Iris is 10!
8 months ago
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Istanbul.
Cut and Paste:
While Shelly was in the U.S of A. I needed to get myself and do something cool. SO I went to Istanbul (not Constantinople). I had a great time as you will see in the following collection of photos and ramblings. Please click on the pics to make them big and good looking!
I took this pic within my first hour in Istanbul. Turkish dudes all over are trying to drag you into their carpet shop. I managed not to come home with any rugs, but I did measure the apt. before I left just in case. In exchange for coming here and seeing his goods, the guy walked me though the Blue Mosque (comes later) which I revisited on my own once I knew the proper procedure for entering a Muslim place of worship.
These cool old fountain/bath things were EVERYWHERE.
A cool thing i did was I took a cool cruise on the Bosporous straight on a crappy boat.
This is the northern part of the city from my boat view. The thing sticking up is the Galata tower. This guy Berk, who I talk about later, met with me and we went up there at night.
He pointed out the price on the sign, in Turkish, reads five. Guys like me get to pay ten! :) This was common throughout everwhere. none of the stuff had price tags, and i always ended up bartering to get a good price (or at least a cheaper price). Whenever you buy ANYTHING you must ask the price first, cuz they are just absolutely into haggling. I think you could make a bad movie about a guy living in Istanbul and then using the street sales skills to make a fortune trading real estate in New York, and it would be great. Like Crocodile Dundee. More on this later in the Bazaar section.
Amazing view. while we were up the the last Call to Prayer occured, and it was stunning to hear all the mosques on the horizon, big and small, do their thing.
Efes Beer and ‘white cheese’
Taskim, a neighborhood on the north side of town which is kind of a modern downtown, as opposed to the older part where the bigger mosques were (and where I was staying)
Site of the Hippodrome, between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, where horses were raced while this was the capital of the Byzentine empire. This obilisque was brought from the Luxor temple in Egypt around 390 AD this time but dates from 1490 BC. Astonishingly, 3500 years old and looking good!
A small bazaar where I scored some leather gloves one day when it was cold and rainy (after visiting several shops and lots of haggling)....
A mosque, don’t know which one. I’m sure its famous. Close to the waterfront (next pics)
Fishing in the Bosphorous from the bridge. The lit up boats in the backround sell sandwiches (see below):
This guy was fishing off the bridge, and he was like ‘Hey! I got one!!!’ but then he reeled it in and acted like his minnow was in fact a catch. Interestingly, I used to do the same thing to my dad when I was 5. The point is that the Turkish people were extremely nice to me, and many of them spoke either English or German. or both. It worked out cuz I know about 3.5 words in Turkish, and I bet my Swiss friends can guess what they are.
These guys grill up sandwiches, and its very popular. A lunch cost me 3 lyra, approx 2 dollars US (surely the Turkish price is half):
This juice they sell looked really good, but it was basically nasty pickle juice with bitters. unbelievably foul... but when in Rome-er-uh-Constantinople, do as the Istanbulians!
Cool waterfront near my hostel, just down the hill from the Blue Mosque.
i had a Turkish bath which is like a cross between a sauna and a massage (no below the belt stuff),
http://www.cemberlitashamami.com.tr/hamam_english.htm
and afterwards I felt sooo good, I had to get a haircut. here’s me with my Turkish haircut (yes it is silly):
One of my favorite things to do was throw in my ipod and walk around random streets. I never felt in danger despite sometimes ghetto surroundings.
burned out old building.
A cool restored building, right in the same area!
Mineret from the Blue Mosque, visible through the window because this house has no roof (burned out)
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul, historically also known as Byzantium and Constantinople;[4] see the names of Istanbul) is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million.[1] Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province.[5] It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.
In its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.[6]
______________________________________________________
While Shelly was in the U.S of A. I needed to get myself and do something cool. SO I went to Istanbul (not Constantinople). I had a great time as you will see in the following collection of photos and ramblings. Please click on the pics to make them big and good looking!
I took this pic within my first hour in Istanbul. Turkish dudes all over are trying to drag you into their carpet shop. I managed not to come home with any rugs, but I did measure the apt. before I left just in case. In exchange for coming here and seeing his goods, the guy walked me though the Blue Mosque (comes later) which I revisited on my own once I knew the proper procedure for entering a Muslim place of worship.
These cool old fountain/bath things were EVERYWHERE.
A cool thing i did was I took a cool cruise on the Bosporous straight on a crappy boat.
This is the northern part of the city from my boat view. The thing sticking up is the Galata tower. This guy Berk, who I talk about later, met with me and we went up there at night.
