Day 18: First day in Istanbul

Day 18:   1^st day in Istanbul,  Tuesday December 28th

We said goodbye to Robyn and Damien last night because they wanted to leave the hotel early in order to see as much as they could of Istanbul before their late afternoon flight back to Amsterdam.  As for Roger and me, we slept like logs until 9am.

Our first task for the day was to deposit our build-up of washing at a laundry.  I must eat my words in rubbishing Roger for bringing two pairs of bathers – they came in very handy as emergency jocks!  The man charged us by weight which I thought was a very good idea.

After lunch, we set off to do a bit of exploring of Istanbul.  Our hotel is in a brilliant location in terms of exploring the ancient parts of the city.  It is one of the many hotels in Sultanamet and  it takes us only about five minutes to walk to most of the things we want to see.  We started with the magnificent Blue Mosque, the famous mosque built in 1603 as a rival to the equally magnificent Sancta Sofia which stands directly opposite.  We got there just in time before they stopped entry because of an impending prayer time. 

The mosque is simply breathtaking with its multiple high domes, supported by four huge marble columns,  the walls of marble and the famous blue Iznik tiles.  As with all mosques (at least all the ones I have seen), there are multiple circuits of lights and these highlight the wonderful red carpet which covers the entire floor area.  I was interested to see only a handful of men at prayer at the front of the mosque.  When I was ther e in 2000, there were many more than that – perhaps up to 80 or so men.  

Knowing that our cases are in danger of being overweight, we decided to investigate what it would  cost to send a parcel home.  Go to the Istanbul equivalent of the GPO to find this information – a simple matter surely??   How wrong we were!!  Opposite the Blue Mosque, we started looking for what the signs suggested was a post office.  Bad mistake!  “Excuse me madam, can I help you?” we heard.   The polite man indicated the way to the post office – turn right, go down the narrow street and then turn left.   In fact he was so helpful that he went part of the way with us – steering us into his father’s leather shop to give us his business card.   Well the simple hand over of a business card involved three flights of stairs, a quick look over the leather workroom, a cup of apple tea (hospitality only – no obligation),  a phone call to Pappa who appeared in no time flat, hand shakes all round, an offer to make us a distributor in Australia, a firm but polite refusal on our part and as hasty a retreat as we could manage without socking someone!!!  We never did find the post office in that location.

We asked in a shop which appeared to post letters – we would find the post office 200 metres that way.  Off we trundled, over the cobblestoned street, Roger getting hotter and more flustered with every step and my ankles becoming sorer with every step.   Sure enough, no sign of a post office.  Another request for directions ….”another 200 metres that way and then ask again.  It is close to there.”   Once we had done this no fewer than three times, we were thoroughly frustrated to say the least!   We decided to give it away for today and to try again tomorrow.

We made the Bascilica Cistern our only other venue for the day.  This is a fascinating destination, deep under the street just opposite the Blue Mosque and Sancta Sofia.   I was fascinated by it in 2000 and was very keen for Roger to see it.  It sounds like yet another church, but it is actually a huge water storage, built in the Byzantine era around 500AD, by Justian the Great, the same emperor who had Sancta Sofia built.  To support the roof of this massive water storage device, the Byzantines used  the columns of what they considered to be obsolete Roman buildings.  No fewer than 336 of these wonderful  marble and granite columns , mostly Corinthian but some Doric style, stand in a grid over the 70m by 140m cistern.  A real feature are the two Medusa heads which would have once been resplendent in a Roman building.  Here in the cistern though, they were treated very shabbily by the Byzantines:  one is upside down and the other lies on its side!   The cistern is beautifully lit with subtle mood lighting and I think is a real highlight of Istanbul.

That was enough for the day, so, at around 4.30, after sampling McDonalds Turkish style, we headed back to the hotel.   Along the way I bought an umbrella which I can use as a walking stick.  I will need something for support if I am still to hobble over the streets of Rome and probably quite a few places in England.