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The Galata Tower & Fish Sandwich

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

This post is part 7 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

The Galata Tower

The Galata Tower

If you lucked out of a stay in the Hali Hotel and it’s terrace view of The Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque and The Bosporus River, visiting the Galata Tower is the second best place to go for a panoramic view of the Old Istanbul. JC and I hopped on a bus from Chamberlitas station in Sultanahmet and took it over the Galata Bridge. The sun beamed at a 45 degree angel. In a few hours it would be setting. There would be no better place to watch the sun set over the Istanbul skyline than up on the Galata Tower.

We climbed up the vertical hill before reaching the foot of the medieval stone cylinder, where a line already snaked around the base. The Galata Tower stands out as one of Istanbul’s most striking landmarks. The blue cone capped tower offers a panoramic view of The Golden Horn, The Bosporus River, the Sea of Marmara and the skyline of Old Istanbul dotted with minarets and dome mosques.

The Galata Tower was built by the Genoese in 1348 to fortify the city. After the Ottoman Conquest, it became a holding place for captured war prisoners and a watch tower for spotting fires. There is an Old Galata Tower called the Megalos Pyrogos, which was built during the Byzantine period on another location. It was used to control the entrance of the Golden Horn. However, the old tower was destroyed during the Fourth Crusade.

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The current Galata Tower contains a restaurant, a café and a nightclub. None of which were of any interest to me. I darted straight to the narrow deck to claim my spot and held down the fort until the sun set. The deck is just wide enough for one person but tourists are impatient. They squeeze by anyway forcing the person standing closest to the fence to sway the upper half of their body over the edge giving them a thrilling view of the 220 foot drop. It’s not for the faint of heart. Good thing I’m short. I didn’t sway over too much.

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We lingered on the deck long after sunset. The city looked different at night but it was still as lively as it was before. From above, the lights below were the heartbeats of the city. Everything seem to have a pulse – the restaurants, the cars, the mosques, the ferries, the streets, everything.  JC and I made our way back over to Eminonu via the under path below the Galata Bridge. Restaurants filled the length of the bridge from one end to the other. Looking out towards the water, I could see the almost invisible fishing lines that were dangling from above.

Eminonu Fish Boat

At the end of the Galata Bridge in the Eminonu district, three neon flashing fishing boats rocked heavily from left to right. They were Eminonu’s famous fish boats that served fish sandiches straight from the deck. I was a little seasick just watching the cooks work. I wonder how they stayed on for so long. The waves crashed hard along the boardwalk and the boat almost looked like it was about to tip over. The cooks didn’t look phased at all. They must have taken some really strong dopamine. We sat away from the water and people-watched from afar while we munched on our fish sandwiches. Our fingers smelled fishy for a very long time but I didn’t mind. It was great to be absorbed in another world.

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Translating History At The Archaeological Museum

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

This post is part 6 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

The Tiled Kiosk

The Tiled Kiosk

I love the frigid relief of air-conditioning blasting in my face whenever I visit The MET on a hot summer day. I was hoping for the same kind of relief at the Archaeological Museum but the air-conditioning was like lukewarm water. It wasn’t cool enough to cool me down but it was better than baking in the sun.

I didn’t really enjoy walking through the museum. The air inside was still and stuffy but I was probably just being a princess. I enjoyed sitting outside on the stoop of the main building much more. Istanbul always has that crisp, cool wind that made my heart feel light and carefree.

The Tiled Kiosk Designs

The Tiled Kiosk Designs

The Archaeological Museum, located near Gulhane Park and the Topkapi Palace, consists of three buildings. The first building is the Tiled Kiosk, commissioned by Sultan Memet. It has a huge collection of beautiful Turkish tiles that were thousands of years old. The vibrant turquoise and dark blue tiles contrasted with the plain white wall it was mounted on. It made the building look so majestic but that’s probably because this was once the home of Sultan Memet the Conqueror.

Alexander Sarcophagus

Alexander Sarcophagus

The main museum houses one of their most famous feature, the Alexander Sarcophagus. The freestanding reliefs on all four sides of the sarcophagus jumps out, as if they could come to life. On one of the longer sides of the sarcophagus shows Alexander in battle and the opposite side shows him hunting a lion.