He pointed out the price on the sign, in Turkish, reads five. Guys like me get to pay ten! :) This was common throughout everwhere. none of the stuff had price tags, and i always ended up bartering to get a good price (or at least a cheaper price). Whenever you buy ANYTHING you must ask the price first, cuz they are just absolutely into haggling. I think you could make a bad movie about a guy living in Istanbul and then using the street sales skills to make a fortune trading real estate in New York, and it would be great. Like Crocodile Dundee. More on this later in the Bazaar section.
Amazing view. while we were up the the last Call to Prayer occured, and it was stunning to hear all the mosques on the horizon, big and small, do their thing.
Efes Beer and ‘white cheese’
Taskim, a neighborhood on the north side of town which is kind of a modern downtown, as opposed to the older part where the bigger mosques were (and where I was staying)
Site of the Hippodrome, between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, where horses were raced while this was the capital of the Byzentine empire. This obilisque was brought from the Luxor temple in Egypt around 390 AD this time but dates from 1490 BC. Astonishingly, 3500 years old and looking good!
A small bazaar where I scored some leather gloves one day when it was cold and rainy (after visiting several shops and lots of haggling)....
A mosque, don’t know which one. I’m sure its famous. Close to the waterfront (next pics)
Fishing in the Bosphorous from the bridge. The lit up boats in the backround sell sandwiches (see below):
This guy was fishing off the bridge, and he was like ‘Hey! I got one!!!’ but then he reeled it in and acted like his minnow was in fact a catch. Interestingly, I used to do the same thing to my dad when I was 5. The point is that the Turkish people were extremely nice to me, and many of them spoke either English or German. or both. It worked out cuz I know about 3.5 words in Turkish, and I bet my Swiss friends can guess what they are.
These guys grill up sandwiches, and its very popular. A lunch cost me 3 lyra, approx 2 dollars US (surely the Turkish price is half):
This juice they sell looked really good, but it was basically nasty pickle juice with bitters. unbelievably foul... but when in Rome-er-uh-Constantinople, do as the Istanbulians!
Cool waterfront near my hostel, just down the hill from the Blue Mosque.
i had a Turkish bath which is like a cross between a sauna and a massage (no below the belt stuff),
http://www.cemberlitashamami.com.tr/hamam_english.htm
and afterwards I felt sooo good, I had to get a haircut. here’s me with my Turkish haircut (yes it is silly):
One of my favorite things to do was throw in my ipod and walk around random streets. I never felt in danger despite sometimes ghetto surroundings.
burned out old building.
A cool restored building, right in the same area!
Mineret from the Blue Mosque, visible through the window because this house has no roof (burned out)
Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque
Cut and paste from wikipedia:
Beautiful mosaics done in gold tiles:
Bizaare mix between an ancient church and mosque. Notice the mihrab (the gold thing in center stage) is slightly off center so that it points to Mecca. It was put it after this became a mosque.
The Sultan would sit in this thing, keeping him mysterious and powerful.
The mihrab:
Modanna and child above the Mihrab.
Looking pretty dopey here, but in this photo, I’m carrying EVERYTHING i brought with me on this trip. except the camera. The British tourists are taking the picture with my camera. Im wearing a schoolbag with some underwear and socks etc. in it. I bought those new white shoes in the Bazaar and threw the old ones away.
___________________
Cut and Paste:
he Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.
My pictures are no good, because there are actually 6 minarets, and you only see 4 here.
oh, okay, here are all 6. seems to be that since the Hagia Sophia was once a church, they needed to build a big awesome Mosque right next door to challenge the magnificence of the other one. Now both are well known, studied and explored. Since this one is still a mosque, one has to take his shoes off and be quiet etc.
Close up of the tiles that decorate the interior:
I’m behind the fence with the other tourists, while if your coming to pray, you just go right on ahead up front and do your thing:
Washing up outside before prayer:
Inside the courtyard.
I just came across this, I thought it was kinda cool, because Christians and Muslims DO worship the same God yknow...
Cut and paste:
Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya, from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople except between 1204 and 1261, when it was the cathedral of the Latin empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1934, when it was secularized; it was opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.[1]
Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture."[2] It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 CE on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site. (The previous two had both been destroyed by riots.) It was designed by Isidore of Miletus, a physicist, and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician.[3]
Beautiful mosaics done in gold tiles:
Bizaare mix between an ancient church and mosque. Notice the mihrab (the gold thing in center stage) is slightly off center so that it points to Mecca. It was put it after this became a mosque.
The Sultan would sit in this thing, keeping him mysterious and powerful.
The mihrab:
Modanna and child above the Mihrab.
Looking pretty dopey here, but in this photo, I’m carrying EVERYTHING i brought with me on this trip. except the camera. The British tourists are taking the picture with my camera. Im wearing a schoolbag with some underwear and socks etc. in it. I bought those new white shoes in the Bazaar and threw the old ones away.
___________________
Cut and Paste:
he Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.
It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. While still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction.
