Istanbul, overnight, Tram, Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Cisterns, Bazaars

We were in Istanbul, Turkey! This was our cruise on the Norwegian Jade in Dec 2014.

Istanbul was the highlight of this cruise. This was an overnight port of call. The ship would arrive at 1pm. All aboard time was the next day at 7:30pm. We had plenty of time to explore. We were docked at Sali Pazari Pier, which was very convenient.

The plan for the first day was to get ourselves into the city via the Tram, visit Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque and whatever else we could visit, and then get back to the ship for dinner and rest. The second day (longer day), we would cover the rest.

This was Findikli Tram station. Walking here was very easy. Head out to the main port gates, take a right and walk about 5 minutes. Total time to get here from the ship is about 10 minutes. Trams were quite frequent. Cost was 4 Turkish Lira per person, my kids travelled free.

And the Tram map.

This is the video taken at Findikli Tram station and waiting for the Tram. This afternoon, we would take the Tram to Gulhane and then walk to Topkapi. It was quite a walk because there was an uphill clilmb, but we made it.

[YOUTUBE]pGQAkJG4xvs[/YOUTUBE]

The Topkapi Palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for about 400 years of their 600 year reign. Today, it is a museum and a major tourist attraction. It contains many exhibits, including Muhammad's cloak and sword (as claimed by the museum). This museum became a UNESCO Heritage Site, and is described as "the best examples of ensembles of palaces of the Ottoman period.

Walking into the complex.

The place was rather large, with many rooms to explore, and also many tourists. We took about 1.5 hours to view the rooms. We definitely didn't cover all the exhibits and didn't see the Harem either. But I think we saw the most important ones.

Thereafter, we walked towards the Hagia Sophia. I used my phone GPS to guide me. The Hagia Sophia was just next to the Topkapi. We exited the Topkapi compound through these gates. Notice the armed guards.

Once you exited the correct gates, she was there, about 200M. However, she was closed today. So we decided to proceed to the Blue Mosque, which was just opposite the Hagia Sophia, on the other end of the Sultan Ahmet square.

This is the Hagia Sophia. Closed today. So we will come back tomorrow.

Since it was still early, we walked towards the Blue Mosque, across Sultan Ahmed square. At this time, we had no clue whether the mosque was still open. Anyway, let's go check it out.

That's the Blue Mosque in the distance, located right opposite the Hagia Sophia.

Note the opening hours. I am not sure if these hours change on a daily basis, but it is not open the entire day. The Blue Mosque is used by worshippers for their prayers.

The official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, built by Sultan Ahmet I, on the site of imperial palace of the Byzantine empire, opposite the Hagia Sophia (or Ayasofya as the Ottomans called it). The Blue Mosque is called Blue because of the blue paint used. See this picture of the interior. The insides are vast and spacious. The mosque was designed such that even at its most crowded times, everybody can hear and see the Imam.

Interesting to note that Pope Benedict XVI visited the Blue Mosque on 30 Nov 2006. This was only the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship.

I made this video of our trip into the Blue Mosque. This place is definitely a 'must-see' in Istanbul. The insides were splendid and peaceful. You have to take off your shoes before entry, they provide plastic bags for your to carry your shoes in. Also, women have to cover their heads - a blue scarf is provided if you do not have any head-cover. Out of respect, please dress conservatively. It surely is not appropriate to enter the mosque in shorts or short skirts etc. I didn't see any dress code but given that this was in the winter season, tourists were all in long sleeves and long pants.

[YOUTUBE]uN2fMBjKFuo [/YOUTUBE]

After the Blue Mosque, we went to visit the Basilica Cisterns. This place is only about 100M walk from the Mosque. This is the video I made.

[YOUTUBE]cGU17kKWv6I[/YOUTUBE]

This place was fascinating. I hadn't expected to see anything like this before I came here. Basilica Cisterns? Wow. This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was constructed using 336 columns, many of which were salvaged from ruined temples and feature fine carved capitals. Its symmetry and sheer grandeur of conception are quite breathtaking.

