Day 17 in Israel/Turkey: Today was our last full day of our tour before flying home so we wanted to make the most of it despite how tired we all are. When you travel to foreign countries and join a tour group most itineraries are pretty full so that you can see and experience as much as possible in the time available and this is tour no exception. The tiredness is normal but when you know youve only got a very short amount of time left you make the most of it. As everyday in a Muslim country, there is the inevitable Muezzin call to prayer and because there are approximately 5000 mosques in Istanbul alone the noise is seriously loud and it seems to go on forever. The mosques all start within a few seconds of each other and theyre all on loud speakers and it just sounds like a cacophony of chaos. Its not something we could ever really get used to. While on the bus we asked Del if the rest days in Turkey were the same as ours which we suspected might be the case because Attaturk westernised the country so much and he said it was. Even though Muslims go the the mosque on Fridays for prayer they will return to work afterward, so Friday is not a day of rest in the same way that Saturday (Shabbat) is for the Jews and Sunday is for the Christians. But Turks enjoy both Saturday and Sunday for their weekend in the same way we do. We began our day by visiting Topkapi Palace which is situated on a very large complex covering an area of approximately 700,000 square metres and it was the primary residence for Ottoman Sultans for around 400 years (1465-1856) out of their 624 year reign. The complex has 4 large courtyards with some very large buildings but also some smaller buildings as well. Only the most important buildings are open to the public these days. At the peak of its history, this complex was home to some 4000 people and to facilitate them there was a mosque, a bakery, a hospital and even a mint! Construction of the Palace complex began in 1459 by Sultan Mehmed II. After the Ottoman Empire came to an in 1923, the government made a decree to turn Topkapi Palace into a museum on April 3, 1924. Today there are armed guards and some military personnel who guard the complex and the many treasures it contains. The massive stone walls enclosing the complex have 7 gates on either side and it overlooks the Marmara Sea. It has a grand pavilion where the Sultans used to welcome foreign dignitaries and ambassadors and to say the buildings are ornate is an understatement. The ceilings and wall decorations are magnificent as are the murals in many of the rooms. Elaborate tiles covering the walls with a myriad of patterns and designs are in almost every building and theyre absolutely stunning. The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire certainly lived very large. The treasury contains some of the most exquisite jewels covering head pieces, jewellery boxes, broaches, necklaces, earrings, sword scabbards, thrones and chairs, candle sticks, goblets, trays, bowls and other stunning dishes. Its hard to imagine the use of huge gems stones and pearls being embedded onto the exterior of chairs and furniture but they were. And many of the stones were the size of plums and figs and small apples. They were positively magnificent. The complex has some beautiful fountains and rose gardens that are nearing the end of their flowering season and its very easy to imagine what theyd look like when they were all in full bloom. Outside the Sultans private residence was a small pagoda with a bronze roof covering where the sultan would eat his breakfast after breaking his fast for Ramadan and one of the ladies in our group said that shed seen such extravagance in movies but thought it was all Hollywood exaggeration but now realises that such extravagance was very much a reality in some cultures. Other rooms and buildings in the complex contained porcelain, robes, Ottoman miniatures, calligraphy and old manuscripts and murals. Another building contained monuments to Muslim conquests with a miniature of the Dome of the Rock, the supposed sword of King David (whom they call the prophet David). Islam claims the prophets and kings of Israel as their own and claim too that they were all Muslim which is not true in any way shape or form, but rewriting and reclaiming history seems to be the way of things in Islam. An imam sat in a small booth chanting the koran which made many of our group uncomfortable and they left that particular building fairly quickly not wanting to give any kind of honour or attention to such things. Somewhere in the complex they also say they have the robe of Mohammed but its hard to know how authentic some of these things really are...not the genuineness of the articles being valuable, but to the ownership attached to them. The grounds of the palace complex are very well maintained and cared for and for Turkish people, its a highly revered place and many of them visit this place to celebrate what they believe was a golden age in their history. After we left the palace we headed past the Hagia Sophia, an ancient church that became a mosque and is now a museum and over to the Basilica Cistern which is a huge underground cistern which is 140m long, 70m wide and is entered by going down a stairway of 55 steps. The cistern has 336 columns each 9m high and theyre in 12 rows containing 28 columns in each. The columns have been taken from other older buildings and repositioned in the cistern and the capitals on the columns are mostly Corinthian but some are Doric. This cistern can hold a capacity of 100,000 tons of water. There are some huge upside down statues of the head of Medusa down in the cistern and no one really knows how or why theyre there but various legends have developed over the years and its quite a stunning place to visit. After the cistern we intended to walk through the Grand Bazaar just to take in the ambience but it was closed which is not common but it did make walking through the cobbled alleyways a lot easier than it would have been if there had been thousands of people crammed into them. Our intended spot for last minute shopping was always going to be the Spice Market, otherwise known as the Egyptian Bazaar as the best prices are found there and its where the locals do there shopping so you know youre not going to get ripped off...well, not too much anyway. :-) In the Spice market there is of course a whole lot of spices available and the colours and smells are amazing. You can get the ever present shawls and scarves and sweet treats like baklava and Turkish Delight, Turkish tea and Turkish coffee as well as the very charming Turkish tea sets and Turkish coffee sets as well. There is lots of jewellery, bags, bracelets, bowls and knick-knacks everywhere and the crush of people while a bit overwhelming all goes toward the whole market/bazaar shopping experience. We made our way through and came out safely at the other end where we gathered together and then made our way to a nice local restaurant for lunch. The food was fresh and the restaurant was clean and our meals were delicious. Next stop was a boat cruise for a couple of hours on the Bosphorus strait which connects the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea. It was quite cold and windy but it was fascinating to see the palaces, homes and other places of historical interest all along the shores. One side of the Bosphorus is Europe and the other is Asia, we remained on the Europe side and didnt go the Asia side at all during our time in Istanbul. After our cruise we headed back to our hotel for an hour before we gathered together again to head out for our final dinner together at a local restaurant down near the waterfront for a very delicious fish dinner with fresh salad and bread, fruit platters and a yummy Turkish dessert. The fish was cooked to perfection and was sweet and tasty and it wasnt too heavy or too much. It was a lovely way to finish out our tour together. Weve had a lovely time here in Turkey and tomorrow well have breakfast together one last time before we climb back onto our bus together one last time and head to the airport to begin the long trek home. Shalom
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 19:52:51 +0000
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