It’s the colorful, diverse, loud & outspoken Istanbul... And it never fails to deliver!
Our journey, my friends, starts with an extremely early wake-up call to the airport, with the flight leaving Queen Alia's airport at 3.30 a.m., having had the luck of a cat at the end of its 7th span, I was seated next to a notoriously famous specimen, the cheap travelling businessman, who has the amazing capacity of sleeping during the most turbulent of circumstances, 5 minutes abroad the plane and BAM! He is fast asleep and snoring.
Keeping my mind in perspective of the short length of the flight, I fought against focusing on the sweet melodies of our friend. The rest of the flight was uneventful, aside from the tiny portions of cat food presented, and the grumps of the stewardesses (am kidding, they were okay!), we landed in sleepy Istanbul a quarter to 6.
After clearing my way through Visa and passport check, I got introduced to the 20-sth driver; "Taher", who's knowledge of English broke down to "Yes", "No", & "I Don't Know". Taher drove me down to the guesthouse where I had my reservation, and it turned out to be the cutest house ever! Cramped off course, tiny beyond measures for sure, but the air it has could not have been better delivered on intention. For me, it was what Istanbul is all about, simple, colorful, & historic...
The Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia & Basilica Cistern...
The first views of the Blue Mosque; i.e. Sultan Ahmed’s Mosque, are Marvellous, its size, architecture, the harmony of its six minarets (Ma2athen), and the swirling birds cracking the dawn of the sun from behind was a view to savour, its moments like this that I thank the prodigies of Japanese parents who brought us Digital Photography, my camera was in full action mode, trying to capture every second of the experience.
Enter the mosque, and you will understand what the hype is all about, the Islamic artistic flare of Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa (the architect appointed by Sultan Ahmad the first to build it), The Sultan originally commissioned the construction of the mosque to counter the historical Aya Sofia did wonders, every single detail was amazing in its own right.
My visit to the mosque came to its end shortly, having had the time to explore what i managed to, i headed towards Aya Sofia.
Before we start with the Hagia, I want to point out that the Blue Mosque is still active till this day, which means that prayers are still performed there, while Aya Sophia is now considered a museum after its history of serving both as a mosque, and a church, which I believe is the reason behind its majestic charm, the combination of both of the faith backgrounds gives it a special taste.
Going through the gates, you are greeted by an Enormous hall were large, Sorry, LARGE round paintings (for a lack of a better word) of the words Allah, Moh'd, and the rest of the khalifah's are outrageously presented in Gold Letters over Green backgrounds, Continuing to the upper level of the museum, you are encountered with earlier work from the museum's pre-muslim era, with mosaics that showed beautiful artistic drawings.
Turning to the underground Basilica Cistern I must say I was not enthusiastic when I finally found it, there was nothing to show for it above the ground (during that point I did not know it was underground), anyho, I reluctantly paid the admission fees and went in.
It was like I left Istanbul, and dived down to one of the secret passages of Dan Brown, mysteriously red-shaded, with fish swimming in the spooky shallow water, and ending with the Medusa Heads (one up-side down and the other on its side), if you ever go to turkey, don’t miss it!
Taksim - Istikal Street
You would think that all of those historic sites are sitting in the heart of Taksim, the much talked about area of Istanbul. Will if you are like me, and are basically a virgin to Turkish culture and geography, then you are madly mistaken, see all those historic sites are on one side of Istanbul, were the others are sitting a couple of metro stops away, the difference in attitude clearly affirms Taksim's persona as the Posh Istanbul.
Being extremely tired, I strolled with dragging feet along Istikal street, were a million and one Cafe's, restaurants, stores, and antique shops reside. The place is fun for a night-out; I preferred the historical part of Istanbul.
I will back with more updates soon, and no, I don't miss Jordan yet (but i miss me family!).
Love
Ahmad
