Category: LOVE Istanbul

The Istanbul Diaries: Blue Mosque and Baked Potato

The first time I heard the call to prayer, we were just stepping out of Hagia Sophia.
Not knowing what a call to prayer would be like, I didn’t know what to expect when I read that you would hear them all over the city. At first I didn’t even realize what the musical voice was that poured out from the minaret speakers. The echo of the voices felt very foreign but beautifully hypnotic.
I later learned that verses of the Koran are read back and forth by the muezzins of Hagia Sophia and the neighboring mosque, Sultan Ahmed Camii, or better known as the Blue Mosque. (Listen here.)
The Blue Mosque is considered to be one of the most beautiful mosques in the world. It was completed in 1616 (to put things in perspective, that’s about 1000 years after the current Hagia Sophia structure was built) during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I. If you’re in the old city of Constantinople, the magnificent domes and six minarets are hard to miss. 
R and I made our way over to the mosque, where there was an entrance for visitors. After standing in line like Disneyland, we were allowed inside where the back half of the mosque was sectioned off for visitors.
It’s interesting because the name Blue Mosque refers to the blue Iznik tiles that cover the walls. But my eyes were more drawn to the beautiful red carpet that covered the entire floor, where there were people praying in the front half of the mosque (although I’m guessing many were also non-local Muslim visitors because they were taking pictures and videos after praying, too).
Honestly, the visitors area was extremely crowded and I was ready to get out of there after 5 minutes. It was only the second mosque I’d ever been inside (coincidentally that was also with R), and the interior design and tiles were beautiful…but I think it was the crowds that did me in. I’m sure there is a much more calm and reverent atmosphere during the prayer and Friday worship hours, but at that moment I didn’t feel a connection with the place.
But what I did love is the courtyard of the mosque. The architecture is fabulous and the breeze that flows through the arcade along the walls makes this place a perfect spot to sit and people watch. Staring up at the beautiful domes from below, it’s incredible to think that someone built this massive mosque.
All in all, I think it was worth the visit, especially when you include the yummy baked potato we ate just outside of the Sultan Ahmed Park, which lies between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. The guy at the food vendor made the largest and most colorful baked potato I’ve ever seen.
When we ordered, he cut open the baked potato and proceeded to mix the inside until it was more like a mashed potato. Then he asked us about toppings, most of which we said yes to. At one point he asked us if we wanted “American salad,” which ended up being potato salad! I though the potato on potato concept was hilarious but it ended up being delicious. Really, you’d be surprised.
Here are some photos of the Blue Mosque and the crazy baked potato:

BLUE MOSQUE (SULTAN AHMED CAMII)
Sultanahmet Cami, 34122 Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul, TURKEY
TEL: +90 212 518 1319
HOURS: Open to visitors outside of prayer hours

The Istanbul Diaries: Hagia Sophia

Where do I even start?
There were just so many interesting places to see in Istanbul. It’s mind boggling, especially when it’s your first time there. R and I decided we wanted to cover a mix of famous landmarks (because they’re famous for a reason, right?) and a little random exploring.
Our first destination was the ever famous Hagia Sophia, or Ayasofya in Tukish.
This beautiful landmark has been a museum since 1935, but it has quite the colorful history. It was a Christian cathedral for 916 years, then later renovated and used as a mosque for 482 years. You can read about the long history here but I can tell you, this landmark has seen a whole lot of change.
The original church was completed in 360 during the reign of Constantius II, although it was his father, Constantine the Great, who ordered it to be built. I learned that this original church burned down during the riots of 404. A second church was built during the reign of Theodosius the Great, which later also burned down during another riot in 532. So it’s actually the structure of the third church, built under Emperor Justinian I in 537, which still stands today.
After reading a little into the history of Constantinople, I am amazed Hagia Sophia actually withstood all the riots and occasional earthquakes that came thereafter. But thank goodness it did because Hagia Sophia is a beauty. The exterior is light and shades of pastel pink and blue, whereas the interior is very dark and gold. To me, it felt very masculine inside.
It’s said that when Justinian I saw the completed Hagia Sophia, he exclaimed, “Solomon, I have outdone thee!” Despite the restoration and conservation work still underway inside Hagia Sophia (you can’t really see it in the photos but the left side of the ground floor was full of scaffolding), I have to agree, it is fabulously grand.
R and I borrowed an audio guide at the entrance and slowly walked around the grounds, breathing in the rich history of Hagia Sophia.
Here are a few photos of what we saw:

HAGIA SOPHIA MUSEUM (Ayasofya Müzesi)
Hagia Sophia Square, Sultanahmet Fatih, Istanbul, TURKEY
TEL: +90 (212) 522 17 50
HOURS: Summer 9:00am-7:00pm (final entry 6pm)
             Winter 9:00am-5:00pm (final entry 4pm)
FEE: 30 Turkish Lira

The 5 Things That Surprised Me About Istanbul

I am finally braving the piles and piles of photos that are virtually in my SD card to share with you my amazing trip to Istanbul.

