Travel Quotes

Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou

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....................."One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching." Unknown..................


I would like to welcome new readers to my travel blog. If you are reading this for the first time, then I suggest you first read my introduction which I wrote last November when I started this. It explains why I am writing this and it gives you a little about my background. And most importantly it explains about my list and how it works. To go to that post, click on the following link - http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/2011/11/have-list-will-travel-introduction.html


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Destination - Istanbul, Turkey

“If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.” 
Alphonse de Lamartine

“If the Earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.”
Napoleon Bonaparte

Istanbul, from our boat on the Bosphorus
Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, spans both Asia and Europe.  Half the city is in each continent.  Because of this, it has always had a great importance in the world.  Today it is a vibrant, colorful city, full of wonderful sights to see.

My husband and I stopped in Istanbul last year for just a few days.  It had been on my list for quite some time, and since we were going to be in the neighborhood, sort of, we decided to make a side-trip to see it.  We didn’t get to see everything that the tourist guides suggest, but we saw the main things.  And we got a feel of what Istanbul is like.  It really is a beautiful, vibrant city.  The old town area is always busy, even late at night.  And I recommend staying in the old town section of the city, it just makes it easier to see everything, and there are great restaurants on every corner.  Below is my list of things to see while visiting this city.
Entrance to the Harem
in Topkapi Palace
1. Topkapı Palace – Home of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years, the palace was the home of the monarch who lived in Topkapi’s hundreds of rooms with hundreds of concubines, children and servants.  You can take a guided tour, or wander on your own through the Harem, the palace and the spacious grounds and four courtyards.  The 3rd courtyard houses the Treasury, with its incredible gems, gold and works of art.
2.  Hagia Sophia – is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for Byzantine and for the Ottoman empires. Once a church, later a mosque, it is now a museum. It is known as one of the great buildings of the world. It is worth a visit to see its famous mosaics and the interior of the building.
 
Blue Mosque
3.  The Blue Mosque is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul, with its 6 slender minarets and beautiful domes and semi- domes,  260 windows and nice courtyards.  It was built between 1609-1616.   The mosque is not blue, so you may wonder why it is called that. It is named for the blue tiles inside the building. Inside you will see the breathtaking interior with its chandeliers and blue tiles.   Visitors are allowed to visit the mosque and take pictures.  You will be asked to remove your shoes.  Important to remember that this is a house of worship and you should never walk in front of a person at prayer.  Also, it may be closed for a half an hour during the formal worship times of the day, and for longer periods on Fridays and holy days.

Basilica Cistern
4. Basilica Cistern  – The cisterns lie beneath the streets of Istanbul, and date back to the time when Istanbul was called Constantinople.  It is an eerie subterranean "sunken palace" of 336 marble columns which could hold 2,265 cubic meters (80,000 cubic feet) of water in case of drought or siege.  There are walkways and plenty of lighting, and we found it to be fascinating.  While we were there we found a place that takes photos.  They dressed my husband up as a Sultan, and I was his concubine.  We had to pay a small price for the photo, but it is one of my favorite souvenirs.

Inside the Grand Bazaar
5. Grand Bazaar - The ultimate medieval "shopping center," with approximately 4000 shops, is fun whether you buy or just browse.  It is also called the Covered Market.  It is the largest covered market and offers excellent shopping.  You can purchase beautiful carpets, glazed tiles and pottery, copper and brassware, apparel, and almost anything you could dream up.  I got a really nice little camel which has a small opening on its hump.  I use it as a Christmas ornament, although it wasn’t made for this purpose.  There are also lots of restaurants in the Bazaar.  The bazaar is closed on Sundays.

