European Cruise Day 8: Istanbul, Turkey - Day 2
Disclaimer: These are all unedited and uncensored. They are raw emotion, intellect and information. I hope you enjoy my experiences.
*Miranda and Alyssa are my sisters and Thomas is my soon to be brother in law.*
I woke today feeling good and happy. That’s refreshing. I was dreaming about giving Islam a chance. What was interesting was that my view in the dream was identical to mine in our cabin here on the ship, with the silhouette of my guitar case and all. But there was a giant mosque that I prayed to every call to prayer. Islam really gets a bad rap and isn’t all bad at all. It’s a relief to feel good this morning. Yesterday I was in the dumps hardcore. I still miss my people, but things are good today. I wanna see Britt’s hair!
The view that I have on the port side of the ship right now is pretty amazing. There are at least five mosques in view, all with minarets tower over a dome; some are adore in gold and some in red brick. After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, I got myself ready to head to the Byzantine side of Istanbul.
Our guide’s name is Serif. I believe that’s how it’s spelled though it’s pronounced Sheríff. He told us it’s a holy day today so the traffic won’t be as bad. I hope to see some of the Sufi mystic dancers who wear white cloaks and spin in circles which puts them in some kind of spiritual dance.
It’s amazing to me these buildings we’re seeing were looted by the crusaders in the 4th century. So many the things we learn about in elementary school about world history are in this area of the world. A Greek man name Byzas was the first person to historically discover this area naming it after himself - Byzantine.
We’re in another 4th century church, the Chora church, it’s one of the last imperial churches. Our guide just explain that he’s standing on the belly of the church, where it is believe that the light of life come. Life comes from our belly. In the western form of Christianity, Jesus is always suffering; there are many mosaics on the eastern side of the world showing him as the ruler of the universe. An angel of 6 wings is called a cherifing. They cover their bodies with their wings and only show their face because they will blind you with their body of light.
It’s amazing how all the stories are the same between religions. Yet people have fought and killed and pillaged in the name of “their” god. It’s all the same. It’s the never ending energy of the universe. It’s all love. Now if only people would believe in their own religion. But in all seriousness, there is an energy in here. Once in this building observing these magnificent ancient mosaics, I feel a lightness in me. I don’t know the stories I’m seeing in this art, but I know why they were told. No matter what you believe, if your mind is open you’ll find yourself amazed at the magnificence of history. The shiny pieces that you’ll see in pictures are the mosaics while the matte ones are called frescas. Those are where they paint over a clay like texture.
Truthfully, I love religion because of the inspiration it has brought to people all over the world. Sometimes the inspiration breeds ugly, but when it breeds beauty like the art preserved in these walls you can’t argue that it bring light to this world.
A lesson in language: to say thank you, you combine tea-sugar-a dream. Now say that very fast.
Next is Hagia Sofia, one of the main churches in historic Istanbul. Miranda learned about this church in world history in high school and has wanted to see it since. On the outside it’s similar to many of the buildings we’ve seen in the area. Once inside, the ceilings are tall and the entire ceiling was covered in 18 karat gold. Most of it has disappeared or faded but it still looks amazing. There are a ton of chandeliers that have tons of lights. The chandeliers have the star of David put by the most powerful sultan, a Muslim, in the 16th century. There are circles with Arabic writing on them that signify the names of the prophets of the Muslims.
I really like our guide. He’s explaining certain characters in the Muslim religion as being the same as in other religions. They accept Jesus as the son of god but that Allah is the only god. He gets it. It’s about peace and love. A lady from the US walks up and starts arguing that Jesus says that god and him are one and the same and is annoyed that he won’t agree. She’s an older woman. What she doesn’t realize, because she was told (or taught), is that all of us are one and the same. The guide, her, the Muslim with a headwrap next to us, the christian, myself as an agnostic, Jesus, Mary, all of us. We are all one and the same.
So many worlds have converged here. There is a monument with Egyptian hieroglyphics on them. It’s looks like the Washington monument. A really funny thing just happened. There are so many people trying to sell us things. They shove them in our faces and as I was writing what is above, a pretzel was shoved in my face. I instinctively put my hand up and said no thank you thinking it was another salesman. Then I look up to see my dad offering me the food. I laughed hysterically. Maybe you had to be here…
The square where the Egyptian monument is called the hippodrome. The middle of the square used to be a lot lower and the outer ring was a racetrack where horse races where held.
Now we’re back on the bus and on our way back to the Grand Bazaar! I hope I don’t see the man that I said I’d call last night. Haha I just wanted him to let me out of his shop! Yes, I have tattoos and blue eyes but I will not have sex with you. My dad brought us roasted chestnuts! They were really soft and yummy. I’m hungry for lunch.
Back to the carpet and jewelry shops! We quickly used the restroom and escaped!
Alyssa, Miranda and mom found the Turkish bath that Alyssa was very much longing for. She heard good things from Sonia and decided to go for it. They went there at about 12:30 and we had a 2p call time. We told them we’d meet them there at 2p or see them at the ship. Thomas, dad and I then went to see the spice bazaar. After going around in a circle we found our way down a steep hill. Once at the bottom of that hill we found the spice bazaar which is more of a greenhouse type of place where you buy tomatoes and such. There were also a few interesting items like leeches, chickens and puppies for sale. We hiked back up that hill (whew!) and found a gyros stand where we grabbed a quick bite and some ice cream bars for our sweaty heads. We got on the bus without the girls and headed back to the ship.
Once back, Thomas decided to head in and we decided to go on what wound up as a wild goose chase to find the Galata Tower. It was first a tower for shipping monitoring in the 6th century. Then in the 15th century the ottomans converted it to a prison. Finally in the 18th century it became a firewatch tower. Now it’s a tourist attraction. We’re in the elevator now; headed to what is claimed as an unmissable view. My knees hurt like crazy from all the walking but I want to see this and kick it with dad for awhile. On the way here we walked through a very busy street that seemed without tourists at all. There were a lot of shops most of them Turkish but of course a few Starbucks. After asking a few people, and finally an American here studying architecture, we found the tower.
We made it to the top and it’s absolutely splendid. There is a very narrow 360 walk way we walked around to see all of Istanbul. It’s a marvelous site to see. After making our round we decided to go to the restaurant on the same level and have a beer. We got a window seat so we can see the city and observe all the people as they walk around. It’s nice to get off my knees for a but and let them rest. I took IBU about an hour ago. I think it helped a but didn’t subside the pain completely. It’s a nice refreshment before making the trek back to the boat. Probably two miles total. We’ll see how the knees feel then. Luckily, I have my spa treatment tonight! Perfect timing.
The walk back was much more sedate than the walk there. We arrived and took a half hour nap. After a shower we headed to dinner. Then later I get a massage! My neck hurts. My shoulder hurts. My feet hurt. The timing, I’ll say again is perfect. Love love love how the timing works out sometimes.
Oh man! That was really awesome! Scalp massage, feet massage, she rubbed my knees and gave me some advice on a helpful ointment for my knees. The facial was really relaxing and the full body was incredible. Lourdes is her name. She’s from the Philippines, has a 16 and an 18 yrs old son. She said the lifestyle is hard because of her family but she enjoys it. I really like her a lot. :)
I thought about going to the copycat game show but was too relaxed to move. So I played guitar for a bit before Miranda and dad came in the room and told me about the comedy show they had just come from. Miranda then went to her room, I read for a bit and then went to sleep.
