Istanbul – April 15-19, 2019
I left the Long Bridge town of Erdine early arriving at the Aquarium at 10am, almost a 3½ hour drive with all the morning traffic in Istanbul.
TIPS AND OBSERVATIONS ISTANBUL
1. ISTANBUL MUSEUM CARDS.
a. Museum Pass Istanbul. We bought the pass that included 12 museums but no guided tours for €39, a good deal. For sale at all the museums offered on the card, it is also convenient to buy. Most of the other sights in Istanbul are free or quite inexpensive. A major advantage is that you bypass the ticket lines (which are very long for Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace).
b. Istanbul Welcome Card. Several versions including 2 or 12 museums, transportation, a Bosporus boat cruise and other attractions, it was not convenient to buy (order and have it delivered to your hotel in 7 days, or pick it up at their office – but we had to purchase a metro card to get to the office that covered all of our metro rides for 4 days, didn’t want the Bosporus cruise etc). I didn’t think it would be cost-effective.
2. Istanbul is a very popular city for plastic surgery. People come from all over Europe – mostly for nose jobs and hair transplants – and are obvious when you start to notice.
3. It is a tourist hotspot and the crowds were huge in April. Traffic is a nightmare. Most sights have a nice white, 4-sided information kiosk that gives a reasonable history in 4 languages.
Day 1
Istanbul Aquarium. Some of the highlights are Gentoo penguins, capybaras (the largest rodent in the world), sharks, Napoleon wrasse, and several kinds of rays. The different tanks are separated by geographic areas with the Mediterranean the largest. The aquarium is on the west outskirts of Istanbul on the water. 99 lira, 65 lira reduced
I then crossed under the Bosporus in a long tunnel with no toll.
Beylerbeyi Palace. On the east side of the Bosporus, a wood palace was originally built here in the 1830s which burned. Sultan Abdulaziz rebuilt this marble summer residence in 1863-5. It was used as the State Guest House and many kings, queens and heads of state stayed here. It has three stories, 24 rooms and 6 halls with chandeliers, Turkish carpets and porcelain from all over the world. Also of interest are the Marble Kiosk (1829 hunting lodge), Yellow Kiosk, gardens (5 lira), and the Tunnel. Then the furniture is very gaudy. 60 lira, no reduction
Adile Sultan Palace. It is uncertain when this was built but was purchased by Sultan Abdulmeid and given to the princess Adile Sultan (1826-1899 as a summer residence in 1856. When she died, it became the first boarding school for girls in Istanbul. In a fire in 1986, it was reduced to an empty shell but completely restored by its former students an reopened in 2006. It is now the Kandille Centre for Culture and Education and has a posh restaurant. The foyer has an enjoyable picture gallery and the salon upstairs is a lovely oval room. Free
Küçüksu Palace. This small, 1857, 2-story summer palace was used by Ottoman sultans for short stays during country excursions and hunting. Highlights are the two fantastic carved marble gates, the chandeliers, marble fireplaces, and carpets. It sits on the water amidst nice gardens surrounded by cast-iron railings. Used as a state guesthouse for years, it was opened as a museum in 1944. The palace appeared in the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough” as the mansion of oil heiress Elektra King in Baku. 20 lira, 16 lira reduced.
Khedive Palace (Hidiv Palace). Cross wonderful gardens in full bloom to this lovely 2-story art-nouveau palace sitting on a hill high above the Bosporus. The entire lower floor is a restaurant – the front semi-circular part is fine dining and the back is a café (with very reasonable prices – plan on eating here). Enter a central foyer with a great fountain surrounded by marble columns. Free
I picked Anna up from the new airport (Amavutkoy/Istanbul – the old one is now permanently closed). It is 45kms north of the city center and obviously, there is no metro up here, so shuttle buses are the only cheap way into the city.
We stayed at 22 Hotel, a budget but very adequate hotel close to the Osmanbey metro and 3 stops away from Old Town. I had some unused air miles that were about to expire and paid for the 4 nights with them. Trying to find a parking spot nearby was impossible and we finally resorted to paying for parking at €8 per day, a first for me.
