Turkey with Teenager

Overview

Random People on the Blue Mosque Steps Photo - Istanbul (General), Turkey, Europe

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Istanbul is an amazing blend of eastern and western cultures. Called Byzantium upon its birth in recorded history around the 7th century B.C., it eventually became Constantinople, the captial for the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Greek became the language. Christianity was the religion. The Hagia Sophia was erected to proclaim the glory of the faith... and the wealth and power of Byzantine. Indeed, this is one of the architectural wonders of the world and should not be missed. Then the Crusades came. Suffering attack on more than one occasion, the city succumbed to the Ottoman Empire in the Fifteenth Century, changing its face again. Visitors will find the district of Sultana...Read More

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Ottoman Hotel

Hotel | "Ottoman Hotel Imperial"

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I took a lot of time looking for a suitable hotel. I chose the Ottoman Hotel Imperial because of its location...and the reasonable rate (100 euros per night per an Internet Special). Right smack dab in the middle of everything, the front of the yellow hotel is on a quiet street across from the back of the Aya Sofia. Our "triple" room exceeded expectations because it was really two rooms plus a bathroom. We also had a nice little balcony with a view over Sultanahmet where we enjoyed a couple evenings sipping a glass of wine or a cup of apple tea...the haunting call to prayer echoing across the city, the cats slinking across roofs. The air conditioning was a nice re...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 27, 2007

Ottoman Hotel
Kadirga Limani cad.85 Kadirga
Istanbul, Turkey
(212) 5174203(2)

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Aya Sofya/ Church of Holy Wisdom

Attraction | "Aya Sofya, Church of Holy Wisdom"

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The Aya Sofya or Haghia Sophia is a marvel of architecture. Its giant dome is an amazing thing to see, and a walk through this great Christian Church, turned into Mosque, and turned into Museum is like a walk through Istanbul's religious history. Knowing the significance of this place, we did not want to visit without any guidance. So, we went to the City Sights Kiosk across the street on the corner, the place where you buy bus tickets for a City Sight tour, and rented an audio guide for 4 Lyre each. This was a great move on our part. Very, very dense, the guide gives a ton of information. But it greatly enhanced our visit because we knew where to look for some of the most interesting fea...Read More

The Aya Sofya or Haghia Sophia is a marvel of architecture. Its giant dome is an amazing thing to see, and a walk through this great Christian Church, turned into Mosque, and turned into Museum is like a walk through Istanbul's religious history.

Knowing the significance of this place, we did not want to visit without any guidance. So, we went to the City Sights Kiosk across the street on the corner, the place where you buy bus tickets for a City Sight tour, and rented an audio guide for 4 Lyre each. This was a great move on our part. Very, very dense, the guide gives a ton of information. But it greatly enhanced our visit because we knew where to look for some of the most interesting features in the building.

For instance, when you first walk into the church/mosque/museum, you will see the Emperor's Doors. Above these you will find a mosaic of Christ flanked by Mary and the Archangel Gabriel. An emperor who has sinned by cheating on his wife---and thus not been granted the heir that he wanted---is kneeling prostrate before Jesus, asking for forgiveness for his sins.

Walk through the doors and see the giant dome. You'll notice giant circles with Arabic writing. These are the names of the sons of Mohamed.

Go to the left and find the column with a band of iron around its base. You might see people putting their thumbs into a hole in the column. This is the "sweating column" and the story is that the water you can feel inside has holy properties capable of healing eye problems and infertility.

Go up the stairs past the door where the women would have entered the Aya Sofya and you'll find other important mosaics. One is of Christ, Mary, and St. John the Baptist. You'll see the bottom of the mosaic is chipped off. This is because the janitors who worked in the Aya Sofya when it was first turned into a museum would sometimes chip off pieces of this mosaic for souvenir hunters who paid them money.

As you leave the church, look behind you and find Mary again with Christ. Flanking them are the Emperors Justinian and Constantine. One is holding up the Aya Sofya itself. The other is holding a model of the city. This was meant to represent the fact that both were built to the glory of Mary and Christ.

Go through the courtyard and notice the small building to the left. During the time of the Ottomans, the person who calculated the time for prayers every day---apparently they change according to lunar/solar cycles---lived here.

One of the audio guides we rented died while we were walking through the museum. The fee for this guide was refunded when we went to pick up our deposit and return the mini-I-pods on which the tour was recorded.

