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| Blue Mosque |
Istanbul Turkey
Sunday 12th
October 2014
I
was yet again woken up to the early sound of the call to prayer singing out
from the minarets. I was starting to get used to the sounds around me though so
it did not bother me. A nice shower woke me up more and helped me focus on
where to go and what to do. My first priority was of course finding a bank to
get my funds out because of last nights incident. So I packed up my essentials
and headed out to the West in order to find the bank. As it was a Sunday, I
knew that the majority of the shops would be closed. I was freaked out though
by the fact that it was like a ghost town with large areas of closed shops with
nobody in sight. A very long time passed still heading west before finally catching
my eyes on the bank I needed. I felt relieved as I managed to get my money out
knowing the amount I had could help me throughout the rest of my stay here. I decided
to head east back along the tramlines towards the Sultanahmet square so I could
purchase a museum pass to visit the big attractions without paying full price
or wait in ridiculously long queues. I located the museum pass van and I purchased
a 72 hour museum pass making use of it straight away. The Hagia Sofia lay ahead
of me and I was really excited to be inside this wonderful place.
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| Entrance to Hagia Sofia |
I entered
through a very large doorway along with hundreds of people and arrived in a
very large corridor which was impressive but nothing compared to when I entered
the main room. I was completely gobsmacked with the immense size of an empty
shell of the room. It was absolutely awe-inspiring to look at all the
architecture and how bright and sparkling parts of the room were. Yet again the
ceiling was covered in floral patterns and yellow backgrounds. There were
dozens of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and most of the walls had hints
of gold shining the room and large dark green marble pillars surrounding the
edges and the upper floors. The cherry on the cake though were the very large circular
discs hanging on the walls with huge Arabic writing of gold and black colours.
It was exceptional to be here amongst its wonders and history. I headed to the
upper floor to have a look at the building from a higher vantage point.
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| Hagia Sofia |
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| Hagia Sofia |
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| Artefact |
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| Hagia Sofia |
It was
fantastic to see a better view at the top and as I walked around the upper
level I came across another marvel of the museum known as the ‘Deesis mosaic’
which depicts Christ with the Virgin Mary on his left and John the Baptist on
his right. The small golden tiles glimmered from the light beaming through the
window which made it look dazzling. It made me wonder what a very beautiful
building it must have been at its prime too. I left the Hagia Sofia full of
happiness with what I had seen heading for my next destination.
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| Mosaic Art in Hagia Sofia |
After a very
quick bite to eat I headed to my next destination of the famous Topkapi palace.
I passed the large queues yet again and passed through the security scanners
and arrived in the second large courtyard. The second courtyard was tremendous,
trees scattered around with paths forking away in different directions from the
centre. The outer edges of the area were covered with large thin pillars with a
Turkish style roof and at my front left was the familiar site of the tower
where the Harem was located; so this was my first area to visit. I eventually
entered the Harem and was immediately impressed with all the colourful mosaic
art surrounding the walls with a unique cobble design at the centre line of the
pathway.
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| Topkapi Palace Courtyard |
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| Harem |
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| Arabic Writing along Palace Walls |
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| Cobbled Pathway |
As I exited the Harem I realised I entered into the third courtyard
which was a lot more compact but that bit more beautiful as at its centre lay a
very small water fountain with red roses surrounding it. I decided to go into
the fourth courtyard and turned to my right. I was welcomed by a marvellous
sight of the Bosphorous and the Asian side of Istanbul. It was truly fantastic and I sat in
peace for a moment admiring the breathtaking view before heading to the
opposite side of the courtyard. I arrived to the sight of a very large marble
pool with a lovely designed fountain and a small balcony area which made it all
unique finishing off with golden patterns.
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| Third Courtyard |
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| Third Courtyard |
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| Baghdad Pavilion |
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| Marble |
I walked to the edge of the Baghdad
pavilion and stopped to witness the most astonishing view of the golden horn
with the Galata tower on the right and the mosques on the left with the golden
spires shining clear as day in the sunlight. I could not have stood there a
better time too as the call to prayer was voiced over the entire city which was
absolutely brilliant to hear and where I was standing made it that bit more special;
it was definitely a once in a lifetime moment.
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| View of Golden Horn |
My next area to visit was the Topkapi
museum which had quite a large queue but I eventually entered inside to see
some fascinating artefacts and mosaic arts yet again. As I got deeper into the
museum, the more beautiful it was becoming. I passed a man who was speaking
through a microphone the words from the Quran which was a nice sight of its own.
I seen everything I wanted to see in Topkapi palace and it was everything I
dreamt of seeing especially the marvellous view of the golden horn area. Yet
again I left with happiness and then focused on my next museum visit. The archaeological
museum was very close so I decided to head into there. There was a small queue
but I didn’t need to join it as I got straight in thanks to my pass. I had a
great look around and was amazed by the artefacts and carvings of ancient items
and scriptures carved into stone. Time passed admiring the museum before I
decided to take my leave. I headed back to the Sultanahmet square to admire the
surrounding area before I headed for a café to get my tea; I just had a mixed
meat and cheese toasty, Baklava and Turkish tea as I was saving money. After a
most lovely bite to eat I noticed there was a market right next to me so I had
a look down through it. I realised that it was the Arasta bazaar which looked
fine but nothing compared to the Grand bazaar. It still had a lot of unique
shops though selling modern art, old art, Turkish trinkets and sweets.
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| Arasta Bazaar |
I wanted
to take a stroll down to the golden horn so I followed the route alongside the
tramlines which definitely made a great guide for getting around the old city with
ease as I arrived at the docks with thousands of people doing the same thing. I
watched the hundreds of fisherman flying their rods into the golden horn in the
hopes for a good fish. Also I was watching the many people getting on and off
the ferries from different districts and also Bosphorous tours which I wanted
to experience some time. I decided to walk along the underpass area along the Galata Bridge
which was filled with fish restaurants. Because of all the restaurants and the
fisherman above with their rods poking out the side, there was a very strong
smell of fish in the air; no surprise there. I stood at the middle part of the
bridge watching dozens of ferries and boats setting off, mooring up and passing
each other with hard turns with the amazing view of the Bosphorous and Asia in the distance feeling at peace.
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| View of Bosphorous |
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| Galata Bridge |
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| Ferry to Different Districts |
By now my legs
started to strain with the miles of walking I had done so I made the decision
to head to the Blue mosque and sit for a while in the courtyard. No sooner than
I sat down the call to prayer sang across the air yet again but as I was right
next to it, it was very loud and beaming which gave me a weird but great
feeling about where I was. I then decided to return to my apartment earlier
than usual just to relax for yet another big day of sightseeing the next day. I
did however spend the majority of my time relaxing on my terrace closing my
eyes and focusing on the sounds of Istanbul.
To finish it off the call to prayer bellowed out as the sun was beginning to
set providing a most beautiful scene of peace.
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| End to a Perfect Day |
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