And the recipe for success was focusing on her strengths (which blew my mind today) and taking the time to meander off the tacky tourist trail ad discover her heart.
To focus on her strengths we started our day early to beat the crowds,and hit the Topkapi Palace. It was a splendid walk through the life of the Ottoman Sultans and their 300 concubines. The palace was charming (Albeit a little crowded, apparently we weren't the only ones trying to beat the crowds!)
As for highlights, the Haram area where the Sultan,4 queens and hundreds of concubines lived was quite extravagant and though it looked as though they all lived quite well my first thought was this was early sex trafficking so that bothered me but the Haram hall was exquisite and like something out of Arabian nights.
The Sultans also amassed an impressive amount of gifts from
other nations including jewelry, swords, clothing, guns and pottery much dating back to the 15th century.
The palace was intriguing but the history was very much based on the Sultans lavish lifestyle and being a history buff I am much more interested in early religious and political empires and the architectural symbols that came along with it. What we saw next literally stopped me in my tracks.
We had planned on doing the Aya Sofya next so we wandered over and it is something I think a person could never see too many times in their life!
Quick history lesson: built by the byzantine christian emperor Justinian in the 537 AD ( for the 3rd time, war is a bitch!)
And then taken when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople under sultan Mehmed and converted to a Mosque.
So it is an absolutely stunning mix of Christian and Muslim frescoes and symbolism. You virtually have depictions of Jesus( the usual,last supper, virgin birth etc) beside massive arab scripts from the Qur'an.
It took 10,000 men 6 years to build the Aya Sofya and I can honestly say I have never seen another man made structure more impressive.
We ended up being there late in the afternoon which we have learned so actually better than the early morning because all of the cruise ship tours and just general tour groups are gone so we found ourselves wandering for two hours in awe. It is truly a monumental piece of human history. It is worth a visit to Istanbul for the Aya Sofya alone!
We then decided to take one of Istanbul's fine rooftop cafes in
over looking both the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque so we found a place called The Sultans Pub and enjoyed a great meal with truly unimaginable views. (of course Turkish style the
waiter tried to add on the free bread to our bill which we disputed and he submitted, the table beside us had a surcharge for the rice that came on their plate! It is a game to them but one we are used to now, even the Turkish will tell you to always check your bill! It's a cultural quirk that the Turkish like to negotiate payments)
It was a good day in Istanbul and now that we have discovered its heart beat and learned what tacky tourist streets to avoid in Sultanamet we have fallen in love with the city.
I would definitely come back and spend more time here as we have only touched on some of the key attractions Istanbul has to offer. There are so many other parts of the city that I have heard are amazing that I know one day we will visit In a trip solely to Istanbul.
Off to bed:)
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