01 March 2012
Istanbul
There are two main focuses I want to share about my early February travel to Istanbul: the beauty and the experience. The coastline, old buildings and glorious mosques left my eyes full. The experience of the over-bustling bazaars, over-aggressive sales techniques and visiting the Hagia Sophia will stay with me. I have never visited a place before that I can compare to Istanbul. The minute I stepped out of the Hilton, I was in another world so unlike the Western world from which I come. The people were so nice, yet pushy. The buildings were so beautiful but full of domes and other such architectural flair not common in the sights familiar to me. My travel partners and I, over wine on the terrace, decided our ears would ring with the demanding question “do you want to buy carpet” and our eyes would gloss over with memories of the beautiful buildings we saw for years to come.
One of the most beautiful buildings was the Hagia Sophia. From the outside it looks not so nice but once you step inside and are greeted by a great hall and enormous doors (the center one used only by emperors), the amazement begins! We walked around in a constant state of overwhelming, numbing, jaw-dropped bliss. This structure, once Christian and then Islamic, holds so much history that you cannot help but be in awe.
We also made sure to attend a belly dance show that also displayed many other forms of traditional dance from the region. Our hotel (gotta love the Hilton) got us front row center seats and we almost felt like we were part of the action. The dancer who performed Asian belly dancing was the most impressive. Her entire body would vibrate while her belly danced and her head would be perfectly still. A true master of her craft!
I hope to go back to Turkey and spend more time in Istanbul. All we experienced was only in the old town with one side-trip for dinner under the Galata Bridge. The delicious and fresh seafood would be enough to get me back there by itself!
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| Entering the Grand Bazaar |
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| Inside the Grand Bazaar at closing time...hence the lack of people. |
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| Our choices for dinner under the Galata Bridge! |
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| Hagia Sophia |
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| The door where only emperors were allowed to enter during Byzantine times |
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| Inside Hagia Sophia |
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| View from the second floor in the Hagia Sophia |
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| Inside the Blue Mosque |
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| Belly Dance show! |
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