The Spice Markety
6. Egyptian (Spice) Market – This market is filled with the fragrance of the exotic East.  You can purchase spices from around the world, as well as food items, coffee, snacks and Turkish Delight.  It is open every day of the week, and is a fun place to take a stroll.
7. Dolmabahçe Palace – This palace was built in 1856 and is a European-style palace on the Bosphorus. The palace’s white marble façade is striking when viewed from the water – but it’s trumped by the interior, which includes the 36-metre-high throne room with its crystal chandelier (a gift from Queen Victoria), the alabaster baths and a 'crystal staircase' that wouldn't look out of place in Las Vegas. This historical building gives opulence a whole new meaning.
George enjoying his yogurt
in Kanlica
8. Bosphorus Cruise – The Bosphorus Strait is an iconic image associated with Istanbul.  Separating the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, it connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea.  Traveling the length of the Bosphorus is a fantastic way of checking out some of the monuments and mansions of Istanbul from the comfort of a boat.  You can either do this by boarding a ferry, or you can book a private tour boat to take you.  When we were there we decided to take a private boat.  The ferry tends to be crowded and we wouldn’t know what we were seeing.  The boat stopped in several villages along the way and we even had a barbequed fish dinner on board.  My favorite stop was in the village of Kanlica, which is famous for its yogurt, and for good reason.  I like yogurt well enough, but the yogurt in Kanlica was the best I have ever tasted.  It comes with a topping of powdered sugar, which gives it a sweet crusty topping.  I can’t describe to you how good this yogurt was, but it was as good as any of the gelato we bought in Italy.
Houses along the Bosphorus
9. Princes' Islands – The Princes’ Islands are a chain of nine islands in the Sea of Marmara, four of which can easily be reached from the city center.  During the Byzantine and Ottoman era, princes and royalty who were seen as challengers to the throne were exiled there.  Today, the islands are a popular summer destination for the rich and famous of Istanbul.  The most popular of the islands is Buyukada.  There are no motorized forms of transportation on the island.  Visitors and residents instead take to foot, horse and cart or bicycle.  There are a number of good restaurants on the island, along with shops and ice cream stands.  There are public beaches where you can relax or go for a swim.  The main sights are a church and a monastery.

Me and my rug guy
10. Sultanahmet  (Old City) - Wander the streets of the Old City section of the city.  Look in all the shops, talk to some of the rug merchants.  They will offer you tea if you look at their rugs.  It can be high pressure sales, but the rugs are beautiful and we made a friend of a young salesman who gave us tea and showed us his rugs.  I didn’t buy from him to begin with, I said I wanted to look around some more.  The next 2 days we kept seeing him, and he would run over to talk to us, and lower the price on the rug I wanted.  The last day we did buy the rug from him, and he was so happy.  And I really enjoyed talking to him, he made me laugh, he was such an enthusiastic young man.  And I love my rug.

Old City of Istanbul
Many of the sights listed above are in the Old City section. There are many good restaurants in this section of town.  Almost every corner has wonderful food and outdoor eating places.  The kebab is the most well known food in Istanbul, and you should try it while there. Kebab is a typical South Eastern Turkish food and although you may be familiar with the western version, there is nothing like a true Turkish kebab. A traditional kebab may be cooked over a flame or grill, but if you prefer something in the form of a sandwich, look for a Doner Kebab which is roast lamb, sliced very thin, on flatbread with vegetables and a delicious yogurt and garlic sauce. Fresh fish and seafood can be found in abundance in Istanbul.   After dinner take a walk down to the Bosphorous.  There are all sorts of carts, selling unusual things.  And it is a fun place to walk around.  It was well-lit and quite crowded with people.

Turks are extremely friendly with foreign visitors, the cuisine is excellent and there are many wonderful sights to explore.  Istanbul is just the first stop.  There are so many other areas of the country worth exploring. I would love to see more of this fascinating country.  We did see a small portion of it in 2007 when we took a trip to Greece which included a cruise of the Greek islands.  One of the stops was actually in Turkey.  We stopped in the port of Kusadasi and explored the ruins of Ephesus, which were fantastic.  You can read about that trip by going to the side panel and reading about our Greek trip under Trips Reports of Trips We Have Taken. 
Picture taken of us inside the Cisterns


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