The Kadesh Peace Treaty

The Kadesh Peace Treaty

The third building is the Ancient Orient Museum, which was converted from a school into a museum. My favorite artifact was the Kadesh Peace Treaty, the oldest known peace treaty in the world. It’s dated 1258 BC and signed between Ramesses II of Egypt and Hattusili III of the Hittite Empire. Partial translation of the treaty reads:

“Treaty of Rea-Mashesha-Mai Arnana the great king, the king of the land the of Egypt, the valiant, with Hattusilis, the great king of the Hatti land for establishing good peace and good brotherhood worthy of great kingship forever. These are the words of Rea-Mashesha-Mai Arnana: Now I have established good brotherhood (and) good peace between us forever. In order to establish good peace (and) good brotherhood in the relationship of the land of Egypt with the Hatti land forever.

(I speak) thus: Behold, as for the relationship between the land of Egypt and the Hatti land, since eternity the god does not permit the making of hostility between then because of a treaty (valid) forever.

If an enemy from abroad comes against the land of Egypt and Rea-Mashesha-Mai Arnana, the king of the land of Egypt, your brother sends to Hattusilis, the great king of the Hatti land, his brother saying: “come here to help me against him” to Hattusilis, the king of the Hatti land shall send his foot soldiers (and) his charioteers and, shall slay my enemies.”

My translation reads: You’ve got my back and I’ve got yours. The end.

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Escaping The Heat In The Basilica Cistern

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

This post is part 5 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

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The Basilica Cistern is a cool place to hide out from Istanbul’s blazing afternoon sun. The entrance often gets bottle necked since a flight of stairs begins only inches away from the ticket booth. It quickly descend into the cistern and everyone clutters at the foot to take pictures of the dome ceilings and the Corinthian columns.

The Basilica Cistern lies beneath Sultanahmet Square, also known as the Hippodrome, near the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque. It served as a water reservoir for the Great Palace of Constantinople and the Topkapi Palace during the Ottoman Empire. The James Bond movie, From Russia With Love, and The International was shot there.

Copy_IMG_4135In the back right corner of the cistern is two large Medusa heads. It sits at the foot of two columns. One of them is placed sideways and the other is placed upside down. No one really knows exactly why they were placed that way but there have been some theories and speculations. Some say that the Medusas were placed that way to ward off evil spirits. A dark cistern can be pretty creepy. Who knows what’s lurking there.

There wasn’t much to see in the cistern. It was just a quick getaway from the midday heat. We walked through it within half an hour but the cool temperature persuaded us to linger a little longer. To the right of the bottom of the stairs is a small café. JC and I sat down and ordered a cup of Turkish coffee. We sipped on it by candlelight as we enjoyed the classical music that echoed through the air and the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. It reminded me of a set on The Phantom of The Opera. All it was missing was a little fog and a small boat.

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The Hippodrome Comes To Life

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

This post is part 4 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

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During the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the center of Constantinople’s largest social gatherings. This was the arena where their passion for horse racing and chariot racing took place. The Hippodrome was the only place where the emperor and the masses came together in one venue. And at times, it was also a place for political debates.

The Hippodrome, now known as the Sultanahmet Square, is still a major social scene. It’s like Times Square without the lights, especially during Ramadan. Families of three generations gather together, plop their behinds and mark their spots on the grassy courtyard hours before the sun sets. They sit and chat as they await for the first meal of the day.

Today the seats and columns of the stadium no longer exist and the race track is paved over with cement. The Hippodrome has been replaced by one large courtyard that sits between the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque . Only a few remnants remain of what use to be the racing arena.

I’m not a fan of history. Dates and time lines evaporate somewhere between the a person’s mouth and my earlobes. But facts, depending on how interesting they are, might go in one ear and occasionally out the other. What really sticks with me is seeing the cause and effect relationship between the past and the present.

So when faced with remnants of the Ottoman era, I had to mentally entertain myself. I strolled through the Hippodrome personifying them. What would they look like? What characteristics would they have? What have they seen over these thousands of years? What would I see if I were them?

Obelisk of Thutmose III

Obelisk of Thutmose III

The Walled Obelisk

The Walled Obelisk

Snake Column (Source: Wikipedia)

Snake Column - Wikipedia

At one end of the Hippodrome sits is the Egyptian Granny, Obelisk of Thutmose III, who’s in pretty good shape considering the fact that she’s almost 3,500 year old. She’s made with pink granite and was brought over from Temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt.

