hagia sophia, blue mosque, and basilica cistern

Already this week I have had the opportunity to go out into the city twice! The first time my host grandmother, mother, Ella, and I walked around Bebek, which means baby in Turkish (this is believed to have come from the phrase "the apple of the [Bosphorus's] eye" in which the literal translation of pupil is eye baby). This is the trendiest neighborhood, along the Bosphorus. We walked around and got some ice cream, played at a playground, and went in a cafe called Happily Ever After.

This is a dock where we caught a boat to take us back from the European side where we were to the Asian side where we live. This is the most efficient form of transportation because traffic on the bridge can get very bad. Unfortunately boats do not run very regularly.

In Happily Ever After we sat by an open window and this was our view.

Then yesterday I traveled in the same group to Miniaturk, pictured below. It is a park with miniatures of many many historical buildings and sites in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey. It is geared towards children, but it is very interesting for adults too! My host mom thought this would be more manageable for Ella than to actually visit all the sites (especially in the heat!).

This is the miniature of Taksim Square, where the protests have been taking place if you have followed the news at all. I figured I should take a picture since I may not have the chance to see it in person while I'm here :) It is unfortunate because there are a few other famous sights near there that I would like to see and may not be able to, but it is not the main area for sight-seeing so even if I can't go there I will still see 90% of the top sites in Istanbul.

This is the miniature of Cappadocia underground cities in the east of Turkey. It is a site where persecuted Christians hid with a network of underground tunnels and mini churches they formed. Tourists can see it in hot air balloons. I would LOVE to go here! Probably the next time I visit Turkey ;)

Next we drove to the old city of Istanbul where most of the historical sights are. We had lunch here then they all left because Ella was too tired, and I took the rest of the day off (I get one half-day per week) to go around and sight-see!

This is the famous Blue Mosque. More on this later...

This is the Hagia Sohpia ("Holy Wisdom"). It is known for its massive dome and is considered the peak of Byzantine architecture that was used as a model by many. It was originally built in 537 as a Christian Orthodox church under the seat of Constantine, but was changed into a mosque in 1453. In the early 1900s it was made into a museum (no longer functioning as either a church or a mosque).

When it was changed into a mosque all of the icons and mosaics were plastered over due to the fact that it is against Islamic religion to have icons or pictures in mosques. However, this ended up actually preserving the mosaics which are now uncovered (and are continuing to be uncovered) today!

This is the main part of the building. You can see by the scaffolding on the left that much of it is still being uncovered and preserved. you can also definitely see the Christian mosaics now coexist with the circular pieces with some sort of Arabic text or symbols on them.

The stained glass windows have no pictures in them; the traditional Christian stained glass windows which usually depict Biblical texts were destroyed and windows with simple shaped designs replaced them and remain today.

This is where coronations took place.

You can see the fish symbols used in this design. Our tour guide was a Muslim and so, knowing I was from the US, he was asking me to share the significance of some of the Christian symbolism. It was interesting (and to me slightly frustrating) to hear how his depictions of things were through the lens of his own religious background.

This now is the interior of the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque). It was built in the early 1600s directly across from the Hagia Sophia. I was told that the big goal was to make it with a wider diameter than its "competitor" in a sense, the Hagia Sophia. It is still functioning as a mosque today, and I had to wear a scarf over my hair, a scarf to cover my arms, and a long skirt in order to enter (all provided at the entrance). I also had to take off my shoes and carry them in a plastic bag.

This obelisk was in the Hippodrome, the remains of the sporting and social center of Constantinople.

Next I headed for the Basilica Cistern. This was the largest of hundreds of cisterns that lie beneath Istanbul. It was built in the 6th century during the Byzantine Empire (it was since recovered, scooping out the mud, etc.). It has tons of huge fish in it, as you can see in this picture!

It can hold 80,000 cubic meters of water (though it is mostly empty today). Historical texts say it required 7000 slaves for its construction. The 300+ marble columns have different styles of engravings because they were likely taken from other structures.

These Medusa heads were at the bottom of two columns. Their origin is a mystery, and so is the reason for why one is upside-down and the other is sideways... The theory is they were taken from a Roman building of some sort. Perhaps they are turned to diminish the power of Medusa's gaze (legend says her gaze turned men into stone); perhaps they are turned simply to better support the columns.

I also walked through a mini-bazaar and looked in some shops. Common goods being sold are beautiful tiles and ceramics, carpets, scarves and bags, and of course spices and sweets such as Turkish delight. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing more of the city and really look forward to doing more sight-seeing later this week with another au pair!

It was extremely hot, 90 degrees and sunny, and so walking around was quite exhausting, and by the end of the day I was very ready to get back, eat, shower, and go to bed, and that is what I did!