I know, it’s about time.

Well, there is much to tell. But I thought I’d start with some things I did not know about Istanbul. This trip was originally supposed to be to London, where I would meet up with my travel buddy R. But somehow we ended up changing destinations to Turkey, which was fate because I’ve always been curious about this country.

On the other hand, because it was last minute we didn’t have much time to research. R and I actually first started discussing potential places to go…the day we left for Istanbul. But just jumping into this historic city head first was thrilling and gave us a chance to learn certain things first hand.

So before I get into all that we experienced and saw, here are some things that surprised me about Istanbul during our five glorious days there:

1. MOSQUES EVERYWHERE – This may be one of those “duh!” statements. I knew there were many famous mosques, I just didn’t realize how many other regular mosques there were.

If I had done my research before my trip, I would have known that there are over 3,000 mosques in Istanbul. It was beautiful seeing five mosques from my hotel window, especially at night when the minarets were lit up. Stumbling across so many mosques was also a god-send when you needed to use the bathroom. Or a quiet place to calm yourself in the midst of the beautiful chaos that is Istanbul.

2. THE HEAT – Or should I say, the lack thereof? Summer in Tokyo is a million times more stifling than in Istanbul, or so the Iranian man sitting next to me on the flight to Istanbul told me. I thought he was kidding.

But lo and behold, he wasn’t. I always imagined Turkey to be so much more hot than Tokyo, and temperature-wise some places might be, but the lack of humidity made Istanbul feel quite cool. July is apparently their hottest month, and during the day it really was hot, but I was wearing sweatshirts at night because of the cool wind!

3. MEN LOVE CHILDREN – Living in Tokyo, it seems like we all tend to keep to ourselves when out in public. Especially in very public places, you just don’t go around tickling the feet of a stranger’s baby (unless it’s a dog, maybe).

Well, in Istanbul you can because everyone loves babies, it seems. Especially the men! It was interesting riding on trains and ferries, seeing teenage guys acting all fly until a baby starts fussing next to them, and they all hurry to entertain. Or a grumpy old grandpa would eyebrow tricks to make a child smile.

And it goes both ways, the parents don’t seem suspicious of strangers when it comes to their children. They will just say, “Oh she likes you!” and sometimes even ask for a picture (yes, I entertained my share of babies on ferries and in mosques). I have to say I love how everyone appreciates children in Istanbul. We were there during the Ramazan Bayrami holiday, when many families are out and about, but I didn’t see one child have a tantrum. Did I miss all the tantrum throwing kids in Istanbul, or is Istanbul possibly the village raising a child?

4. STRAY CATS AND DOGS – Although we have our fair share of cats roaming my neighborhood, the number of stray cats in Istanbul was still surprising. In the city, the islands, pretty much everywhere!

What I wasn’t used to were the stray dogs, which I’ve never seen in my neighborhood, or anywhere in Japan, really. Not only were they stray dogs, they were BIG stray dogs. Big beautiful labradors and huskies. I didn’t see a single chihuahua or toy poodle. It’s quite the surprise when you glance over and see a huge dog staring at you. I almost screamed a couple of times at first but you get used to it after awhile, especially since they are all tame and friendly.


5. NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE SPEAK ENGLISH – I know, I know. Japan shouldn’t be talking. And no, I don’t expect every place I go to be full of English speakers. I admit that I absolutely failed at learning Turkish. Shame on me. I did try. But I will do better next time, promise.

But what I wanted to say here is that despite not very many people being able to communicate in English, they were enthusiastic about helping us out using slowly pronounced Turkish words and huge hand gestures. Everyone was fantastic. We were rescued by local people countless times.

They say that it’s the people you meet that make a place special, and it was exactly that for us. We were truly blessed.

Have you ever been to Istanbul? Were you surprised by anything?
We had an amazing time! There will be more Istanbul photos on the way! xx