Istanbul

I spent my last day walking around Istanbul by myself. Istanbul is a fascinating city and one day was not nearly enough time. This was the first western city I have been to in over two months. It was comforting and strange at the same time. The old cliché that Istanbul is the gateway between the East and West is definitely accurate. It was a bizarre thing to hear the call to prayer echoing throughout the city while restaurant patios were packed with people drinking beer. This is a truly dynamic city that is packed with amazing history.

I spent most of my time in Sultanahmet, which is ‘Old Istanbul’ built on top of the ancient Byzantine settlement. The first place I visited was the Blue Mosque. This is an amazing building with beautiful curves and six sharp minarets. The colors of the structure are wonderful.

Outside the Blue Mosque is the Hippodrome, and area that was the center of political gatherings during the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. In front of the mosque is the Obelisk of Theodosius. The large granite piece was inscribed in Cairo around 1450 BC and was moved to Constantinople in 390 AD.

Down the street from the Blue Mosque is the Aya Sophia, one of the world’s great buildings which has a fascinating history. It was built by Justinian in 537 and was the greatest church in Christendom until the conquer of Constantinople in 1453. Mehmet the Conqueror converted the amazing church into a mosque, stamping the authority of Islam. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to see Christianity fall to Islam in such a grand fashion. And then to top that, in 1934 Ataturk secularized it and made it into a state museum! One of the grandest structures of Christianity fell to Islam and then ultimately to secularism. Ataturk was a pretty ballsy guy. I can’t image that turning one of the world’s greatest mosques into a museum went over very well. This is representative of the huge transformations he was responsible for that made Turkey what it is today.

Walking into the Aya Sofia is breathtaking. The ceiling is amazingly high and there are no supports. It just seems to float above you. The pictures do not do it justice at all.

Later on I went to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. At the Spice Bazaar I came across ‘Turkish Viagra’ pastries. A man in a white doctor’s coat came out of the shop for the hard sell. "Make you strong for long time," he said. "How long?" I asked. "Two hours." I told him that wasn’t long enough, that I needed four hours of strength. "Eat two then." I didn’t end up buying any but I took a picture anyways.