Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Adventures in Istanbul

I just came back from Istanbul yesterday. It may have been the most amazing experience of my life. Istanbul is so beautiful and old. Its got the perfect east-meets-west cultural fusion that I think I had hoped to find in Budapest.

My friends and I flew in to Attaturk airport around 2 am on friday morning, and once we woke up spent the day exploring the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia.  It's so hard to believe places like that are real. My photos barely do them justice, and certainly can't capture the sheer vastness of the mosques, but here's a small peek.
Obelisisk in the Hippodrome

Ablutions fountains

Blue Mosque

Interior shot of the Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque and some lovely palm trees

The Hagia Sofia

The Dome of the Hagia Sofia

The second day in Istanbul we wandered the Archaeology museum and the covered Bazaar which was touristy, but an interesting experience. (I am not made to haggle)
Sunday we finally made it to Topkapi Palace after having tried and failed to get there before closing the previous two days. We had been warned the day before by some tourists we met in a coffee house that it would take a while. We didn't believe them, but they were very right. The Palace is huge. The Harem was less exciting than it had been made out to be, but the jewels in the treasury were breathtaking. I wish i could have taken pictures of some of them.
Statue from the Roman/Byzantine era

Another incredibly realistic Roman statue

Trojan Horse model (Sadly I couldn't go inside)

Topkapi Palace

Entrance to the inner courtyard

Harem entrance

View of the Hagia Sofia from a restaurant terrace

Spice Market Stall

Gulls on the Ferry over to Asia


I loved Istanbul. I loved the architecture and history, I loved the food, I loved waking up to the sounds of the Muezzins. Everything about the place was magical and in spite of the fact that I spent five days doing nothing but exploring, I feel like I have so much left to see. If I could, I would fly back in a heartbeat. I'll be doing a quick trip over to Vienna for a day or two this weekend, so I'll post again soon!

No comments:

Post a Comment