Saturday morning, the Turkish city of Istanbul came slowly into view as the fog gradually cleared. Istanbul’s culture rich in history, tangling the histories of Byzantine, Ottoman, Crusaders, Greeks, and Turks. Most visible to us was Turkey’s most famous destination—Hagia Sophia, a museum with both Muslim and Christian roots. This was our first stop in Turkey, just as the sun reached directly overhead, casting a beam of sun on this ancient church. The inside of the church was utterly breathtaking. The ceilings and walls were decorated profusely with hand painted designs and intricate mosaics of Jesus, Mary, and some emperors including Justinian the Great, commissioner of the Hagai Sophia. Stained glass windows let light into the building, finishing at the top with a large dome. We also walked up to the balcony where the empress of the Byzantine Empire was once carried to via palanquin before the church services.
We then walked to Tokapi Palace, the seat of power in the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. We were surrounded by impressive weapons, including a seven foot long broadsword and a variety of swords, guns, and bows, the seventh biggest diamond in the world, known as the spoonmaker’s diamond, ornate jewelry and furniture that was encrusted with jewels of all colors and sizes. At about 2 p.m. we stopped for lunch at a restaurant inside the palace grounds. We enjoyed Turkish food for the first time—from crispy bread rolls to cheese pie, roast lamb to mashed potatoes, vanilla pudding with a pistachio garnish to Turkish coffee. Satisfied after a delicious meal, we stopped for a restroom break and met a sweet Turkish little kid, who was unduly impressed that we were from Hawaii, but after he was shown pictures, he claimed “it was too expensive.” Still laughing over it, we headed over to the Blue Mosque, built in the 1700’s. We took off our shoes before entering and the girls put scarves over their heads, as was tradition. The interior was just as impressive as Hagia Sophia, with its walls and ceilings covered in floral patterns, gold leaf and over 260 stain glass windows. It was truly an impressive sight.
The historical part of the tour done for the day, we headed to a store where we saw and touched the textures of the most famous product of the country, Turkish carpets. Each one had an incredibly intricate design, familiar to the ceilings of the Blue Mosque we had just seen. The salesman explained that silk carpets, the most expensive, took at least 14 months to complete just one. After this we separated and went shopping at the bazaar in Istanbul. Students experienced, and enjoyed, for the first time the “haggling” or bartering process. We headed back to the ship at six and had another amazing dinner aboard the ship; including lamb, pork chops, egg drop soup with lemon, Greek salad, gelato, and baklava as some of the choices.
After devotions featuring Paul’s journey in Ephesus, plans for tomorrow were hatched, and then everyone was either off to bed or going to experience Greek culture at one of the late night events. Tired as we are, we cannot wait for tomorrow’s adventure—we are sailing to Izmir, once the ancient city of Smyrna, and to Pergamum.
We then walked to Tokapi Palace, the seat of power in the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. We were surrounded by impressive weapons, including a seven foot long broadsword and a variety of swords, guns, and bows, the seventh biggest diamond in the world, known as the spoonmaker’s diamond, ornate jewelry and furniture that was encrusted with jewels of all colors and sizes. At about 2 p.m. we stopped for lunch at a restaurant inside the palace grounds. We enjoyed Turkish food for the first time—from crispy bread rolls to cheese pie, roast lamb to mashed potatoes, vanilla pudding with a pistachio garnish to Turkish coffee. Satisfied after a delicious meal, we stopped for a restroom break and met a sweet Turkish little kid, who was unduly impressed that we were from Hawaii, but after he was shown pictures, he claimed “it was too expensive.” Still laughing over it, we headed over to the Blue Mosque, built in the 1700’s. We took off our shoes before entering and the girls put scarves over their heads, as was tradition. The interior was just as impressive as Hagia Sophia, with its walls and ceilings covered in floral patterns, gold leaf and over 260 stain glass windows. It was truly an impressive sight.
The historical part of the tour done for the day, we headed to a store where we saw and touched the textures of the most famous product of the country, Turkish carpets. Each one had an incredibly intricate design, familiar to the ceilings of the Blue Mosque we had just seen. The salesman explained that silk carpets, the most expensive, took at least 14 months to complete just one. After this we separated and went shopping at the bazaar in Istanbul. Students experienced, and enjoyed, for the first time the “haggling” or bartering process. We headed back to the ship at six and had another amazing dinner aboard the ship; including lamb, pork chops, egg drop soup with lemon, Greek salad, gelato, and baklava as some of the choices.
After devotions featuring Paul’s journey in Ephesus, plans for tomorrow were hatched, and then everyone was either off to bed or going to experience Greek culture at one of the late night events. Tired as we are, we cannot wait for tomorrow’s adventure—we are sailing to Izmir, once the ancient city of Smyrna, and to Pergamum.