We Are Going to Need a Cistern in Our Dream House

Basilica Cistern. So bad-ass.

As we are having downtime today I can actually fill you in on the last 2 days.

We started our day with french toast and fresh peaches made by the sister. Best host ever? I think so.

Fresh peaches at breakfast - Gram would be proud.

Sam and I headed out on our own for the day with only a small portion of a guidebook and about 3 words of passable Turkish. Luckily my husband is fantastically directional and most people in the areas we were in spoke/understood enough English that we had no problems. We hopped onto the boat first thing to head over to the European side (I am not tired of the ferries. Love them).

Topkopi Palace from the water

We headed up to Topkopi Palace which was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans from the 1450s-1850s. The palace has a unique structure with 4 courtyards separated by immense gates. The further in you go, the more important the space (the last area on the water was for use of the sultan only). We went in and toured the harem first, where all of the wives, concubines and children of the Sultans would live (sometimes as many as 4 wives and 300 concubines). The harem is the most ornate part of the palace.

In the harem

A bed in one of the Sultan's private rooms

A pic of Sam with the awesome stained glass

Other favorite parts of the palace included the treasury (huge, huge diamonds (like 86 carats), things plundered from other countries, gold thrones). Sam put it well when we were towards the end of the treasury that its strange how after seeing all of that at the end you are kind of like: "Eh, another box full of giant emeralds, its ok I guess." We also loved the sultan's private area of the place because it had amazing views like this:

I could get used to this 

After a stop for overpriced yet well worth it beers (they don't really do beer here in Turkey....there are basically two brands) we went into what I think was my favorite part of the trip so far: Basilica Cistern.

 Mmmm, Guinness.

The cistern was built in the 6th century (I really cant even wrap my head around that) and the best thing about it is that it was 'lost' for many years until it was re-discovered in 1544 by a French explorer. How in the hell you lose something like that is beyond me but I loved the stories about Istanbul residents who would get water and go fishing through hole in their floors, prompting the French explorer to figure out what the heck was going on.

Note the carp - they were HUGE

Sam with Medusa column - shes a little out of sorts

So gorgeous - both a Bond film and the Bachelorette have filmed here :)

Love this guy

Quick Pics Day 2

Pics Day 2

If you missed it, pics from Day 1.

Day 3

Now that I have detailed yesterday I'm tired of writing so again an outline of today, to be followed up with more later.

Late start due to slightly sleep troubled night (heat, jet lag and calls to prayer combined).

Sam and headed out on our own today as Elizabeth needed to get some work done. I was definitely worried to say the least to lose our navigator, interpreter and tour guide all in one (she always knows the BEST places to eat) but we did just fine and had a great day doing things she has already done.

We spent a majority of the day at Topkapi Palace which was immense and awesome. More on that pile of bricks (or more accurately marble, tile and precious stones) later.

Then we found a pub with overpriced but awesome beer (man we needed it, they just dont do beer in this country). and followed that up with lunch at a tiny but great little spot.

The BEST part of the day was the Basilica Cistern. Words will NOT do it justice but pictures will attempt...and with that I leave you hanging for a picture post tomorrow :)

Day 2: Deets

 It says a lot that I have to refer to my own list of what we did yesterday to remember. I will flesh out the best parts and then go on to day 3 in the next post.

Laps-o-kittens

First off: the KITTENS. There are 4 of them, they are adorable, they fulfill my fuzzy animal needs (although there is still an Athena shaped hole in my heart (shout out to Mom and Dad who are taking care of Athena and doing an awesome job.....I call it Athena's summer camp).

Mama cat - loves us for our chicken scraps

Next: FERRIES. So far everyday we have taken the ferries from our side to the old city (Europe) and back. I LOVE this. I miss my ferries and these are about 10 min long, depart every 10-15 mintues and have stunning views of the city and hypnotically beautiful water.

Hopping on the ferry

HAGIA SOPHIA was awesome. It is so hard to convey its immensity via photo but luckily Sam took a video which shows how diminutive Elizabeth and I both looked. Other coolness: the spot where many Byzentine Emperors were crowned, all of the Christian things that were destroyed/covered up when it was converted to a Mosque (many of which have been uncovered/partially restored). Too cool.

The BAZAAR: You literally could shop forever here, once you are inside it looks like it never ends yet at any given moment you are only in a relatively small hallway with many different colorful shops and wares. Think hedge maze minus the hedges, plus tiny stores. That whole paragraph was  basically a description fail but we will take more pics and post soon.

Sam says the bazaar is bizarre because I came out of there without buying anything. Haha.

The HAMMAM (Turkish Bath) was an awesome experience. Considering it is so hot here (Mid-high 80s) I was wary about going in somewhere hotter to steam and bathe but it actually felt great. We went in and split with Sam who was ballsy enough (haha) to head off to the Men's baths alone without speaking the language. After stripping down (bathing suit bottoms only -risque by American standards) and stashing our stuff we went into a big room with a domed ceiling with all of these pretty holes in it that let light in. then you essentially lay on a huge marble slab that is heated from beneath and sweat it out. Then a lady dumps water all over you and washes your whole body and hair. Follow up with a jacuzzi soak and sitting next to fountains and pouring bowls of cool water all over yourself (that part felt great). Overall pretty cool experience :)

Hammam. Like this but filled with naked women.

