Istanbul not Constantinople

***Sorry that a few pictures are on their sides, we do not know why. We will try and fix the problem later***


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After another flight with no movies (flying Egypt Air), we arrive in Istanbul International Airport! The Turkey is back in Turkey (Alisa’s nickname is Turkey in NZ). Ironically, the turkey bird is called Hindi (the actual Turkish word) - so on Christmas Day we were eating a Hindi!!! LOL Alisa and her folks warned me that Turkey is really cold – it’s in the middle of winter and all that but we arrive on a sunny day when the temperature is 10°C! Just a normal winters day in NZ - minus the sun LOL! After Egypt everyone found Istanbul, formerly Constantinople (like the song “Istanbul not Constantinople”), really clean and modern. Especially in the last little while they have been doing the city up with new paving etc. Alisa’s sister, Cara, was also arriving on the same day as us from England but 4 hours later than us. We decided to wait for her and then all travel home together. Now, those that have had the pleasure (or displeasure) of seeing Alisa’s and my baggage would know that we didn’t really travel light and so for us to cart this around on public transport was…interesting… The public transport here is 100x better than that in NZ and 10x better than that of Melbourne’s! They are really clued up here and that is why Alisa’s folks don’t really require a car at all. Trains, trams, ferries and buses are all integrated and like in Melbourne, you can use the same ticket on any of the transport modes. It’s also relatively inexpensive to travel around the city.

Her folks live in an apartment in the City overlooking the Bosphorous River!! How sweet! It’s a 2-bedroom apartment but a lot bigger than my apartment in Auckland! However, there are a lot of stairs leading up to this 2nd story paradise. It sits up on a hill away from the road so there are plenty of stairs to keep you fit (hopefully). You can honestly sit and watch all the boats go past for hours. There is always something happening.

For the few days leading up to Christmas we didn’t really do much but blob about the house and have a look around Taksim - the Center of the City. The weather was warm too. I was craving snow but there was nothing in sight. We put up the tree and also made our own Christmas Crackers! We got to design the outside and choose our own things to put inside. Very entertaining.

Our Christmas table with the hand made crackers. Mine was the best of course!

One of the days we went to one of the biggest shopping malls I have ever seen! 6 stories spread over about 2 football fields!!! Maybe even more! Malls are the next big thing here – they are coming up everywhere! It was quite refreshing being in a country where Christmas is not ‘sold’ in every mall, store or corner store! You can even be forgiven for forgetting its Christmas! Christmas Day was quite enjoyable and was a very family affair – it made me miss my family too. We took a walk along the river after opening all the pressies. We got a present from Alisa’s folks, her sister and her sisters boyfriend to go to the ‘Home of Cricket’!!! Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to see a match at Lord’s Cricket Ground on the 18th of May to see NZ vs Eng!!! Whoop whoop!!

There is this place just down from where her parents live called Coffee world. But what makes this place so good is that there is also a chocolate factory inside. So with every hot drink you buy you get a free chocolate spoon. It is great! They also have free samples and make chocolate animals that are so cute that Alisa doesn’t want to eat hers! On Boxing Day we bid Cara adieu but only until March/April, when we go to London. The next day we decided to do a bit of touristy stuff and headed out to this fortress further up the Bosphorous. Fortresses and Castles are scattered throughout Turkey. There is just so much history in this one country. Romans, Greeks, Ottomans and many others occupied this area at some point in history and have left their own mark on the City. Ruins are just strewn across the place. At one point there is a pillar lying on the side of the road! Alisa will take over at this point. The place we went to is called Rumeli Hisari, built in 1452 in just 4 months, it is amazingly intact. Although I lived in Istanbul for a couple of years I didn’t do a lot of the tourists things so for me it is nice to do them with Shailen here. Rumeli Hisari was built for Mehmet the Conqueror on the narrowest point of the Bosphorus opposite another fortress on the other side. Between the two of them he was able to control all traffic along the Bosphorus. After the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet, the Castle was used as a glorified tollbooth, then as barracks, later as a prison and now it is used as an open-air theatre in the summer. You can walk up onto the walls and towers along steep staircases but it is pretty scary because there are no barriers anywhere so you need to watch your footing. We spent the morning wondering around the fortress and then walked back towards home along the Bosphorus stopping to have lunch and a Waffle filled with runny chocolate and fruit of your choice!

Rumeli Hisari

Shailen discovering the different settings on my camera.

Shailen in Rumeli Hisari

The view of one of the two Bosphorus bridges from Rumeli Hisari.

