Spring Break Blog-a-Palooza, Part 3: Incredible Istanbul

It's been a while. 20 days (March 22-April 10) and 5 cities (London, Paris, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Brussels). We have a lot to cover.

I will be splitting my coverage of my spring break travels into a couple of sections. *If you missed Part 1 or 2, use the navigation bar on the side of my blog to find it!* This third part covers Istanbul, April 1-5, during which Katie and I explored both the Asian and European sides of the city.
Here it is in pictures and captions. Enjoy!

April 1-5: Incredible Istanbul

Kobe flies Turkish Air with Lionel Messi, huh? I want to know what Kobe goes to Turkey for. These commercials remind of the long gone days when Kobe was the go-to marketing guy.

This was the first meal I had in Istanbul. I knew I was going to have a good time, because it was incredible. It's called "iskender" and is basically an awesome lamb kebab. I ate this a lot because it's delicious.

At the Grand Bazaar, I was able to haggle down a price for a nice Turkish tea glass and plate. You really just have to play hardball with these guys, who are always looking to offer unsuspecting tourists a "special price". Some advice: If it's a "special price", act interested enough to get them to harass you, but start walking away until they ask you to name your price. Go about 25% lower than you want to pay and they will meet you around what you want. Katie is an absolute pro at this. It's hilarious to watch!

Istanbul University. Believe it or not, Istanbul while in "the Middle East" is quite secular and progressive. As Katie described it to me (she is quite a budding expert on the region), Turkey views itself  "as a shining example of democracy in the Middle East". Needless to say, this is a big reason why tourism from the West is increasing rapidly there.

The Suleymaniye Mosque, the largest Mosque in Istanbul. Mostly, while traveling around Europe, you see a lot of Cathedrals. I've never been inside of a Mosque before. This was my first one and what a great place to start. It was quite beautiful on the inside.

You must take off your shoes before entering a mosque and women must have their heads covered. I kind of like the taking off of shoes idea. Not only is it a nice way to show reverence to a higher being, but the decorative Turkish rugs and carpets lining the mosques we visited make for a really comfortable visit.

Inside the Suleymaniye Mosque. Each of the red spaces on the carpet behind me is a spot for one person to pray, facing southeast towards Mecca. Also, the Imam (who is like a priest) stands in the front and gives a sermon on Fridays. One unique thing about Turkey, well exemplified by Mosques to come in this blog entry, is that they have domes. I think it's an awesome architectural representation of the European influence on the city. As I learned more and more during my time in Istanbul, it is a historically, culturally, and architecturally fascinating city.

The "call to prayer" takes place 5 times a day, spaced out at different times based on when the sun rises and sets. It lasts for a few minutes, here is short clip, and is signal for Muslims to pray, either in a Mosque or somewhere quiet. At first it was pretty jarring to hear a loud chanting cry out of nowhere 5 times a day, but after a few days I got used to it and really found it interesting. Coincidentally, it's a really useful way to keep time with regards to the daylight. The picture above is tower from which the call takes place using just voices and amplification.

The Spice Bazaar was also really fun - especially if you like spices and Turkish delight!

Look at all of that Turkish Delight. Still makes me think of this though.

We stayed in Kadakoy, which is on the Asian side of Istanbul. Here is the sunset, looking at the Blue Mosque (on the European side) from the Asian side.

Seagulls chased the ferry boats we took over every day. It provided for some entertainment and good pictures.

Topkapi Palace was interesting, but not really well run as a tourist spot. If you ever go to Istanbul, pass on this spot.

Pretty cool to explore, but not much information and tons of kids on a field trip. Still a beatiful place though. But, like I said before, there are better things to enjoy in Istanbul.

I thought the flowers of Topkapi Palace were the best part.

Very colorful!

No wonder the Ottoman Empire eventually fell...people sat around with their feet up all day! (Thanks, I'll be here all week)

Seriously, these flowers are awesome and I don't even like flowers.

After Topkapi Palace, we went to Hagia Sophia, first stopping in the mausoleums of Sultans from long ago.

Not a bad way to be buried, right? Your entire family is there in a nice eembroidered comfy home. I thought this was pretty cool.

This is the Hagia Sophia, which is maybe the most interesting building I've ever visited. It used to be church when Istanbul was Constantinople, then became a Mosque when the Ottoman Empire took over and is now a museum. I believe that this building is responsible for all of the domed Mosques in Turkey, since the Ottomans must have liked the design enough to keep a church structurally intact.

I'm pretty sure that's a picture of Jesus between two huge symbols praising Allah in Arabic script. You won't see this anywhere else in the world, I'm pretty sure.

The Hagia Sophia is also massive on the inside and just beautiful.

However, the Blue Mosque might be the most stunning piece of architecture in Istanbul. Located directly across from the Hagia Sophia, it is absolutely incredible...even if does make me think of Mos Eisley.

It was weird that there were so many tourist vistors filing in and out, taking pictures and observing Muslims meet together in prayer and fellowship at the Blue Mosque. Children running around, adults greeting and praying - quite a familiar scene for anyone who has attended church before, no?

One of the coolest things Katie and I did was enter the Basilica Cistern, which is a Byzantine water filtration system. Check out the fish swimming around in it!

Tough to get a good picture in here, but we managed!

Cool, huh?

I mentioned before that I loved iskender. This is supposedly the best in Istanbul and it may have been my favorite meal of the trip. Seriously, I will have to keep my eye out for more kebab places back home.

Turkish Tea is delicious.

Hagia Sophia in the daylight. Remember what it looks like.

Blue Mosque in the daylight. Remember what it looks like.

This is the ferry we took each day from Kadakoy (Asian side) to Eminonu (European side). It was a mere $1.50 USD. 1 Turkish Lira is only about $0.50 USD, so I really enjoyed getting great prices on anything that wasn't an American brand. (see: food)

This is the Bosphorus, which we traversed every day. It's really quite beautiful. Also, it made me think of this music constantly.

Katie and I walked all the way up to Taksim Square, which is where a lot of political protests go on. Luckily it wasn't too crazy the day we visited. And great weather too!

We returned to the Hagia Sophia around sunset. Compare it to the picture before.

Check out the Blue Mosque as well.

Nothing beat the Hagia Sophia at first nightfall though. This might be the best picture I've taken in my travels thus far.

The Blue Mosque looks pretty great too!

Katie and I had an incredible time in Istanbul. When all my travels are over, it may very well be the most memorable city I visited. It certainly helped being with an Istanbul academic expert, so I wanted to say thanks to Katie for being such an awesome travel buddy and helping make a new part of the world come alive for both of us. Thanks babe, I love you!

Next stop: Amsterdam! Stay tuned!