Quick Pics Day 1

 

More pics on Google Plus.

I Bought a Chicken in Turkey

So I do not have much time before we head out this AM, but a quick update and I promise longer tonight plus pics!

We had a great, laid-back day yesterday. Here is the bare-bones and I will fill in more soon:

• Played with Kittens (!!!!)
• Breakfast at Elizabeth's favorite bakery
• Hopped the ferry from Asia > Europe
• Hagia Sophia (A 1,600+ year old church that was converted to a mosque that was converted to a museum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia)
• Lunch at an outdoor spot
• The Bazaar - oh my god, its shopping that NEVER ENDS. Get your requests in now, people.
• Hammam (Turkish bath) - I will write much more about this awesome experience, so cool to be doing something in a building from the 1500s that people have been doing for hundreds of years.
• Tea and hookah bar
• Sour Cherry sorbet on the way to the ferry
• Ferry from Europe > Asia
• Walked through the market on the way home to Elizabeth's picking up food for dinner. This is where I bought the aforementioned chicken in Turkey. An adorable little 6 Lira roasted chicken. We also got bread, cherries, string cheese (fresh - so good) and wine :)

Today we are visiting Topkopi palace, an underground cistern (which I'm pretty sure was featured on an old season of the bachelorette) and then going out to dinner.

Love you all!

Em

Istanbul!!! or A Very Limited-Release Travel Blog

Süleymaniye Mosque

I wanted to keep a travel journal of our trip here and figured why not blog it to keep those of you that care in the loop. Plus I find that my writing is more entertaining if geared towards an audience...I've never been a diary person.

Our 24 hour travel day:
Best part: 3 continents in one day and all in daylight! (and we flew over a 4th - Greenland).
Worst part: my body being so confused about the time that I was feeling super sick on our last flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul and may have been the crankiest to Sam that I have ever been in our marriage (but I knew it at the time and apologized...and he still loves me).

Got up at 8am (Seattle time), finished packing up (I had to do all of my packing late the night beforehand as I got in from SF at 10pm, and for someone who likes to plan and prepare ahead, this was a trial). Took a shuttle to the airport at 10am and had a lovely kiwi driver who told us all about our next dream destination: New Zealand!

Our flight left Seattle at 1:15pm and I must recommend Lufthansa airlines. Plane was clean and big...high ceilings helps me feel less claustrophobic. We had personal TV screens in our seats with free movies (I watched John Carter at the same time as Sam - pretty bad, and then Big Miracle - which was actually pretty good, unless that was the jet-lag talking and making me emotional...it may have been). Also we got blankets and pillows, and the seat head rests bent out quite nicely for head resting. We had two meals (free food on a plane - WHAT?! Its been awhile since I encountered that.) A yummy chicken for dinner and a not-so-hot omelet for breakfast. Overall for a 10 hour flight it was pretty damn good. We flew over Greenland which was pretty awesome (and as they say, not green) and landed in Germany which at least from a plane looks pretty adorable. It was 11pm Seattle time when we landed, and early morning in Germany.

We had an uneventful 3 hour layover in Germany...the highlights of which were Sam buying a converter plug which enabled laptop charging and for me buying a ridiculously overpriced UK version of one of my favorite magazines (last chance for English-language mags) which come in this adorably small format....will have to post a pic.

The last flight was on Turkish airlines and for me was quite rough as I was trying not to sleep but was exhausted and was feeling quite sick due to a mixture of strange meal times, lack of sleep, and flying in general. Keep in mind the flight was from about 2am to 5am Seattle time. We were fed a pretty good Turkish meal on this flight also but I pretty much stuck to the bread and crackers for my poor tummy (although I had to try the sweet almond cake....its my favorite flavor!). We were happy to land as I was feeling AWFUL at that point and once we were off the plane and in (gasp) Turkey, things perked up.

Once in Istanbul we picked up our visas, got passports stamped and headed to the Starbucks in the airport to meet Elizabeth. (Yes the first thing we purchased in Turkey was Starbucks....I felt so at home). It was WONDERFUL to see Elizabeth's happy face and our reunion gave me he energy to make it back to the apartment before crashing. We took the subway and then an INSANE cab (lets just say they don't really have traffic laws here, or at least obey them) and a FERRY BOAT to get to her place. (I realize that was a lot of shouty capital letters, but they are necessary to convey feeling). Plus the ferry boat conveyed us from Europe to Asia....nuts.

On the ferry

View of ferry, from ferry

The apartment is huge, much bigger then ours in Palo Alto or anywhere I have ever seen Elizabeth live before in Europe or NY. We have our own guest room which is so clutch (Mean Girls ref for Elly). We managed to stay up until 9-10pm and sunset and although we woke at 6am today I think we are doing well jet-lag wise.

We plan on a lazy morning and then hitting the sites, more later!