Final Days in Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) has an interesting history. It is the third church to be built on the site, having been used as a church originally and later as a mosque. It is currently a museum and at the time of my visit (Jan 2015) was undergoing restorations inside. From 537 to 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral however was also also a Roman Catholic cathedral between 1204 to 1261. The building was converted into a mosque from 1453 to 1931 after Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. It was opened as a museum in 1935. Consequently, there have been continual efforts to remove the plaster to reveal the original interior.






Slow removal of the plaster that was placed after it was converted to a mosque.





Very close to the Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayı) is one of the largest cisterns that lie under Istanbul. It was built in the 6th century; it is incredible to think that it is that old! The cistern is 143m long and 65m wide with 336 marble columns, spaced at 4m intervals.







There are two Medusa heads and it is a mystery as to why they are there. There is a rumor that they were moved from a building of the late Roman period. The cistern wasn't as cool as I thought it would be and was both a little underwhelming and a little creepy. But still worth a visit.

There are so many mosques in Istanbul and so many more than I had expected. I visited my second mosque - Rustem Pasha Mosque- (which was a little difficult to find) and unlike the Blue Mosque, it was blue-r and almost deserted.

Not Turkish food but one of the best burgers I've had in my life was at Virginia Angus near the Grand Bazaar.

Testi kebabs are a combination of meat and vegetables cooked in a claypot. It originated from the Cappadocia region and is an experience as it is sealed after filling it with the ingredients and breaking it is the only way it can be opened to be consumed. As it is an Anatolian specialty, naturally it was on every menu when I was in Göreme. However I didn't try it when I was there (rookie error) and searched high and low in Istanbul on my last night. As mentioned before, food in the old area was quite expensive and the testi kebab I had at the restaurant was significantly more expensive than what I would have paid for in Göreme. But nonetheless it was super tasty and interesting to watch how the claypot was cracked open. Plus I also got a free shot of amaretto from the bartender!


Overall Thoughts
What was interesting was to compare and contrast the different areas in Istanbul. The old town, Sultanahmet, was so different to Beyoğlu and Beşiktaş which were a lot more modern and reminded me a little of the suburbs in the US. Actually, in the old town, it reminded me of Hong Kong with the sheer volume of people and the tight alleys. I also visited one of the largest shopping centres in the world (Şişli Kültür ve Ticaret Merkezi) which was insane.

Turkey was an incredible country with amazing people and food. Although I didn't enjoy Istanbul as much as I would have liked, I loved all the other cities/towns that I visited. Turkey was so different to every other place that I have visited and I really loved the country despite all the mishaps. I definitely want to return one day to explore more of the beautiful country, notably the south west region.