Like most sites in İstanbul, the cistern has an unusual history. It was originally known as the Basilica Cistern because it lay underneath the Stoa Basilica, one of the great squares on the first hill. Designed to service the Great Palace and surrounding buildings, it was able to store up to 80,000 cu metres of water delivered via 20km of aqueducts from a reservoir near the Black Sea, but was closed when the Byzantine emperors relocated from the Great Palace. Forgotten by the city authorities some time before the Conquest, it wasn't rediscovered until 1545, when scholar Petrus Gyllius was researching Byzantine antiquities in the city and was told by local residents that they were able to miraculously obtain water by lowering buckets into a dark space below their basement floors. Some were even catching fish this way. Intrigued, Gyllius explored the neighbourhood and finally accessed the cistern through one of the basements. Even after his discovery, the Ottomans (who referred to the cistern as Yerebatan Saray) didn't treat the so-called Underground Palace with the respect it deserved – it became a dumping ground for all sorts of junk, as well as corpses.

The cistern was cleaned and renovated in 1985 by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and opened to the public in 1987. It's now one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. Walking along its raised wooden platforms, you'll feel the water dripping from the vaulted ceiling and see schools of ghostly carp patrolling the water – it certainly has bucketloads (forgive the pun) of atmosphere.

(reference - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey/istanbul/sights/other/basilica-cistern#ixzz3NqzkkhdW)

There was even a medusa's head, squashed under a large column. Very odd looking. I'm not very sure what it represents.

We spent about 45 minutes in the Cisterns. Be wary that the floor is wet and you often feel water dripping from the roof. Quite an experience and well worth the visit. I think it was 20 Turkish Lira per adult.

After we exited the Cisterns, we decided to make our way to the Grand Bazaar, on foot. It was easy because we just had to follow the route of the Tram, and according to my GPS, it wasn't too far away, less than 1km.

After all that walking, it was time to get a little bite to keep the energy levels up. So we stopped at a MacDonalds for a bite. My kids were with us, so I definitely wasn't adventurous with food.

I even made a short video of the MacDonalds and McCafe experience, including the prices.

[YOUTUBE]sKKsdzfTIdA[/YOUTUBE]

Of course, since you were in Turkey and if you wanted to try local fare, there were plenty of cafes and eateries along the main road from Blue Mosque to the Grand Bazaar. I must say that the Turkish Delights looked really pretty.

After the break at Macs, we kept walking and found ourselves at the Beyazit Tram station, which is the station for the Grand Bazaar. There would be an entrance to the Grand Bazaar here. Bear in mind that the Grand Bazaar is very large, with more than 5,000 shops and various entrances.

There were large streets (not sure what to call them) and also many smaller alleyways, all very bright lit and full of people. I can only imagine how crowded this place must be in summer. Remember to bargain aggressively if you want to buy anything from this place. I overheard some people on the cruise ship saying that they paid only 10%to 15% of the asking price.

Anyway, we didn't explore the Bazaar very much because we knew that we were likely to come back here tomorrow to take a look again. The kids had been great (with all that walking) and it was time to get back to the ship, get some food and rest. We took the tram back. Beyazit station was very bright lit and it felt very safe even though it was dark. The entrance to the platform where you put in a red token (cost 4TL for adults).

This is the video I made while waiting for the Tram at Beyazit station. To get back to the ship, we dropped off where we boarded earlier that day, at Findliki station, and then back-tracked to the ship. It was not difficult, however, beware that the road from the Findikli station to port gates was rather dark. Well, just take sensible precautions.

[YOUTUBE]zVZOkOXTEfA[/YOUTUBE]

This wraps up the end of our first day in the port of Istanbul. We would get a good night's rest and head out again tomorrow, this time without the kids.

BEWARE THE SHOE SHINE CONMAN

Now, be very careful with these shoe shine guys. I got tricked by one of them and they use aggressive tactics. One of the most common trick is this. You see this guy carrying something like a bucket and pail of stuff (brushes, liquids) to do shoe-shine. As he approaches you, he will deliberately DROP a brush in your way and then keep walking.

