On our first day in Istanbul Ryan and Caroline encouraged us to go on an amazing food tour. The tour had eight stops begging with a famous Turkish Delight store, a tour of the spice markets as our guide pick up some of our breakfast at different stalls, before bringing us to a small family fun place on the outside of the market for a full traditional breakfast. This huge breakfast included a multitude of Turkish cheese, hazelnut butter, roasted pepper, tomato, and chilli spread, different types of cured meats and the Turkish scrambled eggs, mixed with tomatoes, onions, and seasoning. It was followed by a tasty lentil soup or beef soup at another traditional restaurant, our guide sharing soup is part of the traditional Turkish breakfast. Over the day we tried many more traditional Turkish food and drink. We tried Huma’s favourite dessert, Kanafa cheese in fried angel hair pasta with honey and pistachios. Our fantastic guide convinced us to be brave and try the roasted sheep, intestines stuffed with sweet meats and steamed mussels stuffed with Turkish rice and meat, prepared for 24 hours. We finished the tour with Turkish ice cream, Baklava (Clark’s favourite), and Salep (creamy & thick, sweet warm milk). It was very quiet, and we met a lovely Moroccan woman who was volunteering at the Mosque as a guide and ambassador for Islam, she also encouraged Olenka who had decided the thick carpets was perfect for practicing her gymnastics!
The following day we embarked on early morning tour of Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern, followed by the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque). Our animated tour guide was a retired Turkish airlines hostess, with fantastic English. She was a passionate historian, and loved of Byzantine art, she had participated as a volunteer when the UNESCO team was working to restore mosaics in Hagia Sophia. It was interesting to learn the history of Hagia Sophia over the years since its origin in the 6th century. It has long been considered a sacred place by Muslims, then Christians (because of the 4th Crusade). With the fall of Constantinople it became a mosque again. In the 1935 it was converted to a museum and in 2020 it was converted back to a mosque with the upper balcony’s still being considered a museum (partly motivated to maintain annual funding from UNESCO and charge high entrance fees). Our guide demonstrated some of changes through the centuries, showing us different architecture and mosaics. She explained how some of the Christian mosaics had been covered up, then uncovered with the conversion to museum and now and made acceptable for the mosque to still be active, while maintaining the Christian artwork in a respectful way. She felt this showed Muslims acceptance of other faiths and discussed her pleasure of being a Muslim woman living in a secular country, which allowed her to work, live alone, and freedom to choose how she practiced her faith.
The Blue Mosque shows the grandeur of the Ottoman empire, it was built in the 17th century and is located just beside Hagia Sophia. It has extensive, beautiful blue flora tile through the interior, a grand dome and six minarets (a misunderstanding allowing the architect not to make them in gold as requested by the Sultan).
On our final full day in Istanbul, the girls headed off early in the morning to attend a Turkish lamp making class. This was a fantastic experience where we got to use our artistic skills with the guide of traditional Turkish designs to create our own beautiful Turkish lamps. It was relaxing and fun. Unfortunately, the decorated globe to my lamp broke the following day when I tried to dismantle the top decorative piece to make it easier to pack. Luckily everyone else learned from my lesson. We visited the Topkai Palace, an Ottoman Imperial Palace. Entering this palace was over $100 a person CAD, for each of us showing how prices in turkey have really gone up to target tourist. The palace has beautiful gardens, 2 courtyards, and amazing architecture. The famous Harem, for clarification, an inner region of the palace where the Queen, Queen, Mother, the children, and Sultan’s concubines lived. It includes a central communal area, dorms, a mosque, learning and music lesson quarters and the impressive Queen and Queen’s mother’s residence, with their Hammams (Turkish Baths). One of the onsite museums displayed fantastic calligraphy, giving me a new appreciation for the art of calligraphy, we viewed the Imperial Treasury, seeing the Palace jewels, the Topkai dagger, and numerous precious stones.
