Constantinople

My arrival in the beautiful city that straddles two continents was slightly marred by the fact that my luggage did not arrive with me.  I barely made a few of my connecting flights, but the implications of this didn't occur to me until much later that evening when I was explaining to my tour mates that my luggage was lost.  I'll blame that lack of insight on the jet-lag, but thankfully filing a claim for missing luggage was quick and relatively painless.  My airport transfer had me briefly meet a Kiwi traveler and then I was at my hotel.

The majority of my tour mates are Asian immigrants - either to the U.S. or Australia - the remaining non-Asians are from Australia and then one couple (whom I met this morning) are originally from the Penn Hills.  You can find Pittsburghers everywhere :)  After a delicious breakfast with some of my new friends from dinner the previous evening we set out on a morning tour of the "old city" section of Istanbul.  Our first stop for the day was was the Spice Market.  Located in a lovely building there are 50 shops inside selling not just spices, but dried fruit, tea, Turkish delight, candy, pottery, jewelry, and souvenirs. 

Next we moved on to the Hippodrome, built so the Byzantine Emperors could enjoy their chariot races.  Some of the original obelisks and statues remain today, but all of the seating has since been removed to construct new buildings. 

Next to the Hippodrome lies the Blue Mosque.  It is currently being renovated so we were unable to get the full affect, but thankfully were still able to go inside.  Built in the 17th Century by Sultan Ahmet I it has the most minarets (six total) of any Ottoman mosque and is unofficially named for the thousands of blue Iznik tiles inside. 

The North side of the Blue Mosque faces the Ayasofya (you probably know it by its Greek name "Hagia Sophia" - but in English it would be Church of the Divine Wisdom) so we walked there next.  This amazing Byzantine Basilica was first built in 360 A.D. by Emperor Constantius, but was twice burned to the ground.  The final rebuild was in 537 by Emperor Justinian and for nearly a thousand years it was the largest cathedral in the world.  Mehmed the Conqueror captured Constantinople in 1453 and with that the Ottomans renamed the city Istanbul and converted the church into a mosque. 

In the conversion they added minarets and chandeliers and covered the mosaics depicting people with frescoes.  After 1923, President Ataturk turned it into a museum and they are now working to uncover some of the mosaics.  If you want to read more about Hagia Sophia the History Channel has a great page full of info here.

The afternoon was spent on a cruise along the Bosphorus Strait which divides the European side of the city from the Asian side of the city.  Until 1973 the only way to cross the strait was by ferry!  There are now three bridges connecting the continents, but during rush hour it's still quicker to take the ferry.  Despite the rain, the ride still showcased "a passing parade of mosques, palaces, and mansions, on both the Asian and European shores".