Istanbul

Aaaaahh, Istanbul! The name alone conjures up images of Sultans and harems, of bazaars, spices and mosques. The only city in the world that straddles both Europe and Asia, Istanbul teems with an incredible 20 million people. That's the entire population of Australia in one city.

We had five days here to see the main sights, catch up with friends and do some much-needed clothes shopping and repairs (some of our hiking gear didn't survive the hike too well!) but we barely touched the surface.

We stayed in the touristy area near the main sites. The advantage was that we were close to most things. The disadvantage was that we were constantly approached by people trying to sell us carpets, tours and whatever else we apparently must have. We were constantly reminded of an old comedy skit that has the line "You look like you want to buy a carpet". I tried to google it but I can't find it. If anyone knows who did that skit or can find it on Youtube, please let us know! We even had that exact line used on us.

Our first stop was Aya Sofya. This building started life as a Christian church in Byzantine times. It was then converted to a mosque and is now a museum. Unfortunately it was under renovation so large parts were barricaded off but that's got to happen at some stage.

There were a few amazing mosaics.

We headed down to the mighty Bosphorus, which has witnessed so many incredible sights over the centuries - battles, celebrations and trading have been happening along it for thousands of years. We were hunting out a balik ekmek place. This literally means fish and bread. Yep - for a few dollars you get a piece of fish slapped into a bread roll with a bit of salad. John loved it!

We caught a ferry up the Bosphorus and saw some gorgeous old palaces, forts and grand summer houses along the water's edge.

Next up was the Sultanahmet Mosque. This is just as old and stunning as the Aya Sofya but it is still an operating mosque. 

We loved the gorgeous colours and amazing decorative work.

All women had to wear a shawl and long skirt to get in. Not sure I'd make a good Muslim woman!

We then walked through the ancient underground water cisterns. These stored water for the old city. It was very atmospheric. Most of the columns were re-used from other things. One column was supposed to be dedicated to the over 100 slaves who lost their lives building this cistern. We marvel at these incredible buildings and it's a shock to realise that many were built by slaves.

Also in this area was the remains of the old hippodrome where they used to hold chariot races. Two obelisks stolen from the Egyptians a long time ago marked the two turning points in the race and these are still standing. There is surprisingly little room to get speed up and the turns are sharp. They must have been very eventful races!

We stayed in a great hotel and one day they ran a free Turkish food tour. Of course we had to join in! First up were vegetarian meatballs. The reason that sounds strange is that they were traditionally raw but modern food laws don't allow that. They were yummy!

Next up was what our hotel manager-cum-food guide called "the most challenging part of the tour". He led us to a stand where the meat (pictured below) was roasting on a skewer. We had seen these before and knew what the meat was - sheep intestines. What we didn't previously know was that it was stuffed with sheep thymus glands!

The guy cut off a sample for us to taste so we could decide if we wanted a small serve in bread. I decided in a rash moment to give the tiniest piece a try. At first it was surprisingly tasty. It was salty and herbal. Then the taste of the gland kicked in. I suddenly remembered that I had tried "sweetbreads" before (Helen, Val and the Johns - remember the Fawlty Towers night at Dunkeld?) You would think that I would remember the horrific taste and not try it again! It was soooo awful! John decided that his taste was ok so he had a serve in bread but, judging by the photo below, I think it quickly lost its appeal!

We were then shown through the Spice Market. As you'd expect, this was awesome!

We bought the best dates I've ever had here.

This one's for you Courtney. They had so many different tea varieties as well as coffee beans from all over the world.

Lots of dried foodstuff hung from rooftops.

And now one for you Connor. Our last stop was the very shop where Turkish Delight was first invented hundreds of years ago. We sampled a number of wonderful ones. I always thought there was only one sort of Turkish Delight but there are all sorts of flavours. Yummo!

And now for a complete change of pace- just outside the spice market was the corner where you can buy your leeches! They are used for sucking blood for medicinal purposes. They were huge! I think I'd rather let nature take its course.

On a lighter note, I'll tell you a funny story. One night we were walking back near the river to our hotel after dinner. We passed some people and one of them dropped something. John picked it up and called out to them and one of them came back and collected it. The guy was a shoeshine guy and what he dropped was a brush. He thanked John then seemed to suddenly be inspired to shine John's shoes. We then realised it was some sort of scam as he tried to insist on shining John's shoes. We got out of there fast. A couple of days later we were again walking in a similar area and someone walking past us dropped a brush. John immediately launched into a game of footy with it, kicking it along the footpath. We could hear the shoeshine guy making comments behind us but he knew that we knew he was trying scam us and he wasn't too vocal!

Next up was the Topkapi Palace, home to various sultans for centuries. It was incredible. Many rooms had walls lined with hand-painted tiles and some parts were lined with gold. It had a harem, which is really just where the women lived, and a circumcision room. Circumcision is a big thing here. It's usually done at around 12 years old. Ouch!

Across the other side of the river from where we stayed there was more to see. The Galata Tower was so beautiful at night.

Ramadan started the day before we arrived. This is where devout Muslims don't eat, drink or smoke from sunrise til sunset for a month. I think it would be very tough going. At sunset, people set up picnics or join in on communal feasts. There is a party atmosphere each evening.

People picnicked in the gardens around Aya Sofya and the Sultanahmet Mosque. Fountains were lit up and coloured lights surrounded the area in celebration each night.

Sultanahmet Mosque was lit up with a sign that said something like "Welcome to Sultanahmet". They put these signs up especially for Ramadan.

While we were in Istanbul, John decided that he was tired of his beard, plus we had Skyped the kids and they were both shocked by it, so we went to a barber. Again, John had the cut-throat razor treatment.

The final result - what do you think?

One of the sights I was most looking forward to was the Grand Bazaar but I found it to be a bit underwhelming. It was nice to see but mostly sold touristy stuff. I expected there to be huge crowds there but it was fairly quiet. Some of the shop displays were gorgeous though.

One of our favourite places was a bar six floors up where there was a fantastic view of the city and we could look right at Aya Sofya. It was wonderful!

So finally it is time for us to leave Turkey. We've been here for nearly eight weeks and have absolutely loved it. The people are so caring and generous. It's part of the Muslim culture that everyone should care for other people. Nobody should be allowed to go without food or drink or any necessities. 

I have never been to a country where there is so much to see. Mountains roll down to stunning turquoise bays, wildflowers bloom everywhere, jaw-dropping landscapes abound and ancient cultures have left their imprints from one end of the country to the other. It really is a travellers' dream.

Terrorist attacks in 2015 and early 2016, plus a President who seems intent on offending other countries, have left this country's tourism industry a shadow of its previous self. Often we were the only customers in family-run accommodation or restaurants. People involved in the tourism industry begged us to tell our friends that Turkey is now safe and I'm more than happy to do so. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone (just stay clear of the Syrian border - that's a different kettle of fish!). With shocking terrorist attacks happening since in Paris, Manchester and London, plus others that have been stopped before they happened in many other countries including Australia, Turkey is no less safe than most other parts of the world. It's a truly magical place.

Anyway, that's enough of my waffling! I'll leave you with one of my favourite photos from Istanbul.

Bye for now.

Heather and John