ISTANBUL, TURKEY

 April 20, 21 (Thursday, Friday), 2023


Partly cloudy, high 65 deg F.  


Our trip both in and out of Istanbul is through a somewhat controlled waterway, the Dardanelles Strait, which has at least one narrow point.  Here, we could see Turkey on one side and Greece on the other.  We got a feel for just how much commerce goes through Istanbul to and from the Black Sea via the Bosphorus Strait.


Istanbul is one big and interesting city.  It straddles the Bosphorus Strait with one foot in Asia and one foot in Europe.  The Strait connects the Mediterranean with the Black Sea, so it is a critical trade alley.   Formerly named Constantinople, Istanbul has a very rich history.  Constantine I, for whom the city was named, organized the first Christian Ecumenical Council in 325 AD that formed the Christian doctrine and assembled the writings that ultimately became the New Testament.  In 1483 the Ottoman Empire conquered the city and made it into an Islamic stronghold.  Today the majority of its citizens are Muslim even though Turkey claims to be a secular country.  Mosques appear to be as ubiquitous as Subway shops in Austin.  There are some absolutely beautiful structures including the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.


We arrived in Istanbul at about 6PM on Thursday and went on a dinner cruise along one of the Istanbul waterways.  The dinner was okay and the dinner cruise ship was packed, but the music and belly dancing was raucous, so we enjoyed the fun.   


As we had visited Istanbul in 2012 and toured many of the notable sites, we decided to go out on our own on Friday.  We set our sights on the Basilica Cistern the largest of several hundred cisterns that received and distributed water to the city in early times.   Our Google map said the walk was about 1.5 miles each way—3 miles didn’t seem too much of a challenge so we set off.   On the way there Google sent us in a couple of circles and through an extensive local market.   Four miles later we finally got there, but the place was so crowded we didn’t try to get in.   There is ZERO sidewalk etiquette so one has to weave in and out wherever there is an opening.  Ramadan had just ended and Friday was a holiday, so we think the whole city of 16 million people turned out to celebrate and we saw every one of them.   We stopped at an outdoor restaurant and had some good Turkish food and a beer with a cat meandering around our feet.  Google Maps did a little better on the way back, but our 3 mile round trip turned out to be 7.  We did get to see the real Istanbul, so no regrets.   Despite being one of the most populated cities in the world, it is not trashy and we didn’t see any homeless people or beggars on the street.   


                           Bridge we passed under on our dinner cruise all lit up at night

                                        Dinner cruise ship

                                         Belly dancer.   Note: Lira tucked in belt

Friends Ed & Catherine with Belly Dancer at our table.   Ed can't figure out what to do.

                                   Blue Mosque taking with our Canon camera in 2012.

                                      Dome of Blue Mosque taken in 2012

                           Hagia Sophia - Mosque, originally founded as a basilica

                          Yet another mosque that we passed on our walkabout.   


Our destination the Basilica Cistern.   Not much to see outside which is being restored, 
but one can go in and descend into the cistern where we understand there is beautiful art work and sculptures.   It was too crowded for us to enter when we got there. 


                              One of the MANY packed ferries going and coming into Istanbul

Crowds celebrating end of Ramadan - the first day in a month that practicing Muslims
were allowed to eat and drink during the day...felt like Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday.

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