We wanted to eat a typical Turkish meal so went to a restaurant near our hotel. I should have known when it was empty that there was a problem. In the end, we had a mediocre meal for a lot of money – a salad and a variety of skewers for almost €18 – this amount is quite expensive in Istanbul.
Day 2
This ended up being an 18km walking day and attests to how good Chaco flip-flops are. We took the metro from near our hotel to the stop in the middle of the bridge, then walked to all of these sights. In the end, it was about a 6km walk from the lighthouse to the same metro stop.
Suleymaniye Mosque. This was a big climb up to this grand mosque – a huge dome supported by four enormous columns.
Grand Bazaar. This is a massive market with an old and new part, full of a maze of lanes going in every direction, mostly jewelry stores and most everything else – but nothing that I wanted to buy. The new part is not very atmospheric.
Nuruosmaniye Complex. A tentative WHS (13/04/2016), it was built from 1749-55, the first Baroque-style mosque in Istanbul. The complex consists of a madrassa, kitchens, library, tomb, public fountain and some shops. The outer courtyard was a semi-circle with 12 domes, the main dome is 26m in diameter, 174 windows and 2 minarets with a crescent made of stone instead of lead.
Basilica Cistern. This is an ancient Byzantine water reservoir built by Emperor Justinian (527-65) to provide the water demands of a growing Istanbul. Built by carving a 140m X 70m cavern into the rock and then covering with a grand roof supported by 336 – 9m high columns (12×28). The floor was waterproofed with special cement. The water was brought from a source 19kms away.
Descend 52 steps into the dimly lit grand space full of immense columns. The Crying Column has teardrop shaped carvings and is always wet supposedly a memorial to the hundreds of slaves who died during construction. In the 1985-8 renovation that removed metres of mud, two fantastic Medusa heads were discovered that formed the base of two columns. 20 lira
Cağaloğlu Hamam. Built in 1741, as a double hamman (men’s and women’s sides) to bring revenue to the library built inside the Hagia Sofia. The entrance (men’s) has seven barrel vaults and a small dome with 8 arches and marble pillars surrounding a fountain. Services include a hot room, exfoliating body scrub, body massage and baths, but are rather expensive: self-service €30, scrub + bubble bath €50, +bubble massage €65, +foot massage €75, +aromatherapy massage 120€, +face mask €180.
The large square outside the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum has several monuments: German Fountain (octagonal fountain with great mosaic in the ceiling of the dome, donated by Prussian Emperor Willhelm II in 1898; Egyptian Obelisk (from 1450 BC, the hieroglyphics and style looked very modern); Serpent Column (this spiralled bronze column made from melted down Persian shields and armour from in front of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi Greece used to be 8m high with 3 serpent heads, but is now 5½m high as the top has basically corroded to this height); Walled Obelisk (32m high, it came from the Hippodrome in Rome). These latter three were brought to Constantinople by Constantine.
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum*. The wonderful pink stone Ibrahim Pasha Palace, this good museum details art by empire, of which there have been many occupying the Near East of Asia. A highlight for me was the Damascus Documents, the first written Koran.
Great Palace Mosaic Museum*. Constantine built his first palace here which was the seat of government until Ataturk moved the capital to Ankara. The Nika insurrection of 532 reduced most of the original to rubble but Justinian (527-65) rebuilt it and produced the great mosaics (originally 75-80 million limestone, terracotta and glass cubes) on display here now. Much is quite faded and fragmented but the preserved 250 sq.m that remain have some great scenes of hunting, animals, playing, legends and landscapes with 150 human or animal figures.
