations…whoops! Justin quickly commented that he would’ve been escorted from the premises if he had done the same. Next we made our way up to the second floor. There is a winding uphill hallway all made of marble, which takes you up to the second level. Here you can admire the scene below and you are closer to the immaculate designs on the ceiling. There is also a space that has more incredible mosaics. The first one is almost gone it has fallen apart so much! The tiny tiles make up a huge image on an entire wall! We did a lot of walking around at this point, so we were ready to head back to the Taksim for dinner!
We decided to go back to our first reliable dinner spot at Marmara Cafe to have some dinner. We were pretty starving from the tram ride and walk back. Justin had two different sandwiches that were both delicious. I had more yummy lentil soup (I’m obsessed now!) and a chicken shish kebob plate. Kyra had a mediterranean salad and part of my chicken plate. This meal was much cheaper than the one last night, and I think it’s actually better. Everyone is very friendly here! The cafe even played the first soccer game from today, Mexico vs Cameroon. Kyra and I stayed to watch for a little bit, but we started to get tired so we let Justin finish the game on his own. Kyra really doesn’t like the cigarette smoke, and she isn’t used to being surrounded by chain smokers. Really everyone in the Taksim area smokes, and the rest of Turkey as far as we can tell, and it is very rare to see someone with out a cigarette. Justin thinks we are standing out, not for being white like we used to in Asia, but because we aren’t smoking like everyone else around us! Some restaurants don’t allow smoking inside, but they allow it on the patio seating.
Kyra quickly showered and got ready for bed once we were back (it was only about 8:00 pm at this point), and I watched the first episode of the new season of Orange is the New Black!! I love that show! Once Justin came back from the cafe (around 9:05 pm) Kyra was already in bed. We told Kyra we were going back to the cafe to watch the second game for tonight with Spain vs Netherlands. Justin and I just finished a second mini dinner…I had more lentil soup and he had another sandwich!! We definitely love the food here! I am about to order some Turkish tea, while we watch the rest of the game. We don’t have any set plans for tomorrow, so I’m sure we’ll have another spontaneous adventure…like usual! Until next time!
Love,
Kaela, Justin, and Kyra
Egyptian obelisk outside the Blue Mosque.
Random meetings with old friends!
Inside the Basilica Cistern.
Outside of the Blue Mosque.
Inside!
The courtyard outside of the Blue Mosque.
Lounging.
Inside the Hagia Sophia.
Wishing spot.
Walking up to the second story.
Having fun up top!
Beautiful mosaics.
Quite the view from the second floor.
We love our scarves!
Time for more selfies.
Enjoying the scenery.
We wanted to lounge like the dogs!
Another crowded evening in the Taksim.
Walking Around the Old Town remains copyright of the author JK_Adventures, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.
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