It all started with coffee, take away, from our local. Then a walk across Galata Bridge to the Hagia Sofia museum. We had to wait in a queue but for not very long so it was pretty ideal. The Hagia Sofia was a former Catholic Church in Constantinople from 537 to 1453 and then a mosque from then until 1931 and now a museum. We started by watching a video about the building and architecture of the building itself and then wandered through the lower, then upper levels. It's a very impressive building, with large domed roof with incredible chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. They look so so precarious, hanging by one cord all the way down, but we're sure it's safe. The main chandelier was half covered though, as restoration in the main area was taking place and this was a little annoying but necessary we guess. The church was originally the biggest in the world until 1520 when Seville Cathedral took this title. On the upper level you can look down to the room below and see how impressive it is. Also as a little treat there are some fun Viking inscriptions in the marble to really show you some history. Okay Vikings you can visit Turkey too I guess. We then moved from the main room to the outside and found a courtyard with a former tomb in it, now empty.
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| PROOF VIKINGSSS |
Leaving the museum we headed to the Basilica Cistern, the largest of several hundred cisterns that exist below Istanbul. It was built in the 6th century under the reign of Emperor Justinian I. The main feature of the Cistern now are the two medusa heads that lie at the base of two columns. One is upside down and the other on its side and their origins are unknown. They are believed to be brought from a building of late Roman origin. There are theories as to why they are placed on the side and upside down, but most believe for practical reasons so they fit the columns on top at the appropriate heights. The entire Cistern was really cool and its pretty amazing that it all exists underground and functions so well for such a long time period. Also there were fish in the water. So fun.
We went back towards Hagia Sofia to grab some quick lunch outside. We got our new fave sesame bagel things and a sweeter Nutella filled roll. They were both pretty good and we enjoyed them sitting in the park opposite the Blue Mosque.
Our last call for the day was the Blue Mosque, a very impressive mosque that is super popular with tourist and rightly so. To get in you have to be dressed decently and woman have to cover their heads. So after putting on our borrowed head scarves we went inside. Prayer had just happened and there were still men inside listening to Quran being read. We walked through admiring the details over the walls and ceilings. We sat down briefly inside before exiting and handing back our headscarves and putting on our shoes. We walked around the side to get some good photos and then went in search of a travel agent to help us answer some questions for the rest of our trip.
Long story short, in Turkey apparently no buses can be booked online so we'd have to just do it as we go. This worried us a little, having not left anything up until the last minute yet, but we figured if that was the system then we'd have to just go with it.
For dinner we went back to the Turkish restaurant we had been earlier and got gozleme again (spinach this time) and a grilled chicken plate with rice and salad. There was this weird Turkish talent show playing that was the best ever and we had to stay to watch it. They had to perform and no audience or judges could see them because they had a screen covering them, and somehow people voted while they performed and if they didn't get over 80% they lost. It was all very odd and the purpose of the show is still unknown. But. It was entertaining so maybe that is the purpose? We eventually left and went back to our apartment after a long day.
Xoxo A&E
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