More artisitc photos from Shailen :)

A step from recycled parts.

On the 30th December my friend Catherine came and stayed with us for a few days over New Years. I went to school with her here in Istanbul but she lives in London now. Last time we saw each other was 3 1/2 years ago when we were both last here. It was great seeing her again. For New Years we didn’t get up to too much. We went up into the centre of town and had a drink. Most places had cover charges on them so we didn’t want to pay to go in anywhere. We went into Taksim Square for the count down and there was a big fire-works display, which was really cool. Also I got my first ever Polaroid photo so that was cool.

Shailen (with a moustach) me and Catherine.

Fireworks in Taksim Square at New Years.

Me and Shailen saying hello to the New Year.

The next day (Jan 1st 2008) we woke up in time to go on a Bosphorus tour.

Eminonu and the Galata bridge on the Golden Horn where we departed from. You can see the Galata tower in the top left corner.

Apartments along the Bosphorus. Mum and Dad's is the light blue one just above the long rectangle building right on the water on the left side.

Dolmabahce Palace.

Showing the run down buildings along the water front. They just leave them like that.

One of the Bosphorus Bridges with a mosque in the forefront.

The second Bosphorus bridge.

Rumeli Hisari from the water with one of the many tankers that go along the Bosphorus.

All up the Bosphorus are beautiful buildings and palaces.

Ohh so cute :)

Shailen again playing with my camera to get this awesome picture of bridge and boat.

Anadolu Kavagi on top of the hill.

It takes about 1 1/2 hours and you go right up to the Black Sea where we got off and walked up to a castle Anadolu Kavagi. There is not much there as it is mostly ruins, but it’s quite interesting to see it because they have used recycled bricks (from other buildings in Turkey – this seems to be a common occurrence here and in Egypt (see the Pyramids)) so they are all different colours and so on.There is a beautiful view from the Castle as it is on the top of a hill so we sat down and had lunch. Luckily it was a beautiful sunny day so it was quite warm sitting in the sun.

The remains of Anadolu Kavagi.

A tower showing recycling of building blocks.

Me by the entrance to the black sea.

We then made our way back down to the boat as there is only 1 boat a day that goes there and back so if you miss it you are a little stuck! We got off at Besiktas and on our way home discovered a shop with heaps of Roxy, Quicksilver, Polo, Ralph Lauren etc clothing really cheap. We think they are probably seconds and surplus. Catherine and I got Roxy hoodies for only $25 and Shailen got a very typical woollen Turkish jumper for only $5 so we were all pretty happy!

A picturesque sunset over the Bosphorus.

The next day we wanted to head out to Akmerkez, which is a mall Catherine and I used to always go to. We also wanted to go to this pizza place that I had been craving for the last few months. When we woke up in the morning it was snowing!!!! Yes it really was snowing. Shailen was all excited because it was the first time that he had seen falling snow.



Video showing the snow!

Shailen embracing the snow!

And of course he feels the need to put it down my back!

We also went and had a look through the Grand Bazaar which is this HUGE undercover market. It is mostly a tourist trap but you can get some good things there. But it is so big and like a big maze that it is so easy to get lost in. It snowed for the next couple of days but it wasn’t heavy enough to settle on the ground. Catherine and I walked up to Taksim to get some last minute things before she left and there was so much water on the ground from the snow that by the time we got home we could ring our socks out. Now remember this water is ice cold!! Not a pleasant feeling thinking your feet are going to drop off from the cold! But we are strong and survived so all is good!

While we have been in Turkey Shailen has been keen to try some of their traditional food. One example is a desert made of Chicken breast. They cook it for so long that it doesn't actually taste, look or have the consistency that chicken actual has. They then make it to be a bit like a rice pudding. Personally I wouldn't try it if you paid me but I say good on him for trying it! He said it was quite nice... :s

Shailen eating his Chicken desert.

Me and all my new friends. Near where we live there are cats everywhere!

Catherine left on the Friday so we just had the weekend left to spend with Mum and Dad before they had to go back to school. So we decided to have a look at the huge Aqueduct which used to carry water from the Forest, some 20/30 miles away, into the city.

The Aqueduct. Luckily they made it wide enough for cars to go through! LOL

Shailen posing on history.

The Aqueduct stretching out into the distance.

From there we went to look at the Fatih Mosque, which was the first great Imperial Mosque to be built in Istanbul. It was the first time Shailen had been inside a mosque and he found it quite similar to the elaborate Hindu Temples.



Video showing the inside of the Mosque.