Sultan Ahmed Mosque (The Blue Mosque). Built in 609-17 with unusually six minarets, it is a classic square pattern with the central dome (43m high, 23.5m diameter) and semi-domes on each side supported by 4 immense stone pillars. There are always big lineups here circling around the courtyard with its great informative panels. The highlight is the interior covered with 20,000 panels of mostly blue/green tiles, and 260 windows. Unfortunately the dome was being renovated and could not be seen, but the aisles gave a good idea of what was there. Free
Hagia Sophia*. The third church on this site (original consecrated in 360, destroyed by fire in 404, and rebuilt in 415). This model was built in 537 by Emperor Justinian and was the most inspiring Christian church in the world at the time (took 1000 tradesmen and 10,000 workers six years to build). It was a Christian church for 916 years and a mosque for 482 years (1453-1923) and has many features of both religions inside. It was secularized in 1934 and converted into a museum in 1936. Some highlights were the 2nd century BC bronze doors
Ahırkapı Feneri. This lighthouse was built in 1775 on the Marmara city walls inside the coastal road. Originally wood, it was destroyed by fire twice and finally rebuilt in stone. It is the 2nd highest lighthouse in Turkey at 40m and is white with a black band.
It was a long walk down to the shore to the LH and then 6kms back to the metro station on the bridge walking along the water.
Day 3
This was another mammoth walk day – 20kms and very tiring. We turned north from the same metro station on the bridge.
Rezan Has Museum. Wrapping shredded tobacco started in South America in the mid 17th century and became the mainstay of smoking in the mid 19th century. The Cigali Tobacco Factory started in the early 1900s in the Golden Horn District of Istanbul and had increased production 5-fold by its peak in 1925-40. In 1969, the Istanbul Cigarette Factory started to supplant is and it closed in 1994. The building was rented to the Hadir Has Foundation in 1997 and it became the Kadir Has University in 2002. It is a monument to Turkey’s industrial heritage.
Initially cigarettes were rolled manually – one worker could roll 5/minute, 300/hour and 3000/day and they went on strike in the 1893 to object to the introduction of machines. 5 lira
In the basement, is an archaeology museum with objects dating to 6500 BC.
St. George’s Cathedral. This Greek Orthodox church close to the water was crowded with tourists, many here to touch and kiss an object in the right front corner – basically a black post with a small brass wear area (I asked many what it was but few knew or spoke good enough English to explain). Otherwise it is typical Greek Orthodox Church, with a gilded altar screen, big brass candlesticks, many oil lamps and a lot of chanting. Free
St. Stephan’s Church (Bulgarian Iron Church). This Bulgarian Orthodox Church was built totally of iron in 1898. An iron frame was preferred to concrete because weight on the soft ground. It was prefabricated in Vienna and the 500 tons of steel were shipped down the Danube to Istanbul. The skeleton of steel and covered with metal cladding is one of the few remaining prefab cast iron churches in the world. The 40m high belfry has 6 bells. The interior is very pleasant without much clutter – a huge gild altar screen and unusual metal ceiling. Free
We then had a long walk climbing the steep hill and traversing blocks of an extremely busy street market (mostly clothes, some vegetables). Prices must have been good as people were buying lots. This appears to be a very religious part of Istanbul as all women wore a hajib and many full-face coverings.
Fatih Mosque. The courtyard of this giant busy mosque had a lovely ablution fountain with a metal spire, 2 minarets, a huge dome supported by 4 enormous columns and side half domes on all sides. There were many iron rings of lights covering the entire interior.
On exiting the street market continued, just as busy on the other side.
Zeyrek Mosque. This is a much older, simpler mosque of pink stone and cement with a nice barrel vault entrance. The older half had a steel girder suspension system giving support to the 4 main columns. The new side had faux marble columns.
It was then another 2kms walk west to see a mosque inadvertently missed on day 1. On the way, we passed a lovely market area (stores, mostly meat) and about 30 buses full of SWAT riot gear and a lot of police.
Tombs of Sultan Mustafa III (1717-74) and Sultan Selim Han Turbesi (r. 1789-1807). Next door to the Laleli Mosque.
Laleli Mosque. Built from 1760-63, it withstood the earthquake of 1766. It has 2 minarets. This was the first time we had come to a mosque during one of the times of prayer. A sermon was being delivered and many of the older men were seated in chairs on the carpet.
It was another 2km walk dissecting the area we visited yesterday, so we took the lovely new tram most of the way.