The other end of the Hippodrome is The Grand-Daddy Basil I of Constantine VIII, better known as the Walled Obelisk. He was originally donned with gilded bronze plaques and topped with a sphere. Unfortunately, the Fourth Crusaders came through and stripped him bare. Each of his plaques represented the many victorious battles he had won over the years.

The Old School Warrior is about 2,486 year old and nicknamed the Serpent Column. Quite fitting since he is a bronze statute with three decapitated serpent heads. It’s been said that he was made from the shields of Persian soldiers. He resided in the Hagia Sophia before relocating to the Hippodrome.

I can only imagine, which is exactly what I did, what it would be like to see the  world change over 3,500 years – the knowledge that I would accrue, the beauty that I would see, the pain that I would feel and the changes in the human race through the generations. Sometimes I wish I could stand in one place and press rewind, like Adam Sandler in the movie Click or become a reincarnation of a phoenix.

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The Blue Mosque: Etiquette & Communication

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

This post is part 3 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

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The Blue Mosque sits directly across from the Hagia Sophia on the Hippodrome, also known as the Sultanahmet Square. It’s hard to say which is more impressive. They both rival in beauty. With six towering minarets, The Blue Mosque dominates the Istanbul skyline.

The Blue Mosque is an active mosque; therefore it is not open to visitors at all times. Doors open at 9am but is closed 5 times throughout the day for prayers. It’s also closed midday on Fridays as this is the mandatory prayer of the week. Most mosques in Istanbul close one hour before sun down.

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The main entrance into The Blue Mosque is reserved only worshipers.  All other visitors are required to use the north entrance. Before you can get a glimpse of the blue tiles that gives The Blue Mosque its name, there are a few rules to follow:

Women must:

  • cover their heads with a scarf
  • wear clothes that cover their shoulders
  • wear a long skirt or dress to cover their legs

Men must

  • wear long pants to cover their legs. (Shorts are not acceptable.)

Men and women must

  • take off their shoes and place them in a plastic bag

Plastic bags are provided and head scarves are given to those who have none. As you enter The Blue mosque, be prepared to get a nice big whiff of feet. Don’t cringe. It doesn’t smell as bad as squat toilets in China. What did you expect? Everyone has their shoes off.

But if you think about it, it’s not the locals who stink up the place. It’s actually the tourists and visitors. Worshipers wash their hands, face, neck and feet in the ablution before entering the mosque for prayers. The rest of us – tourists and visitors – stroll in after a long sweaty day of wandering through the city. Not many of us bother to wash ourselves. Of course the mosque is going to smell like feet.

Entering the mosque wasn’t a problem for JC and I. We did our homework and we were prepared with the right ensemble. Getting out of the mosque was another story. We walked back to the north entrance and realized the door was locked from the outside. Perturbed, we headed back to the mosque but a gate had already been set up.

From behind, a young boy in an olive uniform called for JC. He was with two tourists – a girl and a guy. Words were exchanged along with hand gestures and confused looks. The boy in the uniform spoke Turkish. JC spoke English. The girl spoke Spanish. She tried translate the little bit of Turkish she knew.

All of the sudden, JC hiked up his jeans and maneuvered himself to climb over the wall. I shouted,

“What are you doing?!”
“Getting out.”
“That’s not how you get out.”
“That’s what he said.”
“He doesn’t work here.”
“Yes, he does.”
“No, he doesn’t”
“What are you talking about? He just told me.”
“The workers here are in blue.”
“Oh, what the hell was he telling me then?”
“He was asking you how to get in.”

The entire time JC was trying to ask the boy how to get out, the boy was trying to ask him how to get in. Lost in translation? The incident gave birth to a new joke. How do you ask a Chinaman how to get into a mosque? You don’t.

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Istanbul's Hagia Sophia

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

This post is part 2 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

View of the Hagia Sophia from Sultanahmet Square

View of the Hagia Sophia from Sultanahmet Square

Rick Steves said that Lady Liberty could do jumping jacks inside the Hagia Sophia. That’s how big it is. Even though the church-turned-mosque-turned-museum is currently under construction, it sits majestically at almost 1,500 years old. Its beauty is timeless.

