Istanbul with Neil and Christine - Day 3&4

Day 3 started out promisingly with blue skies and warm weather. We decided to head to the Dolmabache Palace which was built between 1843-1856 and housed the final 6 sultans from 1856 up until the abolishment of the Caliphate in 1924. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding leader of the modern Turkish republic, used the palace as a presidential house in summers and died there on 10 November 1938.

Outside the Palace and the changing of the guard

Ataturk's bedroom (the Turkish flag bedspread was added later!) & an ingenious way of hiding the bar!

The amazing chandeliers & Ben with the slippers that we had to wear throughout the palace!

A very ornate bathroom and state room

It was very different to the Topkapi Palace as it was designed in western style with elements of Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Classical style. This palace would easily have fit in in France or England and was very much a mix of French design furniture and English Victorian period door-knobs and chandeliers. It was quite revolting at times! We visited the state apartments where official business was held and the Harem. It certainly wasn't as interesting as the Topkapi Palace and has we had to do a guided tour was a lot quicker. The best thing about the palace was the location with wonderful views of the Bosphorous.

By the time we came out and were ready for lunch there was a large black cloud over us. Thankfully despite the wind picking up, thunder and lightning, and a few spots of rain the storm blew over very quickly. We then walked to the Golden Horn and did a ferry cruise up the Bosphorous which was interesting to see the palace from the river and all the residential houses on the European and Asian sides of Turkey.



The bridge linking the European and Asian continents

We were all then exhausted so it was time to head back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.

Day 4 saw Neil and Christine head off for Paris while we occupied ourselves before our late afternoon flight by going to Taksim Square then walking down the long shopping street to Galata Tower which has lovely views over Istanbul. From here you can look over the Golden Horn to the Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia and Blue Mosque and also over the Bosphorous to the Asian side.

Istanbul with Neil and Christine - Day 2

Day 2 we visited Topkapi Palace which was the Ottoman's second palace in Istanbul. It is a beautiful and very large palace covering an area of 173 acres. It housed all the Ottoman sultans from Sultan Mehmet II (1478) to Sultan Abdulmecit (1856), nearly 4 centuries and 25 Sultans. It was turned into a museum in 1924.

Outside the Topkapi Palace

The visit to the Harem was the most interesting as this was where the family life was centered. The sultan had large rooms here and so did his mother, up to 4 wives, at least 300 concubines and his numerous children, oh and of course the Eunuchs!! Obviously it was a huge part of the palace.

Ben's wishful thinking, Christine wondering how much it would cost to do one a fireplace like this at home, and the ornate ceilings of the Harem

The sultan's mother was the most important and influential person in the harem. The eunuchs were mainly slaves from Sudan or Ethiopia, up to 200 of them, that guarded and served the harem. The main focus of the harem was as a family home and school. The children of the sultan where educated here as well as the concubines. After a sultan's death, the concubines that had given birth to a son remained in the palace whilst those that had a daughter or none where married out of the harem.

All of the rooms in the harem were spectacularly ornamented with Izman tiles covering the walls so they were all bright blues and deep reds. It was lovely. The baths were all marble and gold taps. In one of the sultan's private rooms there was an ornamental water feature!

A much needed rest after going through the Harem - just the rest of the palace to go!!

After the harem we went to the treasury where on display were gifts to the Ottoman's from other countries as well as swords, thrones, medals and jewels. The two main pieces were the Topkapi Dagger, which is encrusted with emeralds, diamonds and rubies, and the 86-carat, yes 86, diamond. It was apparently found in a bin and sold for 3 spoons, and then brought to the palace and was set in gold with 39 surrounding diamonds. Ben was more amazed at the small chest with uncut emeralds, all thrown in like a junk box!! Some of the thrones were quite amazing and looked like day beds rather than thrones. The Ottoman's certainly had comfort in mind for their designs.

The view from the Topkapi Palace

After the palace we went to the Cozy Pub for lunch. When Ben was here in
2003 with our friend George they came to the Cozy every afternoon for a beer.
The evening we decided to go to a restaurant with views over the blue mosque. Despite the earlier threatening rain it cleared for dinner and for Ben to get some night shots of the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofia before starting to rain on the way home.

Istanbul with Neil and Christine - Day 1

We flew to Istanbul to meet up with Neil and Christine after they'd finished their bus tour of Turkey. Our first day was a bit of a late start as we'd arrived very late the night before. We caught a taxi into the old centre and went to the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, the Basilica Cisterns and the Grand Bazaar. As it was a Friday (the main religious day for Muslims) the tour of the Blue Mosque was very quick. Here we'd been "befriended" by a very helpful man who tried to then invite us to look at his carpet store and drink apple tea!! We managed to lose him though!
Inge, Neil and Christine in the Blue Mosque & the ceiling

The Aya Sofia was very interesting as in Byzantine times it was a Christian church. When the Muslims started using it as a mosque they just plastered over all the mosaics and slightly altered the layout. Now it is a museum they have started to remove the plaster to expose what was underneath.

The Basilica Cistern is from Roman times and where they stored the city water. The construction is quite amazing and as usual very ornate. The highlight here was the two Medusa heads to warn off evil.
Ben being clever with the light and reflection in the water!

Medusa's head to ward of evil & the expanse of the cisterns

The next stop after lunch was the Grand Bazaar which was a maze of little alley ways with so many stalls selling a hige range of goods. The jewellery stores were particularly amazing. Ben was amazed at the store that sold outfits for boys who were being circumsised. This traditionally happens at the age of 8 and the boys wear this outfit everywhere for weeks before the event, after which they have a massive party. We saw a few boys wearing it, and they all looked so proud, I'm not sure they really understood what was going to happen!!

Outside one of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar & the circumsision outfit!

Christine checking out the circusision outfits & one of the insides of a bazaar stall

Our day ended with a lovely meal at a restaurant across the road with beautiful Turkish food before collapsing into bed.