Day 3: First place for the day was Basilica
Cistern, the largest underground water reservoir in Istanbul built in the 6th
century. It is 140m long, 70m wide and covers total area of 9800m2.
The cistern is surrounded by a 4m thick firebrick wall coated with special
mortar for insulation against water. The cistern’s water was provided from the
Belgrade Woods, 19km north of Istanbul via aqueducts built by Emperor
Justinianus. This was not included in the Museum pass so we had to pay 10TL for
the entrance fee.
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| Basilica Cistern |
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| The 2 medusa heads in the cistern. |
After that, we walked to Galata Bridge which is
a bridge that spans the Golden Horn, stopping at Spice Bazaar and New Mosque on
the way. Spice Bazaar is one of the largest bazaars in Istanbul and the second
largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar. You can find baklava,
Turkish delights, spices, various flavors of tea and nuts, and even souvenirs
at the Spice Bazaar. There also an uphill road behind the Spice Bazaar that
sells various types of scarves at a very affordable price.
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| Items that can be found at Spice Bazaar |
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| New Mosque |
We crossed the Galata Bridge on foot to the
other side of Bhosphorus River to Galata Tower. Galata Tower was built in 1348
and was the tallest building in Istanbul at that time. From the top of the
tower, you can see panoramic view of the Bhosphorus and Istanbul. The entrance
to this tower was also not included in the museum pass and the entrance fee was
13TL.
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| On Galata Bridge. You can see Galata Tower at the back |
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| Men fishing on the bridge |
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| Heading uphill to the tower |
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| The view from the top of the tower |
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| Us on top of the tower |
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| Galata Tower up close |
After coming down from the tower, we went to a
shop nearby for lunch. The menu for the day was pide (Turkish flat-bread) and
ayran (Turkish yoghurt drink). After lunch, we tried freshly squeezed
pomegranate juice. People say that pomegranate juice is good for your health.
It was very rich with juice but a bit bitter due to its skin.
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| Our lunch for the day |
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| Our juice being freshly squeezed |
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| Yummy and rich pomegranate juice |
Then we head to Suleymaniye Mosque, the largest
and oldest mosque in Istanbul. This mosque’s architecture was influenced by
Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements. We used our instinct and walked
from Galata Tower to the mosque. We don’t know what route we took but it was a
bit creepy as it looked like a back alley. Once we reached the mosque, we
prayed zuhur n asar there and head to Grand Bazaar before heading back to
Sultanahmet.
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| Suleymaniye Mosque |
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| Men's ablution area |
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| The mosque |
The Grand Bazaar is the largest and oldest
covered markets in the world. It use to house 5 mosques, 1 school, 7 fountains,
10 wells, 1 water dispenser and 1 ablution fountain. Now, only 1 mosque, 1
fountain and 1 ablution fountain are left. The bazaar is so big that you can
get lost inside here if you are nor careful. There are more than 10 entrances
to this place.
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| Heading towards Grand Bazaar |
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| Inside the bazaar |
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| Items that can be found inside the bazaar |
Once we came back to our hostel, we rest for a
while before heading out to Kadirga Hamam. Hamam is a turkish bath and it costs
us 50TL for body massage and scrub. Don’t worry; they have separate areas for
man and woman. This was my first public batch experience since we didn’t dare
to go to the one in Japan.
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| Turkish bath = hamam |
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| The changing rooms. They have separate area for men and women |
Day 4: After breakfast, we took tram from
Sultanahmet heading towards Galata and stopped at the last stop, Kabatas for
Dolmabache Palace. This is the newer resident of the Ottoman sultan from 1856
till the abolition of the last sultan in 1924. The entrance fee was not
cover in the museum pass and it costs 40TL to enter the palace and harem area
(the resident apartment of the sultan and his family members). The death bed of
Mustafa Kamal Ataturk is also in the harem area.
You cannot take photo in here
and you must go with a guided tour inside the palace. The tour guide will
explain the functions of the different rooms and some important events that
happened in certain rooms. However, be early for this place as the queue was
very long. You have to queue for the tickets; the palace tour and the harem
tour as the entrance to the palace and the harem are different. Compared to Topkapi Palace, this palace has
more European influence in its design. Italian artists painted the ceilings
inside this palace and the furniture were from France and UK.
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| Lining up to buy tickets for Dolmabache Palace |
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| Entrance to the palace compound |
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| The building have westernized influence compared to the Islamic influence at Topkapi Palace |
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| Lining up to enter the palace |
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| We were in the English tour queue |
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| Have to cover our shoes to enter the palace |
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| The harem apartment |
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| Gate of Treasury |
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| A gate looking out to Bhosphorus |
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| Dolmabache Mosque |
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| A very high tech toilet at Dolmabache Mosque. You have to pay 1TL per entry via coin or touchngo card |
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| Interior of Dolmabache Mosque |
After
that, we walked through Yildiz Park and head to Yildiz Palace Museum as it was
included in our Museum Pass, but unfortunately, for us, it was close on that
day (Tuesday). It was a waste for us as we climbed uphill to get to this place
but was not able to get in.
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| Our first rice meal here |
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| Yildiz Park |
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| Yildiz Palace Museum |
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| Statue of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the person who took over Constantinople in 1453. |
Then we head back to our accommodation and pack
our stuff and we get on the bus to Cappadocia. We booked the bus ticket through
a travel agent at Sultanahmet for 110TL return. The price included shuttle bus
to the bus station. This was the first part of our Istanbul trip. Next, it is
Cappadocia before coming back to Istanbul again. I will write about Cappadocia
soon.
Till then~
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