Our room, Hotel Lady Diana, Sultanahmet, Istanbul.
2:00 PM
The day began bright and early - we had to be ready by 8:00 AM for our pick-up for the half-day city
tour, i.e.the Bosphorpus cruise and the Spice Market. Bathed and dressed (more
like wrapped up in scarves and shawls and mufflers!), we made our way to the
top-floor breakfast room of our hotel……to walk into a GORGEOUS room, with HUGE
windows all along 3 walls, polished wooden floor, sparkling chandeliers, cheery
red tablecloths and the piece de resistance – an absolutely stunning panoramic
view of the Blue Mosque overlooking the Bosphorous.
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| The rooftop breakfast room at our hotel -
on clear days (unlike this one!) you get a stunning view of the Blue
Mosque and Hagia Sophia overlooking the Bosphorous...picture-perfect. |
The morning was cold and gray, so the warm cheerful room,
and the picture-perfect view lifted our spirits like nothing else could. Of
course, the more than generous breakfast spread helped, too. :)
The open terrace next to the
breakfast room had an even more spectacular view – of BOTH the
Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) facing
each other along the banks of the Bosphorous.
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| The
Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) next to each
other along the banks of the Bosphorous - clicked from the terrace of
our hotel |
The first stop for the day was the
Spice Market, or Egyptian Bazaar, located on the banks of the Golden Horn. The Golden Horn is the
7.5 km long historic estuary (inlet) of
the Bosphorous which forms the sheltered natural harbour that made Istanbul – from the time it was Constantinople - an important port for Roman, Greek,
Byzantine and Ottoman ships.
The Spice Market is a sprawling covered market with a high
vaulted ceiling from which old-world lamps give off a golden glow. Straight
from the Arabian Nights! Stores on both sides of the main corridor sell a
plethora of tourist attractions – spices, herbal teas, porcelain bowls,
glass-studded lamps, candied fruit, caviar, ‘silk’ scarves and stoles, brass
artefacts, and of course tray upon tray overflowing with cubes of Turkish
delight. It is very touristy, but charming nevertheless!
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Sun-dried and candied fruit at the Spice Bazaar, also called Egyptian Market
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| Turkish Delight - in rose, pineapple, pistachio flavours |
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| 'Love tea', anyone? :) |
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Chai
is served all day, everywhere in Turkey - served in glasses like these.
The Turkish word is for tea is Cay, which is pronounced same as in
Hindi - Chai
|
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| Porcelain bowls |
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Surprisingly, caviar featured heavily in the Spice Bazaar, too....though I never saw any being used in the local cuisine
|
The shop keepers call out to you in lilting accented English,
and hard-sell their wares. Even if its all shtick, one cant help be entranced
by the sights and sounds and at-times disarming honesty of the tradesmen – one
of them – a stole-seller asked me where I had got my stole from, and how much
it had cost me. When I told him the price and that it was from India,
where I came from, he shrugged and told me that he imported his stoles from India
too and there was no point in my buying them from him. :D
After shopping (and
turning down yet another date – this time from a dashingly handsome young man
who sold me some pomegranate molasses – I mean, WHAT was it with the man?? Wasn’t
he too handsome to be asking frumpy old me out??) and a quick snack of a borek, we headed to the quay to board our cruise
ferry.
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A
Borek or Boregi - local favourite snack comprising of layers of flaky
phyllo pastry swaddling a cheese and spinach filling. Tasty albeit
bland, the point is somewhat lost when you have it a few hours after its
made - the pastry goes chewy instead of remaining crisp. :(
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Istanbul
had a lot of these small carts dotting street corners - they sell
Turkish bagels, bread and pastries - perfect for a cold rainy day! This
one is near the wharf where the Bosphorus Cruise ferries dock
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The ferry had a covered (and blissfully heated) indoor seating area
which had wide windows (for the views over the Bosphoropus) and a PA system for
hearing the commentary about the monuments we would be gliding by.
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| Inside the ferry |
But the rain
and clouds and fine spray that the boat threw up made the views dim and hazy.
