Istanbul -- First five days

Well, although I'm writing this way after my time there, I want to share the wonderful experiences I found in this extraordinary city. Since my pictures and journals were stolen along with my computer in the backpack, I will be trying to recreate from my memories. Thus, places may be spelled incorrectly and I hope to upload pictures to Facebook in the future--after I receive them from Marat.

I was unaware that Istanbul is the only city on two continents -- Europe and Asia. The Bospherus River divides the sides and I can imagine why this has been such a pivotal place throughout history. In fact, every time I had a view of the city I would see different time periods with people in different attire using different modes of transportation. My imagination was more vivid here then in anyplace I've ever been. Imagine with me the 1400s or the late 1800s or even 600 AD. What an amazing place this was in all of those different times. It has influenced so much of history and I felt blessed to have decided to come to this unique and very diverse place with friendly people. Many things reminded me of New York City and San Francisco combined with a middle eastern flavor.

I landed at 1:30 a.m. on the Asian side and my host/friend, Marat, was waiting for me. What a great way to keep me from freaking out in the newness of such a cosmopolitan area. We jumped on a bus that took us 45 minutes back to the European side, and then another bus to an area about 2 blocks from his apartment. We stopped for some of the greatest lentil soup and kebob plate of foods I have tasted in a long time. Finally, to bed around 5 a.m. I hope to be such a wonderful host to others in the future.

Marat had to work the next two days at his University so I set about to do some site seeing around the city. After taking Marat's directions for using the bus and tram to get around town and I took off to the Topkapi Palace. As a first day's venture, it was a great place to start. After much ruin, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II built mosques, monuments and this magnificent Palace in the 1600s. I saw the harem living quarters, the rest of the palace buildings, as well as the many gorgeous treasurers that have remained from that time. Some of the items reminded me of what can be found at the Smithsonian and in Egyptian exhibits of beautiful jewels, swords, daggers, etc. Later that evening we meet for dinner in the Sultanahmet area (the historical centre of the city with many tourists) and had a long, delightful conversation about life, love, and adventure. The next day's site seeing included the underground Byzantine cistern (one of my favorite spots) with stone images of Medusa, the Aya Sofya, and the Blue Mosque. The Aya Sofya was originally built around 500 AD and has been both a mosque and a church. It's dome was an architectural wonder and the mosaics continue to be restored to show the splendor that was allowed during its Christian period. I believe it is considered one of the wonders of the old world. I also visited the Blue Mosque which had the softest carpet I have ever experienced and beautiful tile work. I felt honored to be able to visit a mosque and to have a better understanding of this spiritual place of worship. I hope to visit the other special mosque -- the Suleymaniye Camii -- in the future.

After experiencing these human made places, Marat and I took a boat trip up the Bosphorus and I got to experience a nature made wonder. It was a delightful time of day (sunset) and the cool air of the water took the edge off the heat of the day. We finished the boat ride off with tea and dessert overlooking the Bosphorus and then headed off for a concert in the park near his apartment. What fun!! The music was an older turkish band called Grup Gunderstrum and the seating area was packed. Everyone sang along, children danced down in front and I felt like this was the perfect ending to a day that would be one of my best memories of the trip. Little did I know that all days in Istanbul are so full.

The weekend included walking through the Taksim area (filled in the daytime but packed at night), taking the tunel (a short underground train built in 1835 with beautiful tulip tiles along the walls), seeing a great and unexpected cultural dance program performed by students of differing regions throughout Russia/Turkey/surrounding countries, visiting the spice market, going to another concert in a park up on the Golden Horn area. I completed this section of the Istanbul trip Monday with a visit to the Galata Tower and surrounding area. It was exciting to walk around a corner and all of a sudden see this important tower appear. The view of Istanbul from the top was magnificent. I then took off to see a special exhibit on the human body that was available near the museum of modern art and stopped off to have tea at a small area that apparently is where everyone goes to smoke water pipes. It was a very relaxed area and people seemed very calm and easy going. We finished off this day with a delightful seafood meal at a restaurant with a colleague of Marat's and her boyfriend. He was from a small Kurdish village in the central area of Turkey and come to find out, the waiter was from the adjoining community. It always is a small world -- where ever you go.

I think I will complete this blog with this image -- life is filled with many people and places but when it is all said and done, we are so very much alike. Sharing good food, friendship, and beautiful sites and sounds brings much comfort and joy.