Our Trip - Day Two

Fade in Day two.

Woken by the 6:30 AM alarm, we’ve got to get this day started as it’s going to be a long one. Gotta hit the executive lounge for some breakfast buffet.  Didn’t expect to see any bacon on this leg of the trip but there she was looking back at me in all her glory.  It was a bit under cooked for most North Americans, but the taste we all crave was there. 

Out front to wait for the tour bus so it can take us all over town and see the sights that Istanbul has to offer.  An Irishman joins us from our hotel and we’re off to pick up fellow travellers throughout the city.  Another pair of Canadians from Newmarket join us, 2 Australian couples, an American student and a pair of young ladies from Spain and Germany.  We’ve got a mix and let’s get this tour started.

First stop…The Blue Mosque…

Once Katie had covered up a bit and our shoes removed, we were allowed to enter.  So beautiful, so much detail, so much tile work.  Your eyes don’t know where to look because you’re trying to take it all in.  We’re not religious people, but you can’t wrap your head around the idea that you believe in something so strongly that it inspires you to create something as beautiful as this.  I’m sure to repeat myself over the next two days, but this is powerful and very moving and something I won’t soon forget.

Next up…Tokapi Palace…

We walk around the palace, room to room and your jaw keeps on hitting the floor.  The details in the smallest things, this is how the richest of the richest lived back then.  So much beauty, so much extravagance.  Yes, I do need a diamond encrusted water jug.  I jokingly think to myself.  This must be how Kanye lives.

Next up…Hagia Sophia Museum…

Again and I hate to re-use this word.  But powerful is the word I have to use to describe what you see.  Hard not to believe in something when you walk around a building like this.  It might have been something so fulfilling to dedicate yourself so wholly to your god like that.  Stunning.

After walking about 10,000 steps already that day, we stop at a small restaurant for some lunch. A small appetizer of which I can’t remember as it’s been a few days when I write this.  A kebob, rice and fries.  Everything is so tender and full of flavour.  Some baklava to wrap it up. We ate with one of the Australian couples and shared some great laughs with the well-travelled pair.

Enough chatter, let’s move this tour along.

We exit the restaurant and make a turn and it feels like we're entering a subway station.  We enter the staircase and start descending into a very large room called Basilica Cistern.  Room doesn't do it justice really as the area was massive and was used as a water chamber for the city a long long time ago.  As you can see by the pictures, the "room" goes back for a very long ways and must be 30-40 feet high.  The interesting thing here is that it wasn't discovered until about 40 years ago, so close to the new city above it and yet no one knew it was there.  Two of the columns are very different than the rest.  They've got two Medusa heads carved into them to protect the area.  It was so very impressive to see something so large and yet hidden away.

Next up, we head to learn about Turkish Rugs.

After offering up some beverages to the crowd, our host starts into his demonstration of how these beautiful hand made silk rugs are made.  Annnd our minds are blown.  Thread by thread, hand tied knots.  We see a rug and explained that it took a single person one year to make it in 20 minute blocks.  A few thousand to buy the rug and that's when you put things in perspective, a year of someones life to make something so complex and so beautiful. 

Once a person starts a rug, only they can work on it, each person ties a knot a certain way with a certain tension.  So only one person can work on a rug.  How their eyes don't go buggy looking at the pattern is unknown to me.  We browse the store and get ready to head on to our final stop of the guided tour.  The Grand Bazaar.

A quick walk around the corner and we're on the doorstep of the massive site.  Kids trying to sell you everything from Perfume to Electronics all before you even walk inside.  We get specific instructions from our tour guide on where to meet in an hour.  There are 18 exits and it'll be very easy to get turned around once inside.  We enter and the sites, sounds and smells were all so very overwhelming.  You just don't know where to look next, jewlery, watches, clothes, spices, foods, shoes, bags, jeans. 

You name it, they had it and they were pushing hard to sell it.  We did a quick lap and we had to jet, it was just all too much.  We saw and we can appreciate how big it is and just how much business happens there on a daily basis.  But only one word can describe it, overwhelming.  We wait on a quiet street and people watched until it was time to meet up with our guide to begin the journey back to the hotel.

After what seemed like a quick skillful bus ride we were back at the hotel.  We said goodbye to our fellow tour mate from Ireland.  In need of showers after those 16,000 steps that had made up a lifetime of memories that we won't soon forget we got cleaned up and got ready for our next adventure.

We were determined to have a local dining experience, Katie spoke with the concierge and asked for a recommendation.  He called up a local find and made us a reservation and wrote down the name and said show this to the porter at the front and he can get you there.  Everyone told us that we were in for a treat and that the restaurant was very good, we were off on another wild cab ride.  Turns, dips and speed oh my.  We made it to one of Turkeys best restaurants according to Time Magazine according to the write up on the menu.  Seated out front, on the sidewalk on a bit of a lean, it was the local experience that we wanted.  A small foot away from a local couple who'd prove to be very helpful to us throughout the meal.  The waiter sped by to grab some drink orders, he quickly returned not with drinks but with a very large tray of appetizers.  "What do you want?" he asked.  Katie and I stared at each other, neither sure of our next move.  Katie blinked first and asked, "what is this? How does this work?"  He then realized just how much of a couple of tourists we were.  He then explained dish by dish, what was in them, spice levels, the sights and the smells were wonderful.  We were off now.  Some Couscous, Yogurt with fresh herbs and some goat cheese.

Before the trip we had watched some Anthony Bourdain videos on Istanbul and Crete to prepare ourselves on the types of foods that we would be eating.  We both like the look and description of something he best described as "Turkish Pizza" we were lucky enough to sample Lahmajun when another tray of appetizers went around.  It was delish and well worth the wait. 

After getting some great advice from the couple beside us, we ordered the Kebob sampler as our main dish and it arrived and we couldn't get over how great it smelled.  We finished it far too quickly and it was during this time our neighbours had to leave.  We thanked them greatly and they wished us a great trip.

Another crazy cab ride back to the hotel, this time in the dark of night which made it even more frightened. 

A quick stop at the executive lounge for some nighttime shots of Istanbul and it was time for this tired pair to get some rest for another day of sites tomorrow.

Fade out Day Two.