Column of Constantine. Constantine brought many monuments with him when he moved the capital of the Eastern Roman world to Constantinople. This huge 57m column was from the Temple of Apollo in Rome. It has had many statues on top: Apollo, Constantine, Julianis and Theodeses, and was struck by lightning and held together by a series of steel bands and connecting rods.
Press Museum. We passed this on the way to Topkapi Palace. I wondered how it was functioning in one of the most controlled countries of the world.
Topkapı Palace*. It was built in between 1466 and 1478 by the sultan Mehmet II on top of a hill. It was the political center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries until they built Dolmabahce Palace by the waterside. Initially, there were 700-800 residents but that increased to 5,000 on normal days and 10,000 on festival days. The walls surrounding it were about 5 kilometres long.
During the 400 hundred years of reign at Topkapi, each sultan added a different section or hall to the palace, depending on his taste or on the needs of the time. Therefore the palace is formed by a maze of buildings centered around a series of courtyards protected by different gates.
First visit the Harem, literally meaning “forbidden” in Arabic, a complex of apartments belonging to the wives, concubines and children of the sultan, guarded by the black eunuchs. At some point, its population topped to a record high of 474 ladies. Inside the Harem there were rooms dedicated to the mother of the sultan, wives of the sultan, his concubines, Turkish baths, a circumcision room, apartments of the chief black eunuch, and apartments of the sultan, in total over 400 rooms. Today, the Harem is a separate museum within the palace. Then visit the Imperial Hall and Privy Chamber both wildly decorated in classic Islamic style.
The palace was opened to the public as a museum in 1924.
Google Maps has an incorrect location for this and we had a big walkabout trying to find it.
Museum of Ancient Oriental Art*. Part of the Archaeology Museum, it covers the area of present-day north Egypt, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Israel and Jordan in pre-Islamic times.
Istanbul Archaeology Museum*. Some of the highlights were the Tiled Kiosk, sarcophagi collection and the ceramics of Izmik. A large part of the museum appeared to be under renovation.
Gulhand Park. This park was planted with many beds of tulips in many colours. It was gorgeous.
History of Science and Technology in Islam Museum*. The models were well done, but the explanations were too complicated to understand the concepts.
Hodjapasha. In a 15th-century hammam, there are two shows: 1. Rhythm of the Dance is a cultural dance show that combines traditional Turkish dances with belly dance and Ottoman harem dances – every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 20:30. 140 lira and
2. The Sema Ceremony – dervish dancing daily at 19:00. 110 lira
Istanbul Gar – Marmaray. The train station in the old town of Istanbul is relatively small and not overly busy. The old part is lovely with stained glass windows and waiting areas with curved wood benches.
Railway Museum. This small museum is in one room in the corner of the old part of Marmaray train station. It is a hodgepodge of exhibits: clocks, lanterns, telegraph, uniforms, typewriters, the Railway Hospital, scales etc.
Misir Carsisi, This large market housed in a huge T-shaped barrel-vaulted building has many high-end shops. On the end and sides, the market continues with huge volumes of people.
Day 4
Atatürk Museum. Within a block from our hotel, this museum is housed in the house lived in by Ataturk for 6 months in 1919. There are a surprising number of personal items: socks, pyjamas, clothing, medals, false teeth, swords, guns, uniforms, stamps etc. Free
Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews. This 2-story museum is very well done. Most Turkish Jews came here after Spain (1492) and Portugal (1497) expelled all Jews (Sephardic Jews, a total of about 120,000 Jews left leaving behind all their possessions). The Ottoman Empire was always welcoming to Jews from wherever. Other exhibits were printed in Turkey, Jews in WWI, and Turkish diplomats who saved many Jews from the Holocaust. The upper story tells about all Jewish holidays and festivals. Then visit the Neve Salom Synagogue. 30 lira
Galata Tower. This landmark in the east part of old Istanbul was built by the Byzantine emperor Anastoras in the 1st quarter of the 6th century as a lighthouse. It was demolished in the 4th Crusade in 1204, rebuilt by the Genoese in 1348 (named the Tower of Jesus) and the height increased to 69.9m in 1445-6. It has been a fire watchtower since 1717. The external diameter is 16.45m, the internal diameter is 8.95m and the walls are 3.75m thick.
