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| Alexander Sarcophogus |
Our day started early with breakfast on the
roof of our Abella Hotel – where many restaurants here are located - before
setting out on another packed day. First
stop, the Archaeological Museum complex which includes three small, but
important, museums. The star attraction
of the Archaeological Museum is the collection of ancient sarcophagi, including
the incredibly well-preserved 4th century BC Alexander Sarcophagus,
which wasn't actually made for Alexander but just decorated with reliefs of him
in battle. The Ancient Orient Museum took
us back to the even more ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and
includes a fragment of the Kadesh Treaty from the 13th century BC –
the first written peace agreement in the world. The Tiled Kiosk is itself one of the oldest
examples of Ottoman civic architecture and contains a collection of
centuries-old Turkish tiles.
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| Harem tiles |
From there we walked back up the hill to the
Topkapi Palace, former home of Suleyman the Magnificent and an administrative
palace for over 400 years. Jeff had seen
Topkapi on his last visit here with Michelle, Gretchen, and Annie, and was more
than happy to find a place between the mosques (Blue and Sofia) to sketch while
mom, Kat, and I went into the palace.
The palace is huge and even just focusing on three main areas – the Harem,
the Imperial Treasury, and the Pavilions in the intimate fourth courtyard –
took us a couple of hours. The palace
offers a wonderful view into the sultan lifestyle. It was certainly most interesting to learn
about the Harem (which refers to the women and also the place) and the power of
the sultan’s mother in all things, including the selection of women for her son
to bed. The tile work throughout was
stunning and gave Kat lots of photo opportunities. The treasury includes the 86 carat spoonmaker’s
diamond and the Topkapi Dagger.
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| Tiles near Circumcision Room |
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| Jeff's Hagia Sophia |
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| Jeff's Blue Mosque |
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| The Grand Bazaar |
We decided to hit the sprawling
Grand Bazaar, the world’s first shopping mall, after lunch. I think Jeff was under the impression that we
were doing more of an overview of the bazaar as a sight to see, rather than a
place to shop. So, after Kat and I were pulled into two shops in the first 30
feet of the bazaar for over thirty minutes, it became clear that sticking
together was not going to make anyone happy.
Jeff gave us a meeting time of 4:00 at the tram and set off on his own
to see the bazaar and sketch some more – he loves to sketch so much we were
practically doing him a favor by shopping!
Even though Kat, mom, and I
slowly made it through a mere fraction of the massive bazaar, we still managed to
pick up quite a few things. Our
personalities really came out when it came to haggling – an expected part of
the process here in Istanbul. Kat is
very no nonsense and has no trouble pushing until she gets the price she wants
(and people often relent to get her out of the store). I have what some may call a more flirty
approach to haggling (I call it friendly) - but in truth if you want the best
price it is better to have Kat with you than me (if you want to make friends,
stick with me). You have to watch mom
closely because with her math skills she can think she is haggling but may
actually be offering to pay more! The
big purchases of the day were in the jewelry section, with Kat coming away with
a bracelet and mom getting several pieces…it holds true still that the longer
she sits in one place, the more she buys.
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| A very happy jeweler |
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| Spice Market |
We took the tram down
to the waterfront and walked through the Spice Market, enjoying the colors and
the aroma of all of the exotic spices, and into the New Mosque, one of the last
examples of classical-style Ottoman mosques (before western architectural influences
came into fashion).
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| New Mosque |
We walked back to the
hotel for some down time before dinner and a visit with Omer and his pottery
(Kat’s and Jeff’s big purchase day). Mom
was looking for a nice fish restaurant (with wine) and Omer walked us to a nice
restaurant on a roof overlooking the sea and both mosques. It was great to have him take us because we
wouldn’t have gotten a table without reservations if he hadn’t been friends
with the manager. With his introduction,
we were given a great table along the glass rail overlooking the mosques and
mom treated us to a wonderful and fun seafood dinner. It was breezy up top and mom was cold which
threatened to ruin her time…so I went out in search of a shawl. As is not usual for me, I chose one very
quickly at a store a few doors down from the restaurant and it was beautiful
(since then Kat and I have both bought similar ones at the same store). Only after returning from my errand did we
learn that the restaurant keeps scarfs on hand should anyone get cold. Kat and I both ended up using the very warm
restaurant ones before the night was over.
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| Dinner view |
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| Dinner view |
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| Say Goodbye to Ramadan |
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| Mom's wine, fish, and new scarf! |
Dinner ended at 10:30 and we walked Mom home then met up with Omer to go to the Hookah Bar, where we had a great time talking culture, swapping stories, drinking Turkish Coffee (all except me), and smoking an apple hookah (I even gave it a go though I am sure I didn't inhale). Jeff said it was an experience that was glad to have had but has no real desire to repeat (the smoking part). With or without the hookah smoking, it was very fun to be out in Istanbul together!
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