If you like history---if you have an interest in religion and architecture---you'll enjoy the Aya Sofya. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 27, 2007

Aya Sofya/ Church of Holy Wisdom
Sultanhamet
Istanbul, Turkey

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Istanbul (General)

Attraction | "Swimming in the Sea of Marmara"

Princes' Islands-Buyukada Photo - Istanbul, Turkey

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From Istanbul you can just see in the hazy distance the chain of land that makes up the Prince's Islands. Here unfortunate threats to the Ottoman throne were often exiled...after having been blinded. Nowadays, people use the islands for a pleasant escape from the city. According to our guidebook, Sunday is the worst time to visit because of crowds, so we took a ferry to the islands on a Monday. With ferry service cheaper than cruises up and down the Bosphorous, we decided to island hop at least once. Our first stop was Buyukada, the Great Island. Here Leon Trotsky made his home for a time. Here Leon Trotsky's daughter committed suicide. ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 27, 2007

Istanbul (General)

Istanbul, Turkey

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Topkapi Palace (Topkapı Sarayı)

Attraction | "Topkapi Palace"

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Topkapi Palace was the home to sultans for hundreds of years. It is an expansive structure that is a must-see for any visitor to Istanbul. Yet...I was also disappointed by it. But let me get to that later. You approach the palace via the first courtyard, a place where you can wander for free. It has always been like this. The general public has always been able to congregate here. For entry into the second courtyard, you must pay 10 Turkish Lyra per person. Here you'll find ancient cyprus trees, the Gate of Felicity where the sultan would have occupied his throne, and throngs of cruise ship crowds gathered around their tour guides. You will not find much to guide ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 27, 2007

Topkapi Palace (Topkapı Sarayı)
Sultanahmet Square
Istanbul, Turkey
90 212 5224422

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Dolmabahce Palace

Attraction

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The Dolmabahce Palace was built in the nineteenth century, partly with money borrowed from other world leaders like Queen Victoria in England. The Ottoman Empire was the sick man in Europe, but its leaders didn't want to admit to any reality that tasteless. So what did they do? Push economic reform? No. The royal family decided to build a palace worthy of respect...a palace much more Western than Topkapi...much more lavish than anything else in Turkey. To get there, we took the tram to Taksim Square, strolled down the hill to the palace, walked by the swan fountain, and bought tickets---a palace/harem combo.What was the palace tour like? Well, I was reall...Read More

The Dolmabahce Palace was built in the nineteenth century, partly with money borrowed from other world leaders like Queen Victoria in England. The Ottoman Empire was the sick man in Europe, but its leaders didn't want to admit to any reality that tasteless. So what did they do? Push economic reform? No. The royal family decided to build a palace worthy of respect...a palace much more Western than Topkapi...much more lavish than anything else in Turkey.

To get there, we took the tram to Taksim Square, strolled down the hill to the palace, walked by the swan fountain, and bought tickets---a palace/harem combo.

What was the palace tour like? Well, I was really interested here because you have to go through the palace with a guide. While I am a pretty independent traveler, I like to know a good bit about what it is I am viewing. Guides make this easier. However, the Dolmbahce Palace tours are a bit...limited. The groups are much too large. (There's an English speaking group and then a Turkish speaking group.) It's almost impossible to hear the guide unless you're up at the front. There was a group of Spanish speakers walking behind us, and they couldn't understand the guide, so they promptly started talking to each other. This, of course, made me want to scream, "Silencio, por favor!", but I had resigned myself at that point to reading the hand-out given at the front of the palace as we went through the various rooms.

What was the palace itself like? This is an extravagant place. Think marble, columns, and gold. Everywhere. One thing I liked was that everything seemed symmetrical. There was a fireplace in each corner of many of the rooms. We wound our way up the double staircase with crystal balusters, through grand apartments, and into the big highlight... the throne room in the center of the palace that is so grand, so large, so impressive, that the four 1/2 ton chandelier manufactured in England---perhaps the largest ever made---couldn't afford to be one inch smaller. NATO met in this room a couple of years ago. This was certainly an interesting thing to see.

