Two Turkeys in Istanbul

After the Blue Mosque, we visited the Basilica Cistern – also known as the “Sunken Palace”. This stop really interesting. The cistern was constructed by Justinian in 532 AD to supply water to the Byzantine Palace. It was lost to history until the 15th century when it was found by a French surveyor. The cistern itself was to collect water for the peninsula and old town area. The interior of the vast water space was filled with long colonnades of huge, beautiful Corinthian columns, dramatically lit, with a foot or two of water at the bottom. In the back of the Cistern, there is an upside down Medusa head supporting one of the columns… there are actually two recycled Roman statues of Medusa that had been turned upside down to take away Medusa’s magical power. This site was popularized in the James Bond film “From Russia with Love”… I’m not sure if pictures do it justice, but I can completely see how this would have made a great shoot for a Bond flick.

We spent the bulk of the day at Topkapi palace. When Constantinople fell in 1453, the palaces of the Byzantine Emperors were in such ruins they were unlivable… so the Topkapi Palace was constructed to serve as the private residence of the Sultan and his court. Topkapi Palace continued to be the principal residence for four centuries – until 1853, when the Sultan moved into the new palace of Dolmabahce on the Bosphorus. The old palace was used as a house for the women of the departed sultans and their servants until the Harem was officially disbanded in 1909.

The Palace is filled with relics… Bits and pieces of the prophets – from snippets of a beard to a whole arm bone – were on display in ornate boxes. Moses’ staff was prominently displayed, gleaming like it had spent some time in the Red Sea being polished. There’s also an 86 carat diamond on display. The most brilliant thing about Topkapi was clearly the views… and the Bosphorus was the most incredible shade of clear/clean blue.

After Topkapi, we made our way to the highlight of our day – Chora Church. This church was converted to a mosque early in the 16th century and the beautiful mosaics of the Byzantine times were covered in plaster. After the Turkish republic was created and the mosque was no longer actively functioning, the mosaics from the 14th century were then restored. The church/mosque is now open as a museum. The mosaics were absolutely stunning.



From Chora Church, we asked our guide to take us to a leather demonstration/market. When we arrived, four models put on a private fashion show just for Lee and myself. What a hoot! They showcased about 100 gorgeous leather jackets in the course of a 10 minute runway show… and for a private audience. We played it to the hilt – taking notes on our ‘selection cards’ and appreciating every move the models made. You’d have thought we were at Fashion Week placing orders for a large apparel company. They then invited us backstage to meet the models and try on some leather jackets. What a grannnnnnd marketing scheme. Of course, we each wound up with an amazing leather jacket. Like mine?

After the leather company excursion, we made our way closer to the hotel to a couple of carpet showrooms. We then had dinner at the Arasta Bazaar and enjoyed the sites and celebrations along the Hippodrome. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as on Sunday night – which was a good thing, as we were able to go through the handicrafts stalls and talk to the vendors… and, of course, get some Turkish Delights and Baklava. Yummmmmm. A great start to our leveraged buyout of the city!