With my return to Istanbul, I was ready to explore the city before joining up with the Intrepid Tours group on October 5th.
Gate of Felicity
Topkapi Audience Chamber Entrance
On September 26th, I visited Gulhani Park and Topkapi Palace with its Harem next to my hotel, and I enjoyed visiting these beautiful places. The Gulhane Park was the outer garden of the Topkapi Palace where most of the Sultans controlled the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to 19th centuries.
Topkapi Palace Gate of Felicity
I visited the Aya Irini Mosque on the grounds of Topkapi and was disappointed to see that I could not see the dome because of all of the renovation work being done.
It took me hours to wander through the Topkapi grounds starting with the Audience Chamber, the kitchen, treasury, safe-keeping rooms, and harem. and council chambers. and courtyards.
Royal Throne
Following the tour of Topkapi, I took a 2-hour boat tour of the Bosphorus Straits for just 25 TL.
We passed by the Dolmabahce Palace, the last Sultan Palace of the Ottoman era, where Ataturk, who led Turkey to become a republic died here at 9:05 on November 10, 1938. You will find that the time 9:05 is shown on many clocks you see in the Clock Museum as well as many stores that sell clocks.
We approached the Bosphorus Bridge (Martyrs of July 15) with the Ortakoy Mosque nearby.
After traveling NE a bit more, we turned around near the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and returned passing by the Kiz Kulesi Tower which was rich with legends.
Kiz Kulesi Tower
It was also nicknamed the Maiden’s Tower and the legend was about an emperor who built this tower to prevent his daughter from dying by her 18th birthday based on an oracle's prophesy. He put her there to protect her and visited frequently. On her 18th birthday, the emperor brought her a basket of fruit and an asp snake hiding in it and bit her—she died. Hence the name Maiden’s Tower.
A second legend named the tower Leander’s Tower after a young man who fell in love with Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, who lived in the tower. Leander would swim across the Bosphorus Straits nightly following a lit lamp. During a stormy night the lamp blew out and he drowned. In her sorrow, Hero threw herself from the tower and died.
Following this boat ride, I enjoyed a dinner of shrimp casserole as the sunset as I enjoyed viewing the skyline of Istanbul which was scattered with many domed-shaped mosques and their tall minarets.
My tour of Istanbul would be interrupted by my three-day visit to Edirne which I describe in my earlier blog entry.
On my return from Edirne on September 29th, I again stayed at the Golden Horn Istanbul Hotel and enjoyed a dinner overlooking the nearby T1 tram that I used frequently to continue my tours around Istanbul.
On September 30th, I took the tram to the Kabatas stop and transferred to one of many funiculars that took me up the hill to Taksim Square with the Republic Monument.
I ended up walking down the Istiklal Caddesi which use to be called the Grande Rue de Pera. This is a broad walking street boulevard lined with a mix of modern and traditional shops, boutiques, restaurants, and cafes with an older-style tram running down the length.
At the end of this boulevard, I took the Tunel—another funicular down to the Karakoy metro stop and Galata Bridge just in time for another lunch stop at one of the Galata Bridge restaurants.
I enjoyed these lunch and cay stops because I could take off my mask while eating and drinking at the restaurants.
After lunch, I rode the tram to the Grand Bazaar which is a covered bazaar that covers several blocks and contains thousands of shops. The Vezir Han entrance indicates that this caravanserai was built between 1659 and 1660. Originally it provided accommodations and a marketplace for caravans.
On October 1st, I went back across to the Asian part of Istanbul to the Beyoglu neighborhood to visit the Museum of Innocence which has an art and late 20th-century quirky objects to display the love affair of Kemal and Fusun, the protagonists of the book I bought with the same name, The Museum of Innocence. Unfortunately, when I got there, the museum was closed because of COVID 19.
While I was there, I visited the Galata Tower and discovered that this tower was closed for renovations. I was able to see the tower, but not go into it.
From there I returned to the Sultanahmet and Sirkeci area for another dinner of moussaka at one of my favorite restaurants by my hotel.
On October 2nd, I received an email from Intrepid Tours informing me that Intrepid Tours was canceling all of the October Turkey trips, including mine, based on a recommendation from the FCDO. FCDO is the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom. No further reason was provided. This was a real bummer since I was looking forward to this remaining adventure in Turkey which was to include visiting:
- battlefields of Gallipoli;
- Basilica of St.John; and the City of Troy near Selcuk;
- Roman Ruins of Ephesus;
- travertine calcite terraces near Pamukkale;
- Blue Lagoon near Fethiye,
- cruising the southern Turquoise Coast near Kas in a gulet and sleeping on it overnight;
- visiting Antalya which is considered the Turkish Riviera;
- watching a Whirling Dervish sect ceremony in Konya;
- floating in a hot air balloon over the Cappadocia honeycombed hills and towering boulders and visiting Goreme with its homes, business, and churches carved into the hills;
- a homestay in the village of Kahta;
- and climbing Mt. Nemrut.
