Istanbul

Jill and Matt outside the Blue Mosque

A place that has always evoked much from my imagination is Istanbul. Straddling both continents of Europe and Asia, Istanbul has been conquered throughout the years by the Persians, Athenians, Macedonians, Arabs, Bulgarians, and finally the Turks. So needless to say, I wasn't sure what to expect from the culture. We were told by a local, though, that we must leave Istanbul to really know Turkey. I believe this must be right. The city, however saturated with history, has grown into it's own as a tourism destination. Of course we stuck to mostly all the major sightseeing attractions, but everyone we met seem to speak English pretty well. They also all seem to have a carpet for sale and employed some of the friendliest sales techniques I've ever seen.
One of the downsides to travelling to Istanbul in February was the weather. I had looked up the norms before booking the trip and had been watching the forecasts, but we got socked with a snow storm while there and had packed completely inadequate footwear. Aside from the cold, blowing winds, I thought it was a delightful time to visit. The visitors were down so we were able to coast right in and out of the Palaces and Mosques.
The first and by far most impressive part of our trip was the Topkapi Palace. This home to the Sultan's from the years of 1459 through 1853 now houses some of the country's most important artifacts. In the Treasury section on display was the Staff of Moses, a piece of skull, forearm, and hand of St. John the Baptist, as well as the beard and footprint of Mohammed. Incredible. Also pretty cool to see was the world's 3rd largest diamond weighing in at 86 carats. One of the last things we did in the Topkapi Palace was tour the Harem quarters where the Sultan's wives, daughters, servants, and concubines lived. The tour did little to expose what life was really like for the women in the Harem, but emphasized what a privelege and how much prestige and power could be obtained by being part of it. Other bits I've read elsewhere about the Harem make it out to be much more like prision, so I left the Topkapi Palace skeptical at best.
We also toured the beautiful but not as interesting Dolmabahçe Palace, stopped into the Haghia Sophia and Blue Mosques, shopped at the Grand Bizarre, descended into the Basilica Cistern, and took a ferry over to the Asian side of Istanbul for lunch.
It's hard to imagine as I sit in Zürich now that Istanbul is only a 3 hour flight away. The weekend went by so fast, but we were glad to have gotten the chance to experience this little piece of Turkey.

Matt in the Courtyard of the Eunuchs toward the entrance of the Harem quarters

Looking toward the entrance to the Treasury in the Third Courtayrd at the Topkapi Palace

Shops in the Grand Bazaar

Smoking a Hookah, the traditional tobacco pipe

Inside the Hagia Sophia

Matt in Asian Istanbul! Pictured behind him, the Bosphorous River and European Istanbul.

If only McDonald's could make us lazier? This was a first for us, seeing a McDonald's delivery man. Hmmm....now if I could just hire someone to feed the Big Macs to me.

The Dolmabahçe Palace and Bosphorous Bridge