City Tour and Dinner with the deMellos

Today we were up early and off for the city bus tour. We used the company "City Sightseeing Istanbul". They had bright red buses with open top second levels. After a little negotiation we were off at 10am. Each person has ear pieces to listen to the history of the city in your own language as you travel around.

We crossed the Ataturk Bridge over the Golden Horn. It was Saturday and people lined the bridge in droves fishing. Over the bridge we entered the newer area still on the European part of Istanbul. We wound up the hill and past Taksim Square. The buses travel every 45 mins and it is possible to hop on and off at certain points.

We hopped off at Galata Tower which was built in 1348 as the tallest part of the city walls. It was a really nice area. However, we decided not to go up as it cost heaps and there is a restaurant on top. You could only take an elevator up.

















While taking photos of the tower my family were posing not realising that they weren't in it. I thought it better to take one of them as well.

We hopped back on the bus which went back over the bridge and up around the Golden Horn.

Eventually we hopped off near a good section of the old city wall. We had to walk a distance but eventually found a small park near a mosque. A stall owner was very nice and gave our kids some small chewing gum. In this city once you move away from the main tourist areas it can be quite dilapidated. Here is a picture of an inhabited building in the new area.

We hopped back on the bus again, to the end of the tour and made our way back to our accommodation.

Later at 6pm we went to meet the deMellos at their accommodation. As we got closer the building quality changed quickly. I didn't realise there were hotels like this in the old section of the city. Their girls spotted us from away and flagged us in. It was great to speak to kiwis and talk about the old country.

We ate at a nice restaurant and moved on to a bar later. By 9pm we parted ways. Sam and her family were headed back to Abu Dhabi the next day. I think the owner was happy to see us leave as our kids were getting really ratty. I don't know how Sam's girls are so well behaved. All in all the girls all seemed to get on really well, running up and down the street as only kiwi kids can.

It was back to our place which we have come to love. We are in the middle of a residential area and Sue has been invited into locals houses. It may not look like much but it is what I would call authentic.

Aya Sofya...also guess who we bumped into?!

Called Sancta Sophia in Latin, Haghia Sofia in Greek and the Church of the Divine Wisdom in English. It is Istanbul's most famous monument. Thankfully we arrived early to avoid the massive crowds that were lining up as we were exiting. There is no way we could queue in the heat!

It really was an experience walking inside what I believe to be one of the worlds truly great buildings. It was an awe inspiring experience! The guide book tells us that on entering his great creation for the first time almost 1500years ago, Justinian exclaimed, 'Glory to God that I have been judged worthy of such work. Oh Soloman! I have outdone you!' I could understand today his self congratulatory tone!

As we were making our way to Aya Sofya, we heard a voice call out "Henry", can you believe in a city of 20 million people we bumped into Sam and Paul deMello from Nelson!! We planned to meet up tonight but after they tried to find our place for 2hrs this evening they gave up. We will try again tomorrow. Both families really disappointed, fingers crossed we can find each other tomorrow, this city is not easy to navigate your way around.

Its not surprising that many visitors to Istanbul never make it out of Sultanahmet ( 'Old Istanbul'), its so packed with a concentration of sites, shops, all within easy walking distance. This was the case for us today, just as we left the Aya Sofya and crossed the road we were at the Basilica Cistern. This is basically a massive underground reservoir. When those Byzantine emperors built something, they certainly did it properly! Its was nice and cool and was a great place for fish, there were some really over weight ones swimming around. The cistern is 65m wide and 143m long. It once held 80,000 cubic metres of water, pumped and delivered through nearly 20km of aqueducts. It was rediscovered when locals were claiming to gather water through a hole in their floor and occasionally fish!!

Two of the columns supported upside-down Medusa heads, quite intriguing.

In the cistern we also had the opportunity to do the tourist thing and dressed up as Sultans to have our picture taken. The kids loved it.

Later we had a really funny market experience after re-entering the Bazaar. We were at a shop and looking for shoes for Sophia. The seller kept bringing us pink shoes. I had to say "boy boy", he looked at me strangely and showed me some boys shoes. He then pointed to Julia and said "boy too?", I said yes, then Holly needed shoes and we had to say "girl, girl", she only wears pink. Finally he pointed at Sue and said "boy also?"