He hopes that the good Samaritan in you would either pick up the brush and give it to him, or you would shout out to him that he has dropped his brush. That is where he has caught you as he would come close and start to do your shoes very quickly. Nothing is free. He would then charge you an exorbitant sum. Don't fall for this dirty trick. If you see that somebody dropped something, especially a shoe-shine chap dropping a brush, just ignore and walk on.

There was even a medusa's head, squashed under a large column. Very odd looking. I'm not very sure what it represents.

 

The Medusa (or Gorgon) head was a powerful symbol in Classical times (Greek, Hellenistic, Roman). It was often associated with temples where there was an oracle -- they have been found at the Temple of Apollo in Didyma, near Ephesus (see link below), for example.

http://www.didyma.com/listingview.php?listingID=16

These were scary but protective forces. The famous statue of Athena on the Acropolis wore one, and Roman emperors often put them on their armor (breastplate) as well -- to protect the wearer and terrify the enemy.

By the time the cistern you visited was built, the empire was in the process of becoming Christian -- the emperor and court already were, but paganism still existed. The cistern uses many columns from old pagan temples that were destroyed. No doubt the Gorgon head was part of the decoration of one of these temples. (There is actually a second one as well.)

Some people have speculated that the Romans were sending a further message by putting the head sideways and symbolically "crushing" it with the column. However, there is no proof of this and it seems a bit fanciful to me.

What I prefer to think is that the Roman builders -- ever practical -- had a column that was too short and needed something to bring it to the correct height. The Gorgon head was available and the right size, so they shoved it in place. ;) And there it sits, 1500 years later...

Thanks so much, loving your posts!

Me too. We're going in April and this makes us drool with anticipation. And you've taken the fear out of leaving the ship and taking the trams. Thanks so much for all the time you've spent putting these together.

The Medusa (or Gorgon) head was a powerful symbol in Classical times (Greek, Hellenistic, Roman). It was often associated with temples where there was an oracle -- they have been found at the Temple of Apollo in Didyma, near Ephesus (see link below), for example.

 

http://www.didyma.com/listingview.php?listingID=16

 

These were scary but protective forces. The famous statue of Athena on the Acropolis wore one, and Roman emperors often put them on their armor (breastplate) as well -- to protect the wearer and terrify the enemy.

 

By the time the cistern you visited was built, the empire was in the process of becoming Christian -- the emperor and court already were, but paganism still existed. The cistern uses many columns from old pagan temples that were destroyed. No doubt the Gorgon head was part of the decoration of one of these temples. (There is actually a second one as well.)

 

Some people have speculated that the Romans were sending a further message by putting the head sideways and symbolically "crushing" it with the column. However, there is no proof of this and it seems a bit fanciful to me.

 

What I prefer to think is that the Roman builders -- ever practical -- had a column that was too short and needed something to bring it to the correct height. The Gorgon head was available and the right size, so they shoved it in place. ;) And there it sits, 1500 years later...

This is very useful information indeed. Thanks very much for the explanation!

Thanks so much, loving your posts!

Glad you liked it.

DAY 2

Today, it would be a leisurely day in Istanbul. The all aboard time was 7:30pm, which meant we had a lot of time. We had visited most of the sights that we wanted to see yesterday. So, today, was just to explore a bit more, and the one more major sight to cover would be the Hagia Sophia.

Looking out of the balcony on a foggy morning, I realised that the Bosphorus Straits was really busy, with all the ferries.

I made a video. Check out the sea gulls chasing the ferry.

[YOUTUBE]_Ej593W8KD8[/YOUTUBE]

This was how the pier looked like. We were the only ship in port.

In this video, I show you the walk from the Sali Pazari pier, across the Galata Bridge all the way to the Spice market. Not a difficult walk Originally, we planned to take the Tram from Tophane station to the Hagia Sophia (drop at the Tram station for the Sultan Ahmed mosque). However, the machine was faulty at Tophane station and there was only one machine (see the video). We then decided to take a leisurely walk into the city. It wasn't far.