The Hagia Sophia is just as architecturally impressive now as it was back then. In 1453, Constantinople, now Istanbul, was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Everything was destroyed and burned to the ground. But Sultan Mehmed II was so enamored by the Hagia Sophia that ordered it to be turned it into a mosque.

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During the building’s conversion from church to mosque, many of the mosaics were covered because Islam disapproves of representational depictions. The church’s altar, bells, iconic images and sacrificial vessels were replaced with Islamic features like the mihrab, the minbar, and minarets.

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After being burnt down twice, the Hagia Sophia was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian and is now entirely fireproof. Inside, there are eight huge circular wooden boards. Each one has the name of Allah, the prophet Muhammad, the first four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the two grandchildren of Mohammed, Hassan and Hussain, written on it.

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The most interesting, and probably the most unsanitary, thing I came across was the Wish Column, aka the Sweating Column. I watched each tourist stick their thumb into the designated hole and turned their palm 360 degrees to make a wish. It is the only item in the Hagia Sophia that allows visitors to touch. Touching any of the mosaics, on the other hand, will cause a surround sound eruption of “No touch! No touch! No touch!” from security guards in all directions.

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Taiwanese tour group

The Hagia Sophia is grand in size but it’s no exception to the masses and tour groups that flood the building. They all seem to be armed with cameras and ready to shoot. As usual, with any tourist attraction, the weekend is war. Every other day is fair game. Just don’t go on Mondays. It’s closed.

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Merhaba Istanbul!

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

This post is part 1 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

I’m a nerd. I like math and I like to plan. Excel is my best friend. I can’t live without my planner. When it comes to traveling, I get excited at the thought of creating a new spreadsheet. Budgeting is my favorite part. How low can I go?

This 8-day trip to Istanbul was only $1270 – $640 for round-trip tickets and $630 for everything else. That means I spent less than $80 a day. That includes accommodation, food, entrance fees, transportation and souvenirs. I’d say it’s a pretty good deal for independent traveling.

JC and I landed in Istanbul around 10AM with no place to stay. We took public transportation from Ataturk International Airport to Sultanahmet in search of a home and found the Hali Hotel. Here’s an excerpt of the hotel review I wrote for Lay Your Head Here:

Imagine a panoramic view of the Golden Horn, The Haghia Sophia, The Bosporus River, The Blue Mosque and the Sea of Marmara. That’s the view from the terrace of the Hali Hotel in Istanbul where I had my complimentary breakfast every morning.

If you’re visiting Istanbul for the first time, staying in Sultanahmet is ideal. The Hali Hotel is located within minutes from The Grand Bazaar, The Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, Suleymaniye’s Mosque, Basilica Cistern and other historical and cultural places.

You can find the rest of the review at Lay Your Head Here.

The Hali Hotel is conveniently located in the middle of everything. The Putin-looking manager at the front desk was a little cold at first but he warmed up to us throughout the week. Hip-Hop Hasan gave us a great tour of the hotel. He was a jovial guy who led a double a life – a bell boy by day and a hip hop break dancer by night.

JC told the Putin-looking manager that Hip-Hop Hasan deserved a raise for giving us an exceptional tour. Hip-Hop Hasan’s Kool-Aid smile grew even bigger but the Putin-looking manager gave JC the stare of death that said, “Don’t give the boy any ideas or his raise will be coming out of your pocket.”

For 55 Euros a night, we settled into our temporary home for the week. After a power nap, we went to brunch around 3PM and ordered a cup of Turkish coffee. I desperately needed that shot of caffeine before setting out on foot. We walked by the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque and strolled through the Hippodrome, which was packed with tourists and locals.

It was the middle of Ramadan and many of the locals gathered at the Hippodrome to await their first meal of the day. JC and I went back to the Hali Hotel and sat on the terrace for over two hours watching the sky change colors as the sun set. It was the only night we had the terrace to ourselves. We had a feeling that this would never never happen again. People usually realize it hindsight but when something is too good to be true, it probably is.

We stayed up there for as long as we could – alone in the dark with nothing but the lights below and the stars above. I had a front row seat of the Hagia Sofia to my left and The Blue Mosque to my right – both lit up with lights. When the wind blew, I felt as if I was floating. I was high just knowing that for the next 8 days, I did not have to be cooped up in four walls and spend over 10 hours of the day typing away in front of a computer screen.

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