Istanbul Day 3

         On my first morning in Istanbul, I was so tired that I managed to sleep through it, but every other morning I was awakened by the calls to prayer that start around 5am and last nearly one hour.  I am used to hearing the call to prayer as I walk around Otes, but I can’t hear anything from my room, so I had never heard the early morning one before.  Though Ross and I were awakened so early, we went back to sleep for a bit before getting started with our day.

            I was happy that Saturday and Sunday provided warmer, sunnier weather.  Because it was nice outside, Ross and I decided to spend Saturday walking around the city, beyond our Sultanahmet neighborhood.  Our first stop was the Grand Bazaar and neighboring book bazaar.  I was actually nervous and a bit intimidated by the prospect of having to barter for whatever I wanted to buy. As we weaved around the bazaar, nothing really caught my eye as especially unique and still affordable.  I kind of wanted to find something beside the typical evil eye souvenirs.

            Just as we were about the leave the bazaar empty handed, I spotted a small shop on the corner that sold musical instruments.  There was a little yellow and red oboe sitting on one of the shelves!  As I began to bargain with the shopkeeper, he told me I should pay more because, “It has a reed.  Reeds are very difficult to make.”  Tell me about it. J  Anyway, I got the price down to about 5 euros and am now the proud owner of an awesome yellow and red polka dot oboe that plays about three notes.

Buying an "oboe" at the Grand Bazaar

            After leaving the Grand Bazaar, Ross and I headed toward the Golden Horn to find the Rustem Pasha Mosque and the Spice Bazaar.  My friend Emma had told me to visit the Rustem Pasha because, even though it’s small, it is completely covered with Iznik tiles inside and is very beautiful.  As we walked, Ross and I passed an area that was less touristy than Sultanahmet.  I enjoyed seeing locals out shopping and found it interesting that each area of shops seemed to be devoted to something specific: the kitchenware street, the toy store block, the music store neighborhood.  This layout is to the shoppers’ advantage because it makes it very easy to compare one store’s prices to the next.  Eventually, Ross and I hit the shore of the Golden Horn and wandered around for a few minutes until we found the Rustem Pasha.  There are so many enormous mosques in the area that it took a few tries until we found the right one.

I had never been inside a mosque before, but at least knew a few of the basic expectations: to wear something to cover my head, to remove my shoes, to be quiet and respectful of those praying.  However, I didn’t know that I was supposed to remove my shoes and pull up my hood before stepping on the rug in front of the entrance, (I also failed to notice the giant sign asking everyone to do so) and felt terrible when I had to be corrected.  At least it was an honest mistake.  The inside of the Rustem Pasha Mosque was indeed extremely beautiful.  I was amazed that the very detailed floral patterns on the tiles were perfectly aligned so that the flower beginning on one tile perfectly connected to its other half on the next.

Interior of the Rustem Pasha Mosque

            The Rustem Pasha is located extremely close to Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar, so we went there directly after exiting the mosque.  I liked the Spice Bazaar better than the Grand Bazaar, so I guess I am more interested in food than in trinkets.  There were big bags of spices everywhere, as well as nuts, dried fruit, and sweets.  It smelled so good!

            By contrast, our next stop was the Galata Bridge, which smelled like dead fish and car exhaust.  However, the view from the bridge was spectacular, and I enjoyed watching all of the fishermen standing along the edge of the upper level.  Once we got across the bridge, we kept walking straight ahead toward the Galata Tower, and eventually a famous street/shopping area called Istiqlal Caddesi (pronounced Jaddesi).  Ross and I hadn’t intended to go see the Galata Tower, but it just so happened that we passed it.  It was the tallest structure in Istanbul when it was built, and was kind of a neat sight to see.  There was a big line to get inside though, so we decided to keep going toward the Istiqlal Caddesi instead of trying to go in.

Galata Bridge

Galata Tower

            Walking along the Istiqlal Caddesi was one of my favorite parts of visiting Istanbul.  It is a very wide brick street, with a tram running down the middle, almost no auto traffic, and tons of pedestrians.  Western-style shops and restaurants line both sides.  I had read some positive reviews of a restaurant/bookstore called Ada Café, so when we passed it, we went inside for lunch.  We both though the food was pretty good, but nothing special.  However, all of their coffee drinks looked incredibly complex and delicious, and they had quite a good selection of English language books.

Istiqlal Caddesi

            We continued up Istiqlal Cadessi after lunch until we arrived at our final destination for the day, Taksim Square.  It was incredibly crowded, surrounded by cars weaving through what seemed to be a very complex and confusing maze of streets and intersections.  In the middle of the square is a large monument featuring Ataturk, in commemoration of the formation of the republic.  Ross and I posed for a couple of pictures before starting our trek back toward the hotel.  Taksim Square is a major mass transit hub, so we could have caught a train or bus back, but it was so nice out that we decided to walk.

Ross in Taksim Square

            On the way back toward the hotel, we made two more small detours, one for coffee and dessert, and one to explore the lower level of the Galata Bridge.  At the café, we picked a dessert we had never heard of before, which turned out to be delicious custard spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.  I wish I could remember what it was called, but alas.  The lower level of the bridge contained numerous fish restaurants, each one with a representative vying for our business.  Of course we were very full from lunch and dessert, and didn’t really appreciate the aggressive sales tactics, so once we found some stairs, we ascended to the more peaceful upper level.

            Coming back along the bridge, we faced Bazaar Quarter and Sultanahmet.  I was struck by the number, size, and beauty of all of the mosques in these neighborhoods.  Having so many domed structures, punctuated by the tall and slender minarets, makes the skyline of Istanbul stand apart from all of the other city skylines I’ve seen.

View of the New Mosque on the Galata Bridge

            After walking for nearly six hours on Saturday, Ross and I were pretty beat.  We spend the evening relaxing in the hotel, and had dinner in the hotel restaurant one more time.  I wasn’t very hungry, so I just ordered a cheese plate off the appetizer menu.  Whoops, it turned out to be huge, but all of the cheeses (a mix of both traditional Turkish cheeses and Western European cheeses) were so delicious that I wound up eating the whole thing.  Ross was very happy with his meatball dish, so we both left the restaurant very full, sleepy, and satisfied with another excellent day in Istanbul.