Aya Sofya/Church of the Divine Wisdom by Soph and Jules

Today we went to Aya Sophia. It was originally a church but got turned into a mosque. A mosque is somewhere where people go to pray. The church got turned into a mosque after a war. The ruler who fought and won the church had decided to make it into a museum because of its speciality. It was nice of the Islamic people to not completely destroy it, it still has hidden crosses everywhere. It was not so long before mum and me found out that they had painted over the original mosaics placed all over the church. Well I had better let Julia have some time to write, because I have probably told you the most obvious things about the church. Bob bye. Sophia

On Friday morning daddy and me went to the supermarket. We got  watermelon, milk, popcorn, plums, nuts and sunblock. We went to look at the shops, I wanted a sweatshirt and pants, Sophia got a sweatshirt and pants. For breakfast I got cornflakes, for lunch I had burger king.
from Julia Kersten
how are you omaaaaaaa? Holly

The Grand Bazzar (Kapali Carsi)

We started this day late, about 4pm. I couldn't believe that it was overcast outside in the morning, but we were to shot to utilise it. By 4pm the kids were getting cabin fever.

It certainly isn't as hot at this time and the sun sufficiently drops so most of the time we were in the shade. Up the stairs we went to get back onto the main ridge. First we visited the Beyazit, a square used as a forum back in AD 393 by Theodosius. Now it is the site of a tram stop and bus park. The University at the back of the square was incredible and makes our unis look somewhat average. Above is the entrance.

We started down an open pedestrian street with a mass of clothing and shoe shops. We were continually harassed by kids selling a type of yoyo and men offering cheap jeans. We were in the market for a dutch soccer top for Julia. We learnt quickly tho not to flounder. Sophia was after a tracksuit. She liked one colour and we asked for a certain size. The seller rushed away to retrieve one only to be told that she preferred another colour. He tried to find this one but could not. We started to leave and he was none to happy. From then on we were very deliberate about what we wanted, the colour and size. That seemed to get a better response. 

Soon we ventured into what is the largest covered market in the world with 4000 shops. They were more subdued in here but seemed more interested in woman than sales at times. Sue got attention if I was elsewhere and I never got harassed if woman wearing less were walking nearby.

In the heart of the market you step into the original building with spectacular decor. We were there for about two hours but I suspect we never saw even a quarter of the market. Most of the goods in the covered areas are jewellery, carpets and ceramics of Turkish style. Its hard to stay here too long as we started to get hungry. A nice man offered our kids some Turkish delight. Very nice. People here view kids as more public possession than we do. I would not even think about touching someone else's kid that I didn't know. Here anyone would hold a child back if they thought they were  close to danger, give them food or touch their skin.

We left the market and found a Kebab shop. Once we showed interest it was hard to get away but they were very nice and the prices were great. We shortly understood why they were keen for us to be sitting in front of their shop as others came shortly afterwards to sit as well.

Princes' Island

It's has been our best day in Istanbul. There are a series of islands which lie about 20km southeast of the city. The price of public transport here is criminally cheap. We paid $8 for the family to take the boat one way. The tram to the ferry cost $4 which was about 8km. I think it is all subsidised by the highest petrol prices in the world (almost) at $3 per litre. 

The tram is very modern but with 20 million people in Istanbul it can be very crowded. On our return journey we were packed in like sardines and luckily Holly was sleeping.

The ferry out to the islands was a real treat. We had views of the city including the famous Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia and the Palace. But every area of Istanbul looks amazing. 

The kids also loved exploring around the ferry and on the way back we sat along the side. By about 4pm it starts to cool down and we found it much easier to cope.


We stopped off at two of the islands. The first was Heybeliada. We walked along the main street, found a local fruit market and swam on a beach (kind of) with the locals.

After a couple of hours we re boarded the ferry for the main island of Buyukada. The ferry terminal is a beautiful building built in 1899. We walked out into the town straight into a beautiful area. We found a cycle shop with restaurant and had lunch before hiring bikes.

The riding was fantastic but hard. The roads climb and drop all over the island. There are no cars on any of the islands but horse drawn carts are used to get tourists around. We preferred the two wheel transportation. Beautiful streets but it wasn't long before we were climbing up to a high point of the island. The lanes were narrow and quiet.

 

We coasted down to the other side of the island and found a beach. There was sand for sitting on with a mass of beach seats but the water reached up on stones. I think the enclosure was to keep people safe as it became very deep quickly. I dived down just beyond the barrier and could only just see the bottom. In this part of the world it costs to go swimming in the sea. It cost $20 for our hours efforts but I suppose that's how it works.

Off we went again on our bikes. Towards the end we got a little lost and were told off for riding through the shopping area. We found our way back to the shop and made it back in time for the 4.20pm ferry.

Visit to the Mall

We had to take a day off today. I haven't seen a cloud in the sky since I got to Istanbul. It paid a real toll going to the Palace yesterday and we were back by one. When it reaches a certain temperature the kids just wilt. I think today has done them some good but we will still need to watch them carefully.

