Istanbul Aku Datang

In the midst that everybody is talking about the general election. I went to Turkey for a getaway. I spend 9 days in total including the traveling days. Here's my story. 

Day 1: Today was mostly a traveling day. We departed from KL at 10.20am via Qatar Airway. It took 7 hours to Doha, Qatar where we transited for 1 hour and 10 minutes. However, it was such a short transit that by the time we reached the transfer and departure terminal that, we only had time to go to the toilet and they already called us for our flight to Istanbul. From Doha, it was another 4.5 hours journey and we finally arrived at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul at 6.30pm local time. 

Ready to board our flight

Doha from above

From the airport, we took public transport to Sultanahmet. None of us really made a thorough research for this trip as we were all busy with work before the break that only when we reached here that we realized none of us knew basic Turkish, not even a thank you or a hello. So we had to figure out their metro system on our own. We saw people using something like a touchngo card and there was no counter to buy ticket. Then we saw people putting money in a machine that looked a bit like public phone and a chip came out. So that’s how it worked. Then, how much does it costs to get to Sultanahmet? The machine charged us 3TL per person so we thought that must be the fare to Sultanahmet. 

We took metro from Havalimani station (Airport) to Zeytinburnu where we need to transfer to tram to Sultanahmet. Once we reached Sultanahmet, we saw the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia in front of us; it was a beautiful sight. Then we walked to our accommodation and after getting lost a bit and asking around, we reached our home for 3 nights, Piya Hostel.

Waiting for the metro at Havalimani Station (airport)

In the metro heading towards Sultanahmet

Hagia Sofia

Blue Mosque

Piya Hotel, Sultanahmet

After checking in and freshen up, we went out and started our exploration of Istanbul. That night, we just went around Sultanahmet Square and head back to the hostel to rest. It had been a long day and this was just the beginning of our adventure.

Sultanahmet Square

Nightlife at Sultanahmet

Two iconic buildings at night

Even watched Swirling Dervishes performance

Day 2: We started our day with a Turkish breakfast at the hostel. A common Turkish breakfast consisted of an egg, olive, cucumber, salami, cheese and a choice or tea or coffee. 

Typical Turkish breakfast

Our first stop was Topkapi Palace. This palace was about 15 minutes walk from our hostel and it was resident of the Ottoman sultan for 400 years. The entrance fee was 35TL (20TL for palace and 15TL for harem), however, we bought museum pass which cost 72TL and valid for 3 days. The other museum that was covered in this pass includes Yildiz Palace Musuem, Hagia Sofia, Istanbul Archeology Museum etc. We also rented an English audio guide for 15TL for us to learn more about the history of this place.

Enterring Topkapi Palace

The palace showcased the different rooms that was used during the Ottoman period, the clothes and the jewels that the rulers would wear as well as Islamic artifacts such as the swords of Prophet Muhammad SAW and the 4 sahabahs (Abu Bakar, Uthman, Umar and Ali), the gutter of Kaabah, the lock and key of Kaabah’s door, Strands of Prophet Muhammad SAW beard and many more. We also went into the harem area, the place where the sultan and his family had lived. The harem had the rooms that the sultan mother had lived in, the sultan’s bedroom, the quarters for palace workers, the circumcision room for the princes, and the area for the sultan’s concubine as well as a courtyard.

Inside Topkapi Palace

Sitting on the sultan's chair that he used when watching a game in the palace courtyard

Entering the harem area

Inside the harem

Flowers blooming healthily on a bright spring day

View of Bhosphorus from the palace

After spending half a day at Topkapi Palace, we had lunch at a nearby kebab shop before heading to Blue Mosque (also known Sultanahmet Mosque). After praying zuhur and asar here, we head to Hagia Sofia which is just opposite the Blue Mosque stopping halfway to get an ice cream because the weather was hot. 

Blue Mosque aka Sultanahmet Mosque

Enjoying Ice cream before heading to Hagia Sofia

Hagia Sofia was initially a church built in 537 and transformed into a Mosque when Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered Istanbul in 1453. When the Ottoman Empire fell, the mosque was secularized and turned into a museum in 1935. The uniqueness of this building is that you can see both the Christian and Muslim entity where it has served as a worship place for these two religions. 

Inside Hagia Sofia

Allah, Muhammad, Abu Bakar & Umar

Clash of two religions

Later on that day, we head to Istanbul Archeology Museum for the sake of using up the Museum Pass. We also walked around the Hippodome of Contanstinople (part of an old circus), which is at Sultanahmet Square next to the Blue Mosque.

Istanbul Archeology Museum

Some artifacts in the museum

This is just the first part of my journey. Will update the other days soon.
Till then~