It is a relatively short flight to Istanbul from Prishtina and I had three days off from school last week, so we took a short vacation to Istanbul. On Tuesday, after I finished school, we headed for the evening to Prishtina. There we met our two newest Peace Corps volunteers, Addie and Andrew. They are both here as part of a special response team that will be working on environmental issues and they will both be located in Prishtina. Response team members are typically on-site for 6 months to a year. After dinner, we headed to our hotel which was near the airport.
We stayed at the Best Western near the airport and it was really nice. Because we had to leave before breakfast started, they packed us a box breakfast to take with us and they shuttled us to the airport. Our flight arrived around 11:30 am (we lost 2 hours to time change) at the smaller (which is still very big) airport Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side and we quickly found our way to the metro. The metro dropped us near a ferry line at Kadikoy and we took a ferry to get to our hotel and it was a pleasant way to get to our destination. As we rode the ferry to the European part of Istanbul, we had no idea that the large mosques that we saw were the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, and that the large structure on the shore of the Marmara Sea was Topkapi Palace (Sultan Mehmet's palace built-in 1460).
We arrived on the wrong side of the Golden Horn, which is an estuary that dissects the European part of Istanbul. This was not a problem as a nearby bridge with a great pedestrian walkway was close to the ferry landing. Our hotel was a refurbished older building that was not far from the Galata Tower in the Galata neighborhood of Istanbul. After checking in and dropping our stuff, we explored this artsy neighborhood and found a cafe for lunch (Lily Cafe). I had a delicious mezze plate with four different dips/spreads, pita wedges, and rice in grape leaves. After lunch, we meandered our way past charming cafes and art shops until we reached the streets closer to the harbor and cruise ship docks. These streets were like many I've seen before in other places where cruise ships dock.
As it started to cool down, we headed back across the river and found a coffee shop for a hot beverage. Eventually, we met up with Scott and Jerry (volunteers from KOS 8) and we set out to find dinner. We learned that many restaurants don't serve beer or wine as they are too close to a mosque and with over 3,000 mosques in Istanbul, there are a lot of restaurants that don't serve beer. We eventually found one with some traditional food and beer. Then we had a long walk through a park and up past the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. These buildings are amazing with a rich history and were especially beautiful at night. The area around them was well-manicured and very clean.
Thursday morning, we did a walking tour with Jerry and our guide Alper was very informative. We learned about the history of Istanbul starting with the area around the Hagia Sophia. This area was once a hippodrome dating back to when the city was called Byzantium in AD 203. It is now known as Sultanahmet Square and still contains several ancient structures such as the Obelisk of Theodosius and the serpentine column. I have provided links with the historical information as there is just too much history in this city once known by the names of Byzantium, Nova Roma, and Constantinople. On the tour, we learned about mosques, cisterns, royal gardens, spice markets, restaurants, the language, and so much more. My favorite story, however, is about the Blue Mosque or Sultan Ahmet Camii (or Sultan Ahmed Mosque). It was built during in time of Sultan Ahmed I between 1609 and 1616. According to our guide, you can tell the importance of a mosque by the number of minarets. A public mosque typically has one minaret, while mosques commissioned by the sultans' families had more. Sultan Ahmed Mosque was built with six, however; a mosque was not allowed to have the same number as the Great Mosque in Mecca, which at the time had 6 minarets. Ahmet was told to tear one down, but instead, he sent his apologies and money for a seventh minaret to be added to the Great Mosque. The Great Mosque now has nine minarets.
After a traditional dinner, we went back to our hotel to relax after a long day of walking and exploring.
On Friday, Thom and I headed to the Basilica Cistern before meeting up with Jerry and Scott. Even though it is surrounded by water, Istanbul is and was a dry city. It needed to capture and store rainwater and bring water via aqueducts from other locations. The cistern are quite large with many columns. As part of the tour, they have added sculptures and lighting. It was really quite fascinating.
When we met up with Scott and Jerry, we headed by tram to the Galata side of the Golden Horn and then up to a Taksim square by a funicular. One of the best features of Istanbul is its many types of public transportation (metro, buses, trams, ferries, and funiculars). These are inexpensive to ride and can be accessed by purchasing and topping off a single card. Upon arriving at Taksim Square, we were greeted by yet another mosque. We checked out the nearby park and strolled down a major shopping street toward Galata Tower. Along the way, we saw a Catholic Church and stopped to look inside. They were decorating the church for Christmas. After walking around Galata Tower, we took a ferry to the Asia side. There we strolled along the beach and through neighborhoods, before finding a dinner at a vegan falafel restaurant and then to a bar for cheap beer.
On Saturday, we explored the spice market (built in 1964), the Grand Bazaar, and the surrounding street markets before walking to the Valens Aqueducts (337 - 373 CE). These Roman aqueducts have been incorporated into the surrounding buildings, roadways, parks, and mosque compounds. Thanks to Scott, we took a long walk through many different and interesting neighborhoods as we made our way to the Balat neighborhood and its many colorful houses. Some of the homes are 200 years old and part of the neighborhood is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Project.
By then, we were ready for dinner and we once again were looking for the allusive combination of traditional food, beer, and reasonable prices. It took awhile, but we found a lovely and fairly new restaurant called By Chef. The staff was wonderful, the food exceptional, and it was an amazing end to a great day of exploring.
After four days of sun and blue skies, Sunday, we woke to gray skies and sprinkles. After breakfast, we headed to a the airport for our flight back to Kosovo. We were greeted at the airport by Valon and Sami, who graciously came to pick us up and deliver us back to Kaçanik.
We found Istanbul to be a wonderful, picturesque city with a lot to offer, but do it on the off-season as the old city center and the markets were too crowded on Saturday.
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