[YOUTUBE]bpWH8Ny-16I[/YOUTUBE]

Just as you get off the ship, there is a convenient place to take taxis, if you wished to. They even put up the prices. Here it is. The video shows you the exact location of this place. We didn't take a taxi in Istanbul but I came across this website warning people of taxi scams. So beware -

http://www.istanbultravelbook.com/before-you-go-topic.php?rel=About_Taxi_Scams!

This was taken at the start of the Galata bridge, before we crossed over to the other side of the city with all the historic sites.

A view of the ship from the Galata bridge. For some reason, there were many men fishing from the bridge. Beware their fishing rods, especially when they throwing the line out.

Straight ahead, you see the Spice Market. You also can see a mosque on the left of this picture. This is NOT the Blue Mosque.

Inside the Spice Market. A cool place. All the colours. Just fun to walk around.

I put together this video showing you clips from the Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar and other Bazaars (when we were walking between the Grand and Spice Bazaar). Seriously, the entire Istanbul felt like one big Bazaar. Interesting to visit but I'm not a big fan of Bazaars. Call me silly, but I much prefer modern shopping malls.

The Bazaars will get very crowded during summer. Take all sensible precautions and beware of your belongings. (i.e. from pickpockets)

[YOUTUBE]cQMnXZKSHps[/YOUTUBE]

From the Spice Bazaar, we made our way towards Gulhane Tram station. We walked past some streets, which had many hotels. One of the streets was called Ibni Kemal Cd. I put together a slide show showing the street view as well as the hotels from the outside.

[YOUTUBE]bHLnCIuNkK8[/YOUTUBE]

From Gulhane Tram station, just follow the track and you will get to the Sultan Ahmed square. Lo and behold, lines for the Hagia Sophia! I took these photos of the line in front of me,

And behind me. Remember, Istanbul is a crowded place. And you can see the Blue Mosque in the distance.

Good thing that the line moved quite quickly. I don't recall having to wait that long. We were soon inside the premises. While in line, you will get propositioned by licensed tour guides, who will offer to bring you into the Hagia Sophia via some express route. I recall they charged 10 TL more per person, as compared to you buying your ticket direct at the ticket booth. Tickets were 30TL per adult. If you went with the tour guide, you paid 40TL per adult, at least according to the guides that tried to sell us their services. They were all wearing this licensed tour guide ID tag, similar to the one worn by our licensed tour guide in Ephesus.

I guess if the lines were really long (and the weather was really hot in summer), going with the licensed tour guide may not be a bad idea given that it was only 10TL more per person. But that's just my guess. I didn't try - at your own risk.

Here is the video I made of our visit to the Hagia Sophia.

[YOUTUBE]wzeXWwucyEg[/YOUTUBE]

The Hagia Sophia, whose name means “holy wisdom,” is a domed monument originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the sixth century A.D.

It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a great dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above.

“Hagia Sophia’s dimensions are formidable for any structure not built of steel,” writes Helen Gardner and Fred Kleiner in their book "Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History." “In plan it is about 270 feet [82 meters] long and 240 feet [73 meters] wide. The dome is 108 feet [33 meters] in diameter and its crown rises some 180 feet [55 meters] above the pavement.”

In its 1,400 year life-span it has served as a cathedral, mosque and now a museum. When it was first constructed, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This state, officially Christian, originally formed the eastern half of the Roman Empire and carried on after the fall of Rome.

One of the most well-known mosaics is located on the apse of the church showing a 13-foot-tall (4 meters) Virgin Mary with Jesus as a child. Dedicated on March 29, 867, it is located 30 meters (almost 100 feet) above the church floor, notes University of Sussex professor Liz James in a 2004 article published in the journal Art History.

Another chapter in the Hagia Sophia’s life began in 1453. In that year the Byzantine Empire ended, with Constantinople falling to the armies of Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Piltz writes that “after the Ottoman conquest the mosaics were hidden under yellow paint with the exception of the Theotokos [Virgin Mary with child] in the apse.” In addition “Monograms of the four caliphs were put on the pillars flanking the apse and the entrance of the nave.”

