Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul not Constantinople
So if you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul
(forgive me if this is a bad link, I can't actually look at it since youtube is banned in Turkey)
I was up at 4am to get to the Dubrovnik airport by 5, so that I could catch a flight to Zagreb (1 hour) and then wait in the airport for 7 hours to take the flight to Istanbul. I was a bit apprehensive about this leg of the journey, not knowing how I, as an American tourist would be perceived, especially considering an American Consulate building had been bombed less than a month ago. However, since arriving I have not had any reason to worry. Everyone is extremely friendly (especially salesmen trying to get you into their stores) and I don't stand out nearly as much as I expected (I'm clearly a tourist, but there are plenty of tourists here).
My first day I did a walking tour of the Byzantine heritage of the city, beginning with the Mosaic Museum, displaying what remains of the beautiful Mosaic works discovered in the grand palace under centuries of rubble, and painstakingly restored and preserved. Looking from far away, they look like decent, but mediocre paintings, but close up, you realize that the images are formed by hundreds of thousands of tiny stones.
My next stop was the grand church (now a mosque) Aya Sofya (Church of the Divine Wisdom). Built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, it was the largest church in Christiandom until it was converted to a mosque in 1453 by the Ottomans. The outside is a bit disappointing. Sure it's big, but it's kinda squat and ugly.
The inside is magnificent though, sporting one of the largest free-standing domes in the world. The grandeur was a little dampened by the massive scaffolding in the center, but it was still pretty amazing.
(note: that ceiling is a mosaic)
The next stop was the Basilica Cistern, a Roman-era water storage house that has survived remarkably intact for 1500 years. You could probably spend about 15 minutes down there and see everything you need to, but i spent over an hour (it was a great place to escape the stifling heat).
Lives in Istanbul not Constantinople
So if you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul
(forgive me if this is a bad link, I can't actually look at it since youtube is banned in Turkey)
I was up at 4am to get to the Dubrovnik airport by 5, so that I could catch a flight to Zagreb (1 hour) and then wait in the airport for 7 hours to take the flight to Istanbul. I was a bit apprehensive about this leg of the journey, not knowing how I, as an American tourist would be perceived, especially considering an American Consulate building had been bombed less than a month ago. However, since arriving I have not had any reason to worry. Everyone is extremely friendly (especially salesmen trying to get you into their stores) and I don't stand out nearly as much as I expected (I'm clearly a tourist, but there are plenty of tourists here).
My first day I did a walking tour of the Byzantine heritage of the city, beginning with the Mosaic Museum, displaying what remains of the beautiful Mosaic works discovered in the grand palace under centuries of rubble, and painstakingly restored and preserved. Looking from far away, they look like decent, but mediocre paintings, but close up, you realize that the images are formed by hundreds of thousands of tiny stones.
My next stop was the grand church (now a mosque) Aya Sofya (Church of the Divine Wisdom). Built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, it was the largest church in Christiandom until it was converted to a mosque in 1453 by the Ottomans. The outside is a bit disappointing. Sure it's big, but it's kinda squat and ugly.
The inside is magnificent though, sporting one of the largest free-standing domes in the world. The grandeur was a little dampened by the massive scaffolding in the center, but it was still pretty amazing.
(note: that ceiling is a mosaic)
The next stop was the Basilica Cistern, a Roman-era water storage house that has survived remarkably intact for 1500 years. You could probably spend about 15 minutes down there and see everything you need to, but i spent over an hour (it was a great place to escape the stifling heat).
I then headed down the Hippodrome, a wide avenue that was once used for horse racing, now the sight of several obelisks dating back to Roman times. One was brought from Egypt in 390 AD by Theodosius, but it dates to 1490BC. Despite being almost 3500 years old, the hieroglyphs look like they were carved yesterday.
The next day I went with some folks from the hostel past the Topkapi palace to the Spice Bazaar.
I bought some tea and some various spices, then we headed down to the grand bazaar. Bartering is awesome. People have been trading in this city for thousands of years, so they're pro, and most of the prices they quote are about 4-10 times what you should actually pay for them.
That night at the hostel we got the privilege of watching a belly dancer. She was probably not very traditional... but that's ok. Unfortunately, no one really had any change, so she didn't get tipped at all, even though she did quite well.
I kind of squandered the rest of my time in Istanbul I thought I had plenty of time, so I dithered around a lot and then didn't have enough time to see everything I wanted. I did meet a lot of really cool people though, and will definitely be back again.
After I got on the plane to London, a bomb exploded in a residential neighborhood, and I'm told you could hear it from the hostel I was staying at... scary.
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