Istanbul Main Events

In Istanbul the biggest (and most ridiculously expensive) sights are the Aya Sofia, a 1500 church slash mosque built by the Roman Emperor Justinian, and the Ottoman built Topkapi Palace.

Aya Sofia

She looks like a big red monolith of bricks, bubbles and boxes from the outside; and she’s falling apart on the inside; but she’s still incredible. Incredibly huge, and architecturally ambitious, this shrine to ‘Holy Wisdom’ (‘aya/hagia sofia’) was built by Justinian as a Christian cathedral. When the Muslims arrived, the Byzantine mosaics were whitewashed and modifications done to convert it to a mosque; Ataturk had the wisdom in the 30’s, when Turkey gained her independence, to convert it to a secular museum. Now renovations continue, jostled by competing relgious interests over which period each section should be restored to reflect: the Christian mosaics or the Islamic frescos?

She’s in a bit worse condition than, say, St Peters in the Vatican (her only real rival for historical significance), but just remember 1500 years old.

Aya Sofia, exterior.

It was rare to get a shot of the Aya Sofia without a hundred white coaches included: the front carpark is usually stacked head to tail with tour buses. In fact, most tours to/from other parts of the country, including my tour to Gallipoli, departed from there.

Fountain outside side entrance of Aya Sofia.

Outside of every mosque there will be a fountain with sinks where the faithful can wash their feet and hands before entering the sacred place. The one outside the Aya Sofia was absolutely opulent and elegant.

Emperors Gate ... renovated by Tim the Toolman.

 I entered via the side Emperor’s Gate – armed with Anne Marie’s Rick Steves book (on a side note I’d always been dismissive of Rick Steve’s travel books, but they’re actually pretty good if you want to avoid taking guided tours, and still want to get as much as possible out of each site.) The door here is massive and gorgeous; only problem, at some point in history, someone had the bright idea of raising the floors so … the gates can never close. Smart thinking that.

Looking into the main auditorium.

She’s opulent. She’s big. She’s multi-dominational.

Restored cielings.

Side dome.

Ah - Holy Virgin Mary mosaic above the altar ... yep, definitely a Christian building.

But wait - isn't that an Islamic altar, subtly tilted towards Mecca?

Look at all the little ants next to the scaffolding ... now do you have an idea of the massiveness of the place?

So, yeah, it’s a huge massive basilica. Significant and worth seeing – especially when the renovations are finished, potentional in 2050.

Topkapi Palace

The other main draw is the massive opulent Ottoman Emperor’s palace, right behind the Aya Sofia, and with line of sight to the Blue Mosque.

It’s a bizarre mixture of traditional Turkish architecture with a little Versailles thrown in. It’s ridiculously expensive – $35 AUD in total, including entrance to the Harem – but, hey, I and thousands of others paid it.

Entrance gate to Topkapi - with minaret of Aya Sofia to the left. It is literally behind the Aya Sofia.

Above the pergola standing outside the entrance gate. I think it may be a tomb?

Italian influence cieling rose.

Well worn entrance.

Me not taking photos in the Treasury, very very sneakily.

Emperor's uniform in the treasury.

Summer palace cieling.

Gates near Harem entrance.

Now who is like Versailles?

European inspired decoration in Harem.

Harem audience room.

Cielings in Prince's quarters.

Emperor's bedroom.

Cieling in Harem.

Harem courtyard. Awesome architecture.

Gardens at Topkapi.Overall, I was a little under-awed by Topkapi.

I have been ruined by the amazing palaces at Versailles (France) and Potsdam (Germany); I was hoping for extreme ludicrous Arabian opulence; while there were moments in the Harem, most of Topkapi is quite plain; either that, or the more extremely beautiful rooms didn’t survive or aren’t on display. How much is there yet to see?Apparently I’ll get my fill of Arabian opulence when I head south … can’t wait.

Further notes on why Istanbul is awesome 

The Tulips. Seriously, this was the best time of year to visit Istanbul – did you know tulips originate from this area? They’re everywhere – ‘Flanders’ Poppies, too. I’ve gone insane taking photos of wild flowers, tulips and poppies.

Random bits of Byzantine/Roman/Ottoman architecture. Bits and pieces, excavated during renovations and construction, are scattered throughout the city. Ruins are everywhere. Wandering towards the Chora Museum, we discovered an aqueduct (Roman), and an old mosque (Ottoman) and of course, the Byzantine church which is the Chora Museum – 1600 years in one three hour trip. Nice work.

But I can’t get over the bits of Roman architecture just sort of … around:

Roman random architecture. And more tulips.

So, from here I loaded up my bag – sans any souvenirs as I was still in shock at Istanbuli prices – and headed to the Aya Sofia unofficial bus station and joined TJ’s Option 5 Tour: 5 days on the Gallipoli peninsula, including side trips to Troy, Assos and a ‘home cooked meal at TJ’s parent’s house’ …