My pictures are no good, because there are actually 6 minarets, and you only see 4 here.
oh, okay, here are all 6. seems to be that since the Hagia Sophia was once a church, they needed to build a big awesome Mosque right next door to challenge the magnificence of the other one. Now both are well known, studied and explored. Since this one is still a mosque, one has to take his shoes off and be quiet etc.
Close up of the tiles that decorate the interior:
I’m behind the fence with the other tourists, while if your coming to pray, you just go right on ahead up front and do your thing:
Washing up outside before prayer:
Inside the courtyard.
I just came across this, I thought it was kinda cool, because Christians and Muslims DO worship the same God yknow...
Cut and paste:
Pope Benedict XVI's visit and silent prayer
Pope Benedict XVI visited the Sultan Ahmed Mosque on 30 November 2006 during his visit to Turkey. It marks only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship. During his tour, the pontiff turned towards Mecca in a gesture of Muslim prayer and conducted "Silent Prayer." Having removed his shoes, the Pope paused for a full two minutes, eyes closed in prayer, standing side-by-side with Mustafa Çağrıcı, the Mufti of Istanbul and Emrullah Hatipoğlu, the Imam of the Blue Mosque. [7]
The Pope “thanked divine Providence for this” and said: “May all believers identify themselves with the one God and bear witness to true brotherhood.” The Pontiff augured that Turkey “will be a bridge of friendship and collaboration between East and West” and he thanked the Turkish people “for the cordiality and sympathy” they showed him throughout his stay, saying, “he felt loved and understood.”
Topkapi Palace, primary residence of the Sultans of the Ottoman empire from the 15 to 19 century. Beautiful buildings and fascinating artifacts (no pics allowed on the weird relics). Among the more bazarre things here are possibly the skull and arm of St. John the Baptist (apparently there are many skulls around claiming to be this) and some clothes, teeth, and beard shavings of the last prophet Mohammed. Yay!
.
Fancy rooms for sultans, his mom, and the concubines.
The Royal pooper. Now would be a good time as any to explain the facility I used in the Grand Bazaar. I really had to go, and I ended up doing my business in a tiny mosque in the middle of the Bazaar district. they way they do it is to squat over a hole, not unlike this one, let it go, and then wash off using a tiny watering can (no TP, the 1000+ year old plumbing can’t handle it). awesome.
Bathroom.
This area of the palace was for the eunuchs.
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Grand Bazaar in Istanbul contains over 1500 stores and sees 250k to 400k visitors daily! This particular photo was taken in what is known as the Spice Bazaar, one of the coolest parts. Lots of curries and candies and pickpockets too! Something like 63 streets make up the Bazaar part of town, and they are crowded and crazy.
As I mentioned before, bargaining/haggling was an integral part of their society. As an obvious tourist, the starting price seemed to always be about double for me. Fortunately, I like doing it! My biggest achievement: I bought a nice dress coat, the asking price was 270 Turkish Lyra (200-ish US/CHF) and I got it for 65 TYL (45-ish US/CHF) after 10 minutes of haggling. Im sure a Turkish person could get it for even half that. On the flip side I got ripped off by paying too much for some orange juice on more than one occasion and my cab fair into town from the airport was about twice what it could have been. Its a learning experience ;). I got a really good fair on the way back to the airport! :)
This guy has a crappy job. Carry those bras to the...
Bra store!!!! :)
The Basilica Cistern:
Cut and Paste from wikipedia....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Cistern
The Basilica Cistern (Turkish: Yerebatan Sarayı - "Sunken Palace", or Yerebatan Sarnıcı - "Sunken Cistern"), is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey. The cistern, located 500 feet (150 m) west of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
Located in the northwest corner of the cistern, the bases of two columns reuse blocks carved with the visage of Medusa. The origin of the two heads is unknown, though it is thought that the heads were brought to the cistern after being removed from a building of the late Roman period. Tradition has it that the blocks are oriented sideways and inverted in order to negate the power of the Gorgons' gaze.
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Lots of stray animals in Istanbul.
Cats:
Dogs:
Chickens:
Ugly chickens:
Disco Chickens:
Turkish water pipes in Turkey! This guy's name is actually Volcano. He worked at the backpackers hostel and was especially cool and helpful. His job must be very stressful.
Hanging out at the hostel. the folks on the left were from Bern! The guy on the right was a Dubliner, and it was St Patty's day!!! The other girl was Canadian.
This is Berk, he was a foreign exchange student that had lived with Diane and Kenny. This was the first time I met him, actually. Obviously we got a long just fine.
Chocolate from switzerland is always appreciated.
Turkish coffee has an incredible amount of sludge at the bottom. A turkish guy can read your fortune in the sludge pattern. Berk said my fortune was: I was going to get drunk on Raki, the turkish signature drink (see above pic). I dont remember what happened after that.
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