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. I had 3 major exhibits: In Pursuit of the Present (relationships of Istanbul to nature), a very good photo exhibit by Yildiz Moran (1932-1995), a woman’s photos over 12 years and the textile work of 25 different artists. 60 TL, 40 reduced
Galerist. In the NM “Things to do” series, this was a difficult place to find as there are no exterior signs. They were just opening a new show that evening but finally allowed me to see it – two artists presenting their view of the Apollo vs Marsyas story (who was the better musician Apollo with his lyre or Marsyas with her flute) – photographs of human bodies distorted in various ways and free-form cloth objects in sheer nylon netting. Free
Pera Museum. In a very attractive 5-story building, there were exhibits with 11 Contemporary Chinese artists, coffee culture, weights and measures and paintings involving ambassadors. 25 TL, 10 reduced.
Galatasaray Museum. This small museum is in the front of the post office and no surprise, has 4 small rooms of postage stamps: flowers, minerals, gems, sports and many other stamps. Free
Istiklal Caddesi and Taksim Square. This is a major shopping street in east Istanbul. Very wide, it is completely pedestrianized.
Museum of Innocence. This museum has photographs and objects belonging to the Keskor Family and their daughter Füsun who lived here from 1975-99 and to Kemal Bosmar who was in love with Füsun. Their story is told in Orhim Pamrik’s novel The Museum of Innocence. I think this museum would only appeal to those who have read the book, especially if they are from Turkey. There is no labeling but an audioguide is available in English. 40 TL, no reduction.
Orhan Kemal Museum. Orhan Kemal (1914-1970) was the pen name of Turkish novelist Mehmet Rasit Ogutcu, who wrote realist novels that describe the life of the poor in Turkey. He was jailed for 5 years for his political views and worked as a labourer to finance his writing. The museum is in the flat he lived in above a bookstore. 10 TL
Dolmabahçe Palace. This palace served as the main administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire from 1856-1887 and 1909-22 (in Yildiz Palace in the interim). Built by Sultan Abdulmecid I between 1843 and 56 to replace the Topkapi Palace as his home, costing 35 tons of gold (equivalent to $1.5 billion today). It placed a huge burden on Turkey’s finances which led to the Ottoman Empire defaulting on its public debt in 1875. It was the home to six sultans and the presidential residence of Ataturk until he died in 1938.
It is the largest palace in Turkey covering 11 acres, and has 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 hamams and 68 toilets. Visit the Selamlik (men’s quarters) and/or the Harem (the private residence of the Sultan and his family, separated by the Ceremonial Hall with a 36m-high dome. The Harem also includes 8 interconnected apartments for his wives, favourites and concubines and his mother. It is decorated with gold and crystal (not tiles) with 14 tons of gold in the ceilings. The chandelier in the Ceremonial Hall has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tons. The palace has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal in the world, including the famous crystal staircase in the shape of a double horseshoe built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany. There is also a lot of marble onyx and porphyry, 202 paintings, gas lighting, water closets, electricity, central heating and elevators.
On the grounds are a mosque, the palace of the Crown Prince, dormitories of the servants, stables, an aviary, greenhouses, glass manufacturing, a foundry etc. 90 TL (Selamlik & Harem), 60 TL (Selamlik), no reduction and not included on the Museum Card.
Yildiz Palace. This is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas used as a residence of the Sultan and his court from 1887-1909. Built in 1880, by Sultan Abdulmecid II, as he feared a seaside attack on the Dolmabahce Palace. It is a complex that has many buildings including the State Apartments, several pavilions, a theatre and opera house, porcelain factory. The Mother of Pearl salon is the most famous room with mother of pearl covering almost all surfaces, a single 400 sq.m carpet on the floor of the reception chamber.
After 1924, it was used as a casino, then a guest house for visiting heads of state and then as a museum and gardens. Now it is used by the president and can’t be visited.