And made taking snaps impossible! So I jumped up and stepped outside to the
small open deck for better pictures. It was freezing cold out there, especially
once the boat started moving, but I could really SEE the sights along the banks
of the Bosphorous. But alas, I couldn’t hear the (heavily accented) commentary
so missed knowing what buildings I had just seen. :) But there was a plus
too – the wild wind, shiveringly delicious cold rain and the warm smiles of
fellow tourists across the world. Wielding cameras creates such a sense of
camera-derie (pun intended!!) between strangers!
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On the open deck, where its freezing cold,
windy, rainy, where the commentary cannot be heard, a\but you can enjoy
the views without the filter of a rain-splattered window! This snap
shows the bridge connecting the European and Asain sides of Istanbul.
|
The cruise ended at about 1:00
PM and now we are back in our hotel room. Will step out in the
afternoon.....the Blue Mosque is walking distance from our hotel and the area
has lots of local cafes etc....
Our room, Hotel Lady Diana, Sultanahmet, Istanbul.
4:00 PM
Just got back from a walk in the touristy area near our
hotel. It's gorgeous, cold weather notwithstanding. Narrow cobblestone streets
wet with rain, cosy small shops selling souvenirs, pastries and sandwiches,
good-looking people wrapped up in stylish coats and mufflers, cheerful red
carts selling bagels, pastries and corn on the cob....
Checked out the Hippodrome - a wide cobblestone avenue - in front of the Blue
Mosque. There's a wishing-well lookalike (only bigger and more ornate) called
the German Fountain which was a gift from German Emperor Wilhelm II to the
Turkish king Sultan Abdulhamid in 1901. Plus there are 2 obelisks....one just
made of stones while the other has Egyptian hieroglyphics carved over it. And
oh yeah, there a flocks of pigeons waiting to be fed seeds that you can buy
from smiling old ladies wrapped up in scarves.
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The
Hippodrome, next to the Blue Mosque - properly known as The Hippodrome
of Constantinople, was a site for horse racing and chariot racing in the
time of Constantine the Great. You can see the 2 obelisks in this picture
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The
German Fountain (Alman Çeşmesi in Turkish) on the Hippodrome - gifted
by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II to Turkish Emperor Abdulhamid II. It was
built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled in its
current site in 1900.
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An
snack bar near the Hippodrome - featuring the ever-present oranges,
Dondurma (Turkish icecream), Borek, sandwiches and more. :)
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The Cheshire Cat in a park off the Hippodrome! Istanbul has a lot of cats prowling about - and none of them look like strays, so plump and sleek and satisfied they look!
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By the time I'd thoroughly explored all these sights, my
fingers were nearly frozen, my hair was half wet and cheeks were stinging with
the cold. A outsell was called for....so I ducked into a small restaurant and
treated myself to scalding hot Turkish tea-(just tea without milk) served in
the traditional curved glass. Sipping on hot, sweet tea while reading Lemony
Snicket felt really nice!
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Nothing beats a cup of chai and a good book on a rainy day! - In a cafe off the Hippodrome
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And either the guys here are as flirtatious as the Italians
reputedly are, or they are desperate or I am remarkably beautiful.....the number
of guys who stopped me to talk to me! One guy winked toh even winked at
me when I was ensconced in the bus.....one guy told me liked my traditional
dress and offered to buy me an aperitif....and yet another told me I was
beautiful! But the sweetest encounter was at a souvenir shop next to the tea
break cafe. It was cold and rainy, and I was checking out the outdoor displays
of evil eye keychains and magnets. The young guy-must have been 14- opened the
door for me. He seemed delighted to hear I was from India
because he knew an Indian called Nagpal. As I took a look around, he gave me a
tiny trinket-a glass evil eye bead and a golden disc with the symbol of the
Ottoman empire on it, strung n a safety pin- with a smile, and said "This
is free!" :)
Given that I am NOT beautiful and the guys ARE, I am forced
to conclude that they are simply flirtatious. :)
Picked up a sandwich made of chicken shwarma, tomato and
pickled cucumber strips stuffed in a wide round flat bread for a late lunch.
And a pack of hazelnuts and one of Ayran (buttermilk, widely drunk in Turkey)
for the parental units back at the hotel.
Now lunch's done and it's time for a bit of cozy reading in
bed!
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