Day Three: Istanbul

This was definitely one of the cruise's highlights. Too bad the weather was not so cooperative. We disembarked at 7:45am with open umbrellas and made our way to the waiting tour buses. I hoped that it would not rain all day. On the bus, I swapped the ISO 100 film in my Leica M2 for Fuji Press 800, the fastest film I dared carry through the airport x-ray scanners. Looks like today will be a test for steady hands.

The first stop was Chora Church, with its fabulous 11th-14th century frescoes. These were plastered over by the Ottoman Turks, who added a minaret and converted it to a mosque. Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, later removed the plaster and restored the frescoes. This sequence is true in most churches/mosques throughout the city.

Topkapi Palace, the palace of the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is closed on Monday, the day we were at port. Luckily, Holland America secured a special pass for us to enter that day. Without the mobs of tourists. Nice touch again.



A short walk took us to a local restaurant for a traditional Turkish lunch, after which we made our way to the Hagia Sophia, which stands for "Holy Wisdom" and was not named after the saint. It was built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, and was the largest church in its day. Today, it is the fifth largest, after the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome, the Duomo in Florence, and that in Milan. This was according to our guide, Selim. According to the inscription on the floor of the nave in the Vatican, it is the 26th.

Across is the equally impressive Blue Mosque. Built in 1616 by order of Sultan Ahmet I, the architect Mehmed Aga wanted to outdo the Hagia Sophia by building a larger dome, but could not. Built over the the great palace of Byzantium, the Blue Mosque derives its name from the blue-colored tiles lining its upper interior walls.

Enough of history, on the the Grand Bazaar! First off was a Turkish carpet demonstration at Hereke, one of the rug merchants in the business. Sadly, this was less of a demonstration of carpet weaving and more a display of carpets for sale. Still, beautiful works of art. A top line silk carpet has almost 2,000 double knots per square inch, and it takes a "weaving girl" 4 years to complete a 4ft by 6ft carpet.

The grand bazaar is a visual and aural treat. Bright, hand painted plates and trinkets, and shimmering gold jewelry line the aisles of this large covered marketplace. The cacophony of haggling and merchants enticing sellers to enter their stores grows louder as enter deeper and deeper into this great maze. The rule is: start haggling with a bid price half of the sellers initial price, work your way from there, and have fun!


I was only able to take one photo in the grand bazaar, before my two arms were saddled with shopping bags one tends to accumulate when one goes to the bazaar with one's wife.