After my difficulties with train travel from Ankara and bus travel to Edirne, I was concerned that if I had traveled to some of these places, I may have been stranded and made further travel problematic—something I would not have worried about had the Intrepid Tour had gone forward.
I spent the rest of the day changing my return flight reservations to October 7th with United Air and Turkish Air. My first reservation was from IST>SFO>SEA, but then Turkish Air canceled that flight and then my reservation was IST>LAX>SEA, Turkish Air canceled that flight too. Finally, my return flight was IST>FRA (Frankfurt)>SFO>SEA.
Once my return reservations were finalized, I headed up the hilltop Suleymaniye Mosque which crowns one of Istanbul’s seven hills. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful mosques and was built between 1550 and 1557.
On October 3rd, I visited the Aya Sofya Mosque near the Topkapi Palace. This mosque started out as the largest Christian church of the Byzantine Empire in 537, then became a Roman Catholic cathedral from 1204 to 1261 during the Latin Empire, and then in 1453 the Christian city falls to the Ottomans and becomes a Muslim mosque. In 1935, Ataturk converted it into a museum to emphasize the secular nature of his new Turkish Republic.
I continued to be amazed by how the architects figured out how to safely construct these huge domed structures.
I then visited the Basilica Cistern which was built in 1532 and stored up to 80,000 cubic meters—21 million gallons—but was abandoned until 1545. In 1987, it was opened to the public.
The nearby Aya Sofya Tombs contain the remains of five 16th and 17th-century Sultans.
The Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamami was across the plaza from the mosque, and I decided to treat myself to this Hamam following my first experience in Safranbolu.
It was quite elegant compared to the one I experienced in Safranbolu. This one cost $140USD compared to the Hamam in Safranbolu which cost just $12USD.
I entered this marble-floored changing booth area which had been constructed with the aromatic sandalwood.
I then entered the bathing area wearing my throwaway shorts and towel. I sat near a large sink on the heated marble and it was as warm as a sauna.
Muhammed was my masseuse, and he began to shampoo and wash me off. After that, I rested for about ten minutes and then he drenched me with cool water.
I then went to another similar room and sat down while he applied clay to me. It was another ten minutes as the clay dried before he returned and washed me off.
I went to the center of the Hamam where other guys were finishing up their massages. I was covered with soap as he gave me a massage, first with a rough glove that peeled off my dead skin and then a massage.
When the massage was over he took me to another room where he rinsed me off with warm water followed by cold water. I was then wrapped with three towels.
I returned to the changing room where I lounged on some bed while drinking a cup of the cay and bottled water.
I felt like a limp rag after that, but since I would not be going to travel around Turkey, I thought I would enjoy a sampling of Turkey by taking a dinner cruise called “Orient Bosphorus” that cost $93USD.
This cruise included a whirling Dervish show, traditional folk dances, and belly dancers. There were two levels on this cruise, but only one was used because of the drop in tourism.
My table included two couples, one was from the UK and the other was the second American I had met during my Turkey adventure trip. He was a psychiatrist from Atlanta who worked for the VA Hospital there and was with his Romanian girlfriend. They meet up here periodically because he has not been successful in getting her a visa to come to the US. Passengers were from over 23 different countries. I was one of 2 people from the US.
On October 4th, I visited the barricaded Saudi Arabian Consulate which was the place where Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post reporter, was killed and chopped up by the Saudis.
The street was deserted and police barricades were stacked up in anticipation of future demonstrations.
On October 5th, I revisited the Grand Bazaar to pick up some gifts.
On October 6th, I visited the Dolmabahce Palace which became the new home of the Sultans who ruled Turkey from 1856 until 1924. After the Turkish Republic was founded, Ataturk lived here from 1927 until he died at 9:05 on November 10, 1938. Some say the excesses on display here led to the bankruptcy of the Ottoman empire.
Now I am taking a last view of the Bosphorus Straits from my home for the last week before taking an early taxi ride to the airport at 4am. I confirmed with the hotel staff that I could use my credit card for the taxi ride.
On October 7th, my taxi showed up on time and when we got to the airport, I gave the driver my MasterCard. It did not work. I gave him my Visa card. It did not work. $30 USD worked.
Immigration clearance was a breeze and I was able to get some breakfast while waiting for the Turkish Air flight.
I was looking forward to having a German beer with a bratwurst when I got to Frankfurt. Unfortunately, almost all the restaurants were closed as was the United Club, and the airport was pretty empty.
Fortunately, the United flight to San Francisco served decent airline food with chicken.
When I landed at the San Francisco airport, I thought I would get something to eat, but all of the places at my gate were closed as was the United Club.
Flying north from San Francisco I could see a sheen of wildfire smoke cloaking California and Oregon with some billows of active fires.
It was dark as our plane descended over Seattle and the end of my truncated Turkey adventure.
My next blog entry will describe the cost of the trip and some comments about my Turkey adventure.
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