Jungle Jim: Istanbul, Lutfen (Please)

Today we will take in another tour of Istanbul, while picking up some items for the boat. We moved out to of the marina to a nice anchorage just outside - that works. We dinghy into shore and walk to the ferry terminal to take us into the old town. Not only is Turkey split across two continents, but Istanbul is as well. We are anchored on the Asian side. Our bus pass handles buses, trams and the ferry. Nice system.

This is a ferry stop at the major train station.

The waterway that separates Istanbul and Europe from Asia Minor is called the Bosphorus.

Needless to say an extremely busy waterway. We plan to take this north in a couple of days to the Black Sea. Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey all share the Black Sea.

Our first tour stop is the Blue Mosque, called such due to the blue tiles throughout the inside. Today is Friday and a big prayer day, so we got here before the 12 noon services.

It's an impressive place. The lights hang low as they once were oil lamps and the Muslims wanted to preserve the ceiling from oil smoke.

Lovely place to visit.

This is a model of Mecca, which of course the Blue Mosque faces. Being the nerd I am, I confirmed it with my compass watch. I'll now move on and check the barometric pressure of the foyer.

As we walk out of the Blue Mosque we see the Aya Sofya (Eye-ya Sophia) through the gate.

The Aya Sofya is from the Byzantine era. First erected in 360 AD as a church, turned into a mosque in 1453 (ergo minarets) and converted to a museum in 1935. We will visit that another day to give it the time it deserves.

Looking back at the Blue Mosque we see some similarities. However, the sultan ordered that it be built on a grander scale than the original Christian church across the way (Sophia). The minarets (towers) are where the calls to prayers were made 5 times a day. Modern sound systems eliminated the need for people to go up.

It is a magnificent structure built in 1591-1618.

The area we are in is called Sultanahmet and contains buildings and relics from the Byzantine, Ottoman and Republican eras. Very unique place and very much the center of the world for a long time. As a matter of fact this stone marks the 0 point from where all roads and distances were measured in the empire.

And Jenée is standing at Byzantine ground zero.

Now we move to the grounds of the sultan's palace. Great views, but I can't say I'm that excited to walk the grounds of rich kings with tiled walkways. The Topkapi Palace was built in 1475-1478 (fast - 3 years!). The sultans ruled for over 400 years, that last one being 1923.

It does have an impressive backyard.

It is more like a little city than a palace.

Wait a minute, there is a harem going on in there. Bingo! Daddy's in!

At first glance the architecture is quite impressive.

At closer inspection, really impressive with intricate tile and gold trim. I had a place like this, got tired of tending the lawn.

Nice view of the Bosphorus. Yo, Oggie, out of the picture lutfen (please)

Merci, that's better.

Excuse us ladies.

It was hot today.

This is a wading pool with another little thing in the middle.

Nice view of Istanbul.

Definitely had the good views.

Nice tile work outside this room ...

... and inside. This is the circumcision room with bench seats all around to watch teenage Prince Ahmed get a little trim. Not sure about you, but this would not be my favorite room.

Don't believe me?

They also have a turban room where the king and princes get to put away their lids. I definitely need one of these.

I take a photo of the information signs to remind me of what we photoed. This little guy is draped over the sign with his parents nearby. I politely ask him to move so I can take a picture and he immediately poses beside the sign, cause that must be what I asked for. His Dad and I got a big laugh out of that. BTW, this is the "Library of the Privy" chamber. They got a room for everything.

Lots of walking.

Lots of tiled covered rooms.

And now we are off to the harem, built in 1587. I dig a good harem. Refreshing.

Not sure if the eunuchs did as much. While they actually wielded quite a bit of power and influence, they did so without their fun bag. Between the circumcision room and the brothers quarters here I don't see the upside yet.

Ah, the harem. I told Jenée she could learn something from this era. You know, variety being the spice of life and all that. I kid all the time like that. On an unrelated note: dinner that night consisted of cold soup. In a can. Good news is I had my Swiss army knife on me so no problem popping that baby open! Let's move on, shall we.

There is not a spot uncovered by tile.

The paintings are quite impressive as well.

Always a nice place to hang ones hat.

This is the sultans private chambers

With nice lounging areas. The harem served the purpose of raising and preparing the princes for their future rule. There was a Queen Mother and of course the King had his favorites. I've got to believe there was a significant amount of intrigue, back biting and plotting going on as each harem member and mother wanted their son to be king. I'm just glad I never had those problems to deal with.