What was the harem tour like? The harem tour was similar to the palace tour as far as the group-size was concerned. Our guide here did seem to be more enthusiastic about his job though...relaying information with a quick smile despite the gleen of sweat on all the faces turned towards him. If you have kids with you, skip this part only because it feels like more of the same. You'll already have a good sense of the palace. However, the harem includes the room in which Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, died. The bedspread looks like a Turkish flag. The clocks in the palace are stopped at the moment of his death.

Bottom line? Definitely worth seeing but hope for a cool day...and small crowds. You'll think it's no wonder the Ottomans ran out of money. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 27, 2007

Dolmabahce Palace
Mebusan Caddesi, Besiktas, on the Bosphorus
Istanbul, Turkey

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Military Museum (Askeri Muze)

Attraction | "Military Museum (Askeri Muze) and Janissary Band"

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A good thing to do on the same day you visit the Dolmabache Palace is to go see the Military Museum. They are within easy walking distance though radiating down different streets from Taksim Square. The museum must have another purpose still because it has armed guards around sections of it. In fact, I thought it was probably an embassy until we found the front gate! We had to go through security at that point and bought our tickets. These were very inexpensive, and we thought this museum was the best value we got for money in Istanbul. What was so great, you ask? Good question. Well, for less than a meal at McDonald's, we were able to wander a large collection of e...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 27, 2007

Military Museum (Askeri Muze)

Istanbul, Turkey

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Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Strait)

Attraction | "Bosphorus Cruise"

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I think it's an obligation to take a cruise on the Bosphorous if you're a tourist in Istanbul. One of the coolest things about this city is that it straddles two continents. It's an amazing thing to be able to ride on a boat, look to one side and think, "That's Europe." Then turn your head to the other side and think, "That's Asia." So, we planned a day to catch the Istanbul ferryboat at the docks by the Galata Bridge.Any suggestions? Check the ferry times. One should leave a little bit after 10am. BOARD EARLY. We made the mistake of getting onto the ferry close to the departure time. This was miserable because the ferry is BIG. The upper decks are open-air, but those seats ar...Read More

I think it's an obligation to take a cruise on the Bosphorous if you're a tourist in Istanbul. One of the coolest things about this city is that it straddles two continents. It's an amazing thing to be able to ride on a boat, look to one side and think, "That's Europe." Then turn your head to the other side and think, "That's Asia." So, we planned a day to catch the Istanbul ferryboat at the docks by the Galata Bridge.

Any suggestions?
Check the ferry times. One should leave a little bit after 10am. BOARD EARLY. We made the mistake of getting onto the ferry close to the departure time. This was miserable because the ferry is BIG. The upper decks are open-air, but those seats are prime. They fill quickly. We were stuck downstairs...inside...on a middle bench. Yes, we could see through the windows, but the experience wasn't nearly as nice as it might have been. Fortunately, as people disembarked on various islands, we were able to move outside and have the breeze cool our cheeks. And we learned our lesson. We made sure we were in the front of the boarding line when it came time to get back onto the ferry to Istanbul in the afternoon.

How does the ticket work?
Unlike ferry rides to the Princes' Islands, you buy a round-trip ticket for a Bosphorous Cruise. This entitles you to disembark once and then get back on without paying any more money.

Where did we get off the boat?
We took the ferry to the very end of the line to the farthest dock on the Asian shore, which is Anadolu Kavagi. We chose this port because we knew there was an old fortress to which we could hike once we arrived. The hike is straight up, but there are lots of kids selling bottles of water along the way. Follow the signs, and it would be hard to get lost.

Was the hike worth it?
The Genoese "castle" is little more than a crumbling outpost at the top of a high hill. But, oh! The view! You can see in the distance where the Bosphorous pours into the Black Sea. And my son greatly enjoyed poking around the ruin itself, climbing onto its wall with all the other tourists for a better vantage point. We saw some people having a picnic though there isn't much grass or shelter from the sun. Bring a bottle of water in your purse or backpack.... and don't forget your camera.

What was Anadolu Kavagi like?
I bought three little purses in the village...but I saw the same things in Sultanahmet the next day...cheaper. So if you buy anything, be educated on the prices. Apart from shopping, the main thing to do is grab lunch or hike to the fortress. Of course, fish is big on the menus. We had ice-cream as we waited for the ferry to take us back to Istanbul. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 28, 2007

Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Strait)
Eminonu
Istanbul, Turkey

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Istanbul Journals

Turkey with Teenager