Making Memories: Istanbul – A Crowning Glory for a Marvelous Cruise
Confession, the photo book pages above took me entirely too long to create. I did it all free hand without a template and it took me hours. It didn’t bother me though, because I wanted to do something spectacular for my favorite city of the cruise. We saw three amazing sights on our tour. Come along to the first (and the best in my opinion!)
A Morning with a Slow Start
This being our last day on the cruise, I knew the crew would want to come by and pick up our luggage around 10 PM. In my head, we were going for a quick sit-down breakfast and then I’d get most everything packed up. Well, that’s not what happened. At breakfast we sat next to a delightful British couple. He was an attorney and she was a hoot. She’d say just about anything and he’d try to dial her back, but instead she’d top it with something even more outrageous. I was in stitches and if we knew more about British politics and current fads, I am sure it would have been even funnier.
So, we lingered over breakfast and there went my packing opportunity. We did go by the business center and tried to get our boarding passes printed out. Technology was NOT cooperating with me. I got the boarding passes digitally and checked our luggage, but that meant we had to trust our phones and quite frankly, I don’t.
Wonder Upon Wonder
I was prepared to love Topkapi Palace. I just had NO idea how much I would. Our guide was great – on par with the beloved Maria we had in Athens. He gave us just enough information on the bus to keep it interesting without droning on and on and on.
The bus ride took us from the port to the Old Town and then took a walk to the Palace. I’m not sure how much to share. I want to tell you everything, but I don’t want to wear you out. Topkapi Palace gorgeous, for one thing. Of course, I love Ottoman architecture and my eyes were feasting on some of the best. The outer courtyard, where the public once wandered was lovely, but inside, by the sea, the scenery was jaw dropping.
I was trying to soak in everything I saw, take photos and listen to our guide. When he said the palace contained several museums and libraries, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I immediately wanted to start going through them, but he asked us to stay with him until he gave us our free time.
The Treasury and The Museum of Clothing
As soon as our guide declared it was free time, I made a beeline for The Treasury. Who wouldn’t want to see one of the largest diamonds in the world, but that was just one of the gorgeous treats we were in for. I was torn, I wanted to linger in front of every case for a long time and line up the perfect shots with my good camera. Well, I didn’t have time to linger and about halfway through my camera reminded me I should have recharged it somewhere along the way, so I was stuck with my phone. Bill prefer to take pictures with his phone, but I want a real camera, so I felt pretty stupid when it just died on me.
So, my memories of these wonderful sites is me almost running through the museums snapping photos of anything that wasn’t moving. Some part of my brain registered what I was looking at, but I didn’t really get to appreciate it until I was home, putting together these pages.
I was gobsmacked by most of what I saw in the Treasury, but I had three more museums, so I moved as fast as I could on to the Clothing Museum. Oh the colors, the textures and the handiwork on each item. I longed to stop and meditate on each gown or uniform, but though I did have several moments in front of each case, none of the moments were long enough to satisfy me.
I was ready to move on to the kitchen museum, but Bill slowed me down and rightly so. There was a beautiful promenade along the waters of the Golden Horn. We could see Galata Tower in the distance and the port, where our ship was docked. Then we strolled over to the residences. He was right to slow me down and make me see all the gorgeous things around me, but I was on a mission!
The Imperial Council and The Kitchen Museum
Next we headed over to the Imperial Council Rooms. There wasn’t much in the way of artifacts in this area, but the rooms themselves were opulent and beautiful. They also weren’t very big, so I guess the Sultan chose not to include a lot of people in his decision-making.
The Kitchen Museum was of particular interest to me. My favorite part of any museum is Decorative Arts and of Decorative Arts, I love porcelain most of all. With the breakage that goes on in a kitchen, I’m not surprised there wasn’t very many examples of porcelain to see, but I was delighted by the huge cooking pots and storage vessels they had. Not much to look at, because they had virtually no ornamentation, something that surprised me in a Sultan’s palace, but the size suggested just how many people there were feeding.
Time to Go
Much too soon, as far as I was concerned, it was time to regroup and go to the next attraction. I hope I can go back some day and if I do, Topkapi Palace gets a whole day. I didn’t see any of the libraries and there was a special exhibition of watches that I merely passed on my way to the exit. It hurt like pulling teeth with out Novocain. And then there was my camera, which needed charging. I love to travel, but it’s always something!
I’ve talked about the cats, almost all the places we’ve visited. There weren’t as many at the palace as there had been other places, but one of them fell in love with me. While I have a cat I dearly love, I am not a cat person and cats are not drawn to me. Bill is the cat whisperer.
However, when I sat down on a curb to wait for our guide, this black and white cat made a beeline for me and crawled into my lap. He wanted to crawl all over me, but his bottom was wet from the grass and puddles so I definitely didn’t want him all over me. I was glad for my trusty old cape that protects me from the elements. It just so happened this element had fur! Bill was trying to get a little of his attention and the cat was having none of it. I was his new person and he was holding on for dear life.
I have no idea what drew him to me, but draw it did and we had a hard time untangling him so I could stand up and walk away! Our next stop is the famous Blue Mosque, considered by many to be the most beautiful of all. Come join us next week.