It is completely quiet as people are praying inside and from the ceiling hang Mosque lights which are like coloured glass bulbs. There are decorations all over the walls and it seems huge from the inside. You are not allowed to wear shoes inside and as a female your hair has to be covered. The hood of a jacket is fine. From there we were making our way to Kariye museum.

But walking along the way was quite entertaining. The thing about Turkey is that they have areas where all the same things are sold. So we were walking through the wedding dress area. Now some of these dresses were amazing. Huge puffy things and bright red or green ones and everything you could possibly think of! Mum and I enjoyed looking at them while Shailen was getting slightly worried LOL Along the way we also managed to get Shailen’s watch fixed. While he was in Egypt the face got a crack on it. So we found this watch repairer in this tiny little shop. He spent ages on it and did a really good job and it only cost $10! You wouldn’t find that in NZ. It was quite interesting watching him doing it as he obviously took great pride in his work.

Shailen with the watch repairer. What is in the picture is the size of the shop.

We finally made our way to the Kariye Museum, which was originally called Chora Church, or the Church of the Holy Saviour Outside the Walls. It is an old church with these amazing mosaics on the ceilings and walls. The mosaics depict the lives of Christ and Mary and are quite incredible. You can spend a long time looking at all the pictures. I found the ones on the ceiling especially amazing. All the decoration inside dates back to 1312.

Kariye Museum

One of the many wonderful mosaics inside.

Video showing the inside of Kariye Museum.

On the way back home we stopped to look at the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya in the snow. We will go inside them another time. There is also an Oblesik nearby that was brought from Egypt to Istanbul (at that time Constantinople) in AD 390. It was in the Amon-Ra temple at Karnak (see our Egypt posts) before the Byzantine emperor Theodosius had it brought over. It was broken down for transport so only the top segment is seen.

Aya Sofya.

The Blue Mosque.

Shailen making a snow angel.

The Oblesik.

After Mum and Dad went back to school we just relaxed for a few days. Shailen also managed to get an interview with the head master of the school, as he was interested in doing substituting work while we are here. So we went into school one day and was very strange for me as it had been 4 1/2 years since I had been there. But as it is an International School the staff turn over is quite big so there were only a few teachers still there that taught me. And I didn’t know any of the students since the 12 graders (17/18 yo) now were 7th grade (12/13 yo) when I was there. But it was nice to go back and see those people I knew. And Shailen’s interview was successful so hopefully he can get a bit of work and some more moolah in the bank.

Us having a candle lit dinner as the power was off.

This last Saturday we went for a walk along Istiklal (the main street) and discovered this HUGE outlet place which will require about a day to go through! So we decided to go another day.

Beginning of Istiklal with a Simit (round bread things) seller on the left hand side.

Looking down Istiklal. Although no cars are allowed down you almost always see a least a couple!

From there we walked down to the Galata Tower and it was a beautiful day so we had a stunning view from the top. It is like the Sky Tower in Auckland but more historical and not as tall. It was built of wood in 527 as a lighthouse and in 1348 it was reconstructed as Christea Turris (Christ Tower) using stack stone. The tower is a mere 66.9m tall but at the base the walls are 3.7m thick!!! From the top you can see all around Istanbul and down the Bosphorus. There was even a guy that flew with artificial wings from the top of the tower to the opposite shore 6km away in the 17th Century! Shailen had his binoculars with him so was spying on everyone LOL.

Galata Tower.

View from Galata Tower over the Golden Horn.

View from Galata Tower showing Galata bridge.

View over the city. I like the city because it is not big ugly glass buildings everywhere.

View over the city and down the Bosphorus.

The thing about Turkey is the shops themselves aren’t very cheap but if you look through the markets you can get things really cheap, for example, shirts and jeans for $10, and so on. But this takes time and patience because usually everything is in a bit of a mess and people are trying to pressure you into buying things.

Last Friday we went for our first live Classical Concert. It was quite nice actually! We were also treated to a show because the guest Violinist was really really good. He was walking around while everyone else was sitting and reading their music. He didn't need that at all and he was very entertaining.

The last couple of days, Shailen has been substituting at the School that my parents teach at and that I attended a few years back!!! He has been doing it to earn a bit more money while we are here and also to see if he wants to be a teacher... He got the opportunity and took it. I wonder what nicknames the kids have for him...

So that brings us up to date. Now we are looking at planning some trips within Turkey. Because it is winter at the moment it limits us a little bit because some places I want to show Shailen in summer. But armed with our thermals and layers of clothing I am sure we can survive! So I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years and we look forward to hearing from you all!