We had an overnight stop in Athens, where we again stayed at "John's Place," in a tiny room sans bathroom. It is amazing how much grooming one can do with just a tiny low hung sink with no water pressure. We woke at 4am to catch a flight to Turkey. Getting to Istanbul was a little stressful to say the least. We nearly missed out flight and had our passports checked and luggage scanned no less than 3 times. I'm assuming the whole "Middle East" thing might have something to do with the stifling levels of security. Anyway, we arrived early in the afternoon on Friday- the holy day. We chose to stay in the historic (and highly religious) area of the city called Iskandari (questionable spelling to be corrected later). Being that it was the holy day, the calls to prayer were frequent, at ear piercing volumes, and frankly, a little freaky. And at the time of the call, when people from all directions began rushing to the nearest mosque (of which there were many to choose from in this area), T would remind me that we were "Not in Kansas anymore."
Our first stop in Istanbul was the former Grand Mosque of pre-Constantinople days, Hagia Sophia. It was formerly a place of christian worship, then a mosque, and currently a museum. Traces of this dynamic history were left in every corner of this fascinatingly beautiful place. We were also quite near the Blue Mosque, and it is still a functioning place of worship, and therefore a place we did not feel comfortable touristing in. But the pictures are incredible. We had an amazing dessert on a rooftop cafe with a remarkable view. That night, we ate at a small outdoor restaurant and upon ordering a much needed cold beer realized, to our dismay, that the whole of Iskandari was dry- thanks a lot, Allah.
Call to Prayer
Outside Hagia Sophia
T and Hagia
K and Hagia
Monkey and the Blue Mosque
Blue Mosque
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