Leaving shopping till the last day, I headed towards the much anticipated Grand Bazaar...

Grand Bazaar

True my nature; I forgot my cam’s battery, so no Pictures for today, Eh!

Not wanting to sound stupid or something, i did not understand what the Bazaar is all about, Yes there are a lot of antique shops, leather shops, tacky Turkish memorabilia, but so does the entire rest of Sultan Ahmad area, and honestly, for better deals.

Spending 2 hours or so within the Bazaar, I must say that Turkish salesman (yeah, no saleswoman of any sort) can be quite childish sometimes, I mean 5alas, I don’t want to buy means I don’t want to buy, their reaction; they get SAD, WTF????? You try to rip me off, am not going to buy, grow up!

A part from my visit to the Bazaar, I had to cancel another cruise through the Bosphorus, and kept to my room for the rest of the Afternoon, the evening again was for an outing and another dinner in a very nice Turkish restaurant.

Tugging into my bed, I thought of tomorrow, and of leaving Istanbul!

Love

Ahmad

Day 1 was a rush; would Day 2 keep the momentum?

TopKapi Palace Museum…

Being heavily advised to visit the TopKapi palace, I went through the Map several times till I was able to locate it, situated just beyond the Aya Sophia. I packed my map, Lonely Planet’s guide to turkey (a must have, thanks Amto! :)), some money and off I went.

The TopKapi palace is split into four courts, starting with the first, you are welcomed with vast spaces of lush green fields, and to the right the Marmara Sea blooms into view with an air of royalty. Walking through such spaces you start to realize that Istanbul is a romantic city, love is in the air, couples holding hands everywhere, cuddling together on benches and whispering in each other's ears, it surely is a place to create a memory.

On entering the second court things start to get more interesting. To enter this court and anything beyond, you need to buy your ticket, a must have if you want to avoid the scams of tour guides is to rent the audible guide which will guide you through every step in the palace, which I thankfully did acquire, moving through the second courts you get a sense of the size and power of the Ottoman empire, the kitchens on your right sometimes did prepare meals for over 10,000 people a time! On your left, you find the harem and its individual tickets.

Social rituals are a huge part of the late Ottoman culture, and that is apparent in the Harem, or the family headquarters, here, the Sultan, his wife(s), mother, and concubines (sometimes counted to more than 300) gathered and lived as a family, princes got their education and prepared to face the possibility of ruling the empire one day. The lavish settings throughout the harem and especially in the mother's quarters emphasize her importance even in political manners, were her authority was unmatched by anyone other than the Sultan himself.

Leaving the harem you enter the third court of the palace, which holds some of its greatest treasures, whether in the treasury, were gifts from other countries and empires were presented to the Sultan, Or the gifts that the sultan himself gave away to the grave of prophet Muhammad. Continuing within the fourth court DON'T miss passing through the Privy Chambers: The Sacred Trusts Section, it has a collection of Islamic history that you cannot find anywhere else in the world (maybe only in Madina & Mecca), from the earlier keys of the Kaba'a, to the swords of the prophet Muhammad, parts of his beard, to even his footprint when he ascended to the skies.

Ending with a beautiful view of the Marmara Sea in the fourth court, you can enjoy lunch or an early dinner at the only restaurant in the palace (I didn't, by then i only wanted to go home, the palace took me over 6 hours to go through!). Without much thought, I headed home, to my sweet refuge, the guesthouse.

An outing to the True heart of Old Istanbul!

Determined not to waste a second of my stay, taking a shower and resting for a while, I got ready to hit the streets again, when Menteen, the guesthouse owner, suggested a night out in Old Istanbul with some Argileh. While I don't smoke, I went along for the ride, if nothing but his good company, and his stories of scuba diving and east Asia, The scene was a much welcomed relaxation after the morning's wondering.

Sleeping like a baby, I dreamt of my visits to EYÜP the next morning.

Still not missing Jordan, Only the Family, will talk to you soon.

Love

Ahmad

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