Read more here:

http://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html

There was a lot of restoration work going on, but the place was certainly quite majestic, even behind all the scaffolding.

Outside, you can see remains of the Theodosian Hagia Sophia, from the 5th Century.

After our visit to the Hagia Sophia, which didn't take very long, we repeated the walk from the Sultan Ahmed Square, along the Tram route, to the Grand Bazaar.

Along the way, this time we stopped at Starbucks for a coffee. Starbucks, Istanbul, Turkey.

I even made a short video.

[YOUTUBE]p20SsmkVoQA[/YOUTUBE]

This picture shows you the Cemberlitas Tram stop, which is the one stop in between Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque) and Beyazit (Grand Bazaar).

Another picture of Turkish Delights. Didn't try any.

A picture of a Tourism Police car we spotted. Quite cute.

We also bought some roasted chestnuts to try. Unfortunately, they weren't roasted very well. Some were still rather raw.

Here is the Galata Bridge again, with many men fishing. I did wonder how they spent their time. Just fishing? Anyway...

Well, that's about all I have to share for our second day in Istanbul. We spent some time exploring the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar, but didn't buy anything save for a couple of scarves at 10TL each.

Since we weren't too tired, we decided to walk back to the ship. So this was a day where we walked all the way from the cruise ship (Sali Pazari pier), over Galata Bridge, to the Spice Market, then to Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, back to the Spice Market and then back to the cruise ship, all on foot. Good day to burn off some calories after all that good food on board.

Let me end this post on Istanbul Turkey with a submarine sighting. Yes, I sighted this submarine sailing out while on the deck of the Norwegian Jade. Check out this video.

[YOUTUBE]A1nbtkvseZM[/YOUTUBE]

For the landing page of this cruise on the Norwegian Jade, pls go to my blog post.

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/p/norwegian-jade-ncl-cruise-greece-turkey.html

Keep them coming!! Thanks for all your hard work. I am leaving in 3 weeks for 21 day cruise!! yay!

Keep them coming!! Thanks for all your hard work. I am leaving in 3 weeks for 21 day cruise!! yay!

Thanks for telling me. Now you are making me super envious. :)

Jokes aside - have a great cruise!

Thanks for posting, Iluvcruising2! We did a land tour of Turkey last year and fell in love with Turkey. Will be going back next month. Will definitely visit Cistern Basilica this time. Looks interesting. I saw on another post that you were in a 2-bedroom suite on the Jade, wasn't that great! We were in one of those on our last Jade cruise. Hoping for another upsell.

Thanks for posting, Iluvcruising2! We did a land tour of Turkey last year and fell in love with Turkey. Will be going back next month. Will definitely visit Cistern Basilica this time. Looks interesting. I saw on another post that you were in a 2-bedroom suite on the Jade, wasn't that great! We were in one of those on our last Jade cruise. Hoping for another upsell.

Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed the 2 bedroom suite on the Jade. Suite life on NCL is wonderful.

Thank you again for posting your reviews! I was so happy when I came across this one just now! :)

Great review and photos. I was in Istanbul for about a week in October before a cruise to Israel and Italy. It is the most wonderful city, but needs much more than 24 hours as I am sure you would agree. I hope you were able to visit the Rustem Pasha mosque next to the spice bazaar. It is my favorite out of the 8 mosques I visited, not touristy, small and intimate with the beautiful Iznik tiles everywhere.

It is hard to find the entrance and you have to go up steps to get there but highly recommended to anyone going there, a do not miss. Very different than the other huge mosques of Istanbul and gives a nice peaceful vibe, serene, not crowded.

There is so much to see there. I am thinking of going back for 10 days to visit again this year. The tulips are supposed to be out in April. One of my guides mentioned that the tulips began in Turkey and the Turks sold them to the Dutch, but I don't know if this is true or not. Still, it must be gorgeous in the spring with tulips and flowers everywhere.:)