Istanbul!

This weekend was the last weekend before my "real job" starts.  To celebrate the new beginning, and to enjoy the last bit of summer, I left my little Yalova for the big city.

Margot's parents, Cindy and Brian, in a very sweet and parenting way, happened to book a vacation to Turkey when we're just settling in here.  Though Margot left Friday afternoon to meet her parents in Istanbul, Clayton and I left together on the Saturday morning ferry. It was an absolutely stunning day. Our ride over was almost exactly an hour and 15 minutes, and the scenery was excellent.  As we pulled away from Yalova, the hills and valleys looked beautiful, and as we pulled in to Istanbul (below) the city looked perfect. The ferry had a beautiful view, really.  We could see Sultan Ahmet--the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, and Istanbul University quite clearly, and had a wonderful little glimpse up the Golden Horn and Bosphorus. 

Once we'd gone ashore, Clayton and I had almost two hours to kill before meeting up with Margot. We decided to wander the hilly neighborhood around Yenikapi, and found this lovely little park, whose fountain turned on for us and 3 little boys as we were walking past. 

Not far past this park (after I got a band-aid for a stub-toe using only Turkish!), Clayton and I came across this lovely little mosque.  The first time we passed, it was full of men praying or having some kind of meeting, but after lunch we tried again and found it totally empty except for this old man, peacefully snoozing in front of the minbar. I love this little mosque because its small size makes it very intimate, and its painting is a beautiful and unusual blend of Western and Ottoman styles.  Something about the yellow, blue and red patterns reminded me of Scandinavian (or at least German) architecture.  The women's section upstairs was lovely, with balconies overlooking the lower section having the same squashed-onion shape as the windows.
After this, we wandered around the more touristic parts of Sultan Ahmet, and I was SHOCKED by the number of tourists.  I've never seen so many in my life! The streets were literally packed with people from all parts of the world, and once we met Margot at the Blue Mosque, and saw the "tourist entry" line stretching halfway around the building's circumference, we said "--Maybe we'll do this one another day..."

 

  Clayton offered to take us to another "better, more beautiful" and less crowded mosque.  Bravely, he trekked out, and Margot and I followed.  We wove through cobble stone streets and found ourselves in the modern Turkish Grand Bazaar.  It was packed--like things flowing downstream, we swept past shops selling everything from extension cords and outlet multipliers, to lingerie, to textiles, to scooters, to roasted horse chestnuts, all the while surrounded by Turks out on their weekend shopping trips. 

Suddenly, we emerged at the Spice Bazaar and I knew where we were heading: Yeni Cami, the new mosque.  Built in 1597, this is (as the name suggests) the newest grand Ottoman mosque.  Of course many more mosques have been built in Istanbul since 1597, but I guess the name stuck.

The New Mosque is a great example of Ottoman style.  Its walls are covered with beautiful blue iznik tiles (hope to go to Iznik this year!), the low-hanging lanterns provide a warm ambiance, the ceiling and walls are covered in intricate arabesques, and after prayer time is over, little kids love using its huge extra-soft carpet as a giant play floor. 

The New Mosque is also a good one because of its location.  The view below is about a two minute walk from the front doors.  This fishing spot crosses the Golden Horn and acts as a restaurant strip, a pedestrian walkway, a perfect place for pictures of both sides of European Istanbul, and a thorogfare for cars and Istanbul's light rail system.  It's also a crazy throw back to my TIME trip--I came here several times with Colin and the gang of girls to smoke hookah and share an Efes.  Unable to resist, I submitted to nostalgia and got a cold 70 cl for happy hour.  Perhaps the weirdest thing all day was that we were sitting next to a table of French-speaking Swiss men and when they asked if we were studying in Istanbul, I said no. We're teachers. I couldn't help but giggle--how crazy is this?

Too soon, we left our empty glasses and beautiful view, and headed uphill to this beautiful view--Galata Tower. Originally built in 1340-something, it is a landmark of the Istanbul skyline unlike any other.  Clayton had lived in Galata (neighborhood) for a few weeks last summer, so he knew of a good hostel for us to check out.  It turned out to be booked for the night, but they sent us on to their sister hostel which had exactly two beds left. 

We hurried through the still-steep streets connecting Galata with Istiklal, where this other hostel was located.  I'd never gone from one to the other, and I was surprised how close they were.  It was a beautiful and much less crowded walk than earlier ones--just perfect for enjoying an absolutely perfect late summer evening. 

Above is the view from Margot's parents' hotel.  The forested place across the near water is Topkapi Palace, the near water, the Golden Horn.  The larger waterway is the Bosphorus and across it, Asia.  It was such a pleasure to meet Brian and Cindy.  They took me and Margot out to dinner at a restaurant just off of Istiklal St with two of their fellow travelers. After dinner, Margot and I got a drink and then I headed back to my hostel for the night. 

It was a truly great way to spend the weekend, and a great first trip back to Istanbul. I can't wait to go again!

Much love,

-Annika