I went early today to get ferry tickets to Bursa that we will use to get to Ephesus on the 18th. Went well so now we are sorted with the ferry and then a rental.

At about 11am we all set off for the train (metro) which runs along the water front towards the west. We walked through the winding cobbled streets near our place and enjoyed the shops and restaurants. Believe it not not earlier I saw someone

manoeuvre

 a large truck in and out of this this tight square. He was getting plenty of advise.

We got to the metro and after a little confusion sorted the system of payment and boarded the train. It was hotter in than outside as there was no air con except for open windows. Its easier to cope with tho, once you are sitting down.

We got off at the right place and found the shopping mall with little difficulty. The people here are really helpful and friendly even when language is a complete barrier. They seem to be always looking out for us, helping with the stroller or giving directions.

We went straight for the top floor for the cinema but unfortunately the kids movies weren't in English. However, on the bottom story we found a bowling alley. It was a great break from the heat and travel. It has become very apparent that the area we are staying in, Sultanahmet is more authentic in terms of traditional Turkish culture and other areas like around the mall have become very western.




Here is a picture of a grape seller on our way back. We have found the fruit to be very reasonably priced and indulge regularly.

Istanbul

It is now 8.33pm, all is quiet in our little apartment. The girls are not quite asleep but are settling. Henry has fallen asleep on the couch. He has been busy trying to sort a rental car for the last 4 + hrs for our trip to Ephesus. Nothing is straight forward when you have a language barrier.

I went for a jog this morning at about 6.30am, everything was still asleep and was only starting to wake up as I made my return trip. Jogging is a great way of having a really good look around. The narrow cobbled streets are very similar and weave their way in lots of different directions so I had to keep looking for markers to retrace my steps.

We were made cups of tea by our Iranian neighbours today, a very nice gesture. We later had a nice chat with 7 of them below our apartment, there is 10 of them in their apartment; I don't know how they manage in such a small space. They are in Istanbul for 10 days, and have offered their phone no. if we are ever in Iran. They were very curious to know why we had three girls. I think I worked out that in Iran it is uncommon to have more then 2 children. They also wanted to know why Holly had blond hair...jeepers?! How do I explain that one?!

TOPKAPI PALACE...this was the home of a long progression of mad, sad and downright bad Ottomans who lived there between 1453 and 1839. It was used as a administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire and the residence of the Sultans for 380 years.

We had arrived before the opening time of 9am to avoid cues and managed to buy the girls a bread ring to chew on, it was hot today (a different heat to Thailand), Sophia was really struggling today, I don't think the time changes have helped. We had some time together early evening and she has bounced back a bit. Julia and Holly play well together and she is left out a bit which I think is also part of the problem...mmmm always something to work on.

The Imperial gate, treasure room, underdomes, weapons, sultans costumes, turkish baths, islamic relics and the harem were very interesting! The views of Istanbul were breath taking which Henry and I really enjoyed, sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe where we are!!

As we left the palace there were people along the streets selling things, Henry keeps saying "don't talk to them". Sometimes I wonder if I have a sign on me that reads soft touch. I am often pushing Holly in the stroller and they start by chatting to her and then have me cornered...I had to laugh today as one young man was selling those spiral spinning objects that make nice pictures with colourful pens etc, he wanted 15 l, I wasn't  that interested from the start, but by the time we had moved more then 30m away he had dropped to 3 l. He obviously really wanted the sell.

We strolled the streets and again we were amazed to be in this place which is soo different to our country. At one point we walked street after street that only sold shoes, they have every different sort that you could ever imagine. They had piles outside their shops but you weren't allowed to go into their stores, we couldn't work out the reasoning behind that?! Further along they had stores that just had the heels for high heel shoes...everything is different here!!

We were pleased to arrive back to our air conditioned room and started to relax when the apartment host asked us to vacate so they could carry out a building inspection...he offered to take us out, take us anywhere we wanted to go. I said it wouldn't be a problem and that we would go to the park across the street for a play. I quickly grabbed our valuables. He insisted on buying us an ice block, so that is what we did. I then found myself 2mins later walking the streets with this Turkish guy and my girls. Henry had gone to look into rental cars. We got quite a bit of attention in the supermarket as the apartment host could interpret the questions for me.

Everyday there is something new to experience here. I think our time here will go very fast. We will just have to carefully manage how tired everyone is. I have a washing machine here but no real line, I've had to make one today. Cooking is also a bit limited, as all I have is two stove top rings! No microwave, no oven!!

Slow day tomorrow... goodnight.

p.s will add some pics soon