Day 1 in Turkey – Hello Istanbul! (Tuesday, July 20)

Woke up feeling tired (I can never seem to get enough sleep on this darn ship!) and went to breakfast then back to my room. I decided to multitask by doing a load of laundry in the sink while watching our diplomatic briefing on the TV in my room. After the ship was cleared by customs, Erin, Amanda, Greg and I headed out for a day of sightseeing. It was about 82 degrees outside, but the humidity made it feel pretty gross. We headed straight into the city via the tram and made our first stop at the Blue Mosque. It was a beautiful structure. A slight traffic jam at the door caused a wait, because there were a ton of people there and everyone has to take off their shoes before they go into the mosque. Now, you KNOW how I like to be prepared, right? So, I wore slip-on shoes to make the shoe-no-shoe-shoe transfer a little easier in the mosque. I had also remembered to bring a spare pair of socks so I wouldn’t have to walk around barefoot! (I just think that’s not safe at all and pretty yucky. It gives me the chills a little to think about all of the bare feet that have walked on that floor! Ugh…)

Although I was wearing a t-shirt, I was required to put a shawl around my shoulders. I had to use a communal shawl provided by the mosque, which you KNOW is a germ-a-phob’s worst nightmare! It was really fine, though, and it certainly did not detract any attention from the beauty of the mosque. It was ornate, spacious, and the structure had a main dome in the middle and several around it. It seems as if the energy in the room comes from the center, rather than having a head and foot like a church might. The lights were dim and there was less natural light than I expected. The women’s section of the mosque was only a very small portion (about 5 feet by 10 feet) of the huge mosque. It made me a little uncomfortable. I just don’t understand…I’m sure there are many Muslim women who want to worship, too…where do they all go? I’m not sure.

The next stop was Hagia Sophia, right across the way from the Blue Mosque. This massive building was (at different points in history) a church and a mosque, but now it is preserved as a museum and is a UNESCO world heritage site. The original building would have been over 2000 years old – but it’s been remodeled and rebuilt a few times throughout its existence. The inside had almost no natural light in the center main floor – just glowing yellow lighting illuminated the interior. In the upper level that circles the walls of the building, there are a series of intricate mosaics depicting Christian scenes. They were plastered over when the building was changed into a Mosque and despite a rigorous restoration effort, much of the mosaic pieces remain covered. Some of them have been uncovered, though, and the amount of detail is really striking.

After Hagia Sofia, we went out to lunch at a nearby restaurant. We shared a spinach and cheese “pancake” appetizer (sort of like a crepe, but I don’t remember the Turkish name, unfortunately). There was a woman sitting on the floor over a hot rounded griddle who rolled out the dough right there in front of us! It was great. I took a picture, : ) I also had a good chicken kepab and apple tea, which is really just for tourists and not so authentic, but it was still good!

Afterward, we walked through the Topkapi palace gardens and then found ourselves in need of dessert. We stopped at a street vendor for “elastic” ice cream. This special ice cream tastes good, but it has a chewy texture because it’s made with flour. The guys who sell it on the street make a big production out of it, throwing around the ice cream and the cones – it’s pretty nuts.

Soon after, we went back to the ship to refresh and shower and then went out for a Whirling Dervishes show. The show was just about an hour long but was really interesting. It is done in 9 parts and the performers are accompanied by 4 musicians – drums, a lap-harp (sorry I don’t know what that’s called), something that resembled a flute-a-phone, and a guitar which is the shape of half a basketball. There were four dervishes who wore long white skirts and coats. They also wore tall hats with no brim that looked like they were made out of some sort of fur. The performers really do just whirl around and around…but there is a whole artistic style and religious symbolism to it. It looked as if it takes an EXTREME amount of concentration not to get dizzy or sick. Speaking of which, after about 10 minutes of watching them whirl, I needed some Dramamine myself!

After the performance, we stopped into a hotel and got a dinner recommendation for a restaurant called Doy Doy (which means “full full” in Turkish, I believe). Dinner was de-lish. Lamb, eggplant, meatballs, and veggies all spiced up and grilled to perfection eaten with lots of bread and pita. Turkish food is awesome so far. Not to mention, the restaurant had a roof-top terrace which had a FABULOUS view of the Blue Mosque. It was gorgeous, all lit up at night with birds flying all around it! As we were sitting there around 10:15ish, the city came awake as the final call to prayer of the day blasted out over speakers in Mosques around the entire city. It was a great moment at the end of a busy day...the group of us just sat there in silence, listening and soaking in the view as we sipped on our tea. What a great way to end Day 1 in Istanbul!