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| The Caucasus - My Journal |
Enjoying a Potential Future Home
Istanbul, 25th to 27th July
I spent the next few days continuing to explore Istanbul. This huge city is estimated to have a population of about 16 million...that's approximately 3 times the size of London! And on top of this, the additional numbers of unlisted people in the city can only be guessed at. Its sheer size is difficult to grasp for visitors, particularly when most tourists only visit Sultanhamet and Taksim at the very centre. Sultanhamet holds most of the key attractions and most of the backpacker market, Taksim is the high end part of Istanbul, with gleaming designer shops, intimidating, top-end hotels and most of the best night spots. Most of the other areas in the city go unvisited, but seeing as these places contain more than enough attractions to keep a visitor occupied for a week, that's no surprise.
Making the most of my time in a city as exciting and dynamic as Istanbul, my days here were spent as a healthy mix of exploring the sights and enjoying the night life. However, I definitely did not have a enough time here and I'm very keen to return. Maybe as a tourist again, or maybe something more permanent...
The two most famous sights in Istanbul are Aya Sofia and Sultanahmet Camii (the Blue Mosque). As a Muslim country, Mosques are scattered liberally across the country, and Istanbul contains dozens of the distinctive buildings. The smooth, curved domes and the contrasting minarets pointing high into the sky can be seen in almost every block. However, these two famous sights marked the Istanbul skyline a millennium before the smaller, modern challengers arrived.
 Aya Sofia was built by the Byzantines, circa 550AD, originally as a cathedral. Its centrepiece is a huge 30-metre dome that seems to float over nothing and this design would have pushed the architects of the time to the limit. In fact, it was so impressive that it became a powerful symbol of the Byzantine empire with nothing rivalling it architecturally for centuries after. In 1453, Aya Sofia became a mosque when the Turks captured Istanbul (then Constantinople) and it remained in use for nearly 500 years. Then, in 1932 it was turned into a museum by the government, and despite popular pressure, it no longer functions as a mosque.
Inside, Aya Sofia is cavernous and very gloomy due to the architectural adjustments made over the time. Strolling across the ancient tiles, examining the faded mosaics and comparing the Christian and Islamic symbols which can be found, you can literally feel the weight of history in the air. Istanbul is one of the most important cities in the history of man and Aya Sofia has been sitting here for most of our past.
 The Blue Mosque, although much younger (having been built from 1609), is an equally as impressive sight. What it lacks in history, it makes up in style. The six-minaret design originally faced much opposition because it rivalled the minarets of the mosque in Mecca and also because a large part of the surrounding area needed to be destroyed to make way for it. Today, the huge mass of grey domes and minarets is an amazing sight, and the interior, a fully functioning mosque, is equally as impressive.
 The third famous sight that we saw was the Topkapi Palace, which was the heart of the Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries. The palace is vast and made of dozens of collections of buildings around small courtyards. Although it is an impressive sight, the midday heat, the sheer size and the flocks or tourists being herded around meant that it was too tiring to endure for long, and we left feeling a bit under whelmed.
My favourite places to spend time were the lively and bustling markets. The Grand Bazaar, the largest covered market in the world, and the Spice Market being the two best ones. The Grand Bazaar contains just about everything you could ever want, and definitely everything you don't! We wandered around the stalls for hours watching the frenzied bartering and getting lost in the winding corridors. Even though I didn't actually buy anything at the market (I'm midtrip, so any souvenirs bought here would be a real hindrance over the next couple of months) it was still one of my favourite places in the city.
My days were kept busy with all these sights, but my evenings were kept even busier! Each night was spent enjoying a drink or 5 around Sultanhamet. On my first night, along with two Canadian guys and an American guy, I set out to find a good night spot in Taksim square. Taksim seemed really alive, like an Oxford Street of Istanbul. The roads were packed and there were dozens of outdoor bars with live music and rowdy crowds. However, come 2am, after a few hours of drinks, we found all the clubs were shut because it was a Monday night! Oh well! So, after grabbing a kebab (just like at home!) we headed back home early.
For the other two nights, we decided to stay in Sulthanhamet for our evening entertainment. Almost every hostel has a rooftop bar with a view across Istanbul (and overpriced drinks) which we jumped between during the evenings. And by we, I mean a big group of English people on the second night, and on the second night, a group of Italian girls and a couple of American guys.
On my final night, the Italian girls devised a few drinking games, and instead of heading to bed earlyish (about 2am) as on the other nights, the evening continued on until almost 4am. And even though I needed to get up at 6am the next day, I couldn't leave the fun and festivities early, especially as the other nights had been so quiet!
So...after about 2 hours sleep, I awoke bleary eyed to grab an early morning bus to my next destination...
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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