Istanbul, Turkey

We were really on the fence a few days ago about whether or not we should come to Istanbul as it was about 15 hours by train further east than Thessanoliki, Greece, the next city we had planned to visit, which means it would have been 15 hours from Sofia to Istanbul and then another 15 hours back in the same direction to Thessanoliki. Anyways, we went for it and are so glad we did. Istanbul was very different both architecturally and culturally from the other european cities we have seen to date as a result of middle eastern and Islamic influence. We stayed in a lovely little hotel in the most amazing location, directly beside Sultanahmet square, where both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are located. Our room had a direct view of the Blue Mosque and the hotel terrace had a beautiful view of the square, city and ocean.

The Blue Mosque gets its name from the blue tiles lining the interior walls and the light that filters in from the mostly blue stained glass windows. It is incredible in size and stature and was built around 400 years ago. The Hagia Sophia, which isn't quite as elegant as the blue mosque, is still pretty amazing as it was built around 360 AC, initially as an eastern orthodox church, and then was eventually converted into a mosque in the late 15th century. Directly behind the Hagia Sophia lies the Sultan's Palace, which Geoff and I spent an afternoon exploring. They had some pretty incredible artifacts including an 86 carat diamond headpiece, surrounded by 49 smaller diamonds! There were also a number of muslim treasures, including the prophet Mohammed's beard and tooth, as well as Moses's stick that he had in hand when he, according to the Bible, parted the Red Sea.

It has been fascinating to learn more about the Muslim culture and religion, which I'll be honest, I didn't know a lot about beforehand. Funny enough, I just happen to be reading the Satanic Verses again while we travel, which has been helpful in better understanding the religion and stories of the Qur'an. Muslims are required to pray five times per day, and it seems that most of the mosques here, over a loud speaker, conduct a call to prayer usually at 5:30 am,12:30 pm, 3:30 pm, 6:30pm and 7:30 pm. The first 5:30 am call to prayer was a bit of shocker for us, especially since we are staying right beside two mosques! They are very old, slow and beautiful prayers that are sung in intervals and echo throughout Sultanahmet square and across the city. I will try and attach a video I captured just as we were leaving the city so you can get a sense of what it sounded like, although the sound is not that great.

Other than that we spent time shopping in some of the markets, drinking apple tea and eating Turkish delights. The food, in my opinion for a metropolitan city, wasn't that exciting. A lot of donairs, kebabs and meat stews. Muslims don't eat pork so there was a lot of lamb and chicken available but it was hard to eat as a vegetarian that's for sure! I can definitely say during this trip Geoff and I both have had our fair share of vegetarian pizzas and pastas. My favourite part about Istanbul was the fresh juice that is available everywhere; orange, pomegranate, pineappple, all juiced as you watch. Best thing to get you back to health when you have a cold (which we both came down with after the train ride from Sophia).

Anyways, we are landing in 15 minutes in Athens so must go, will post once we get in.

Jess