Tag: Turkey

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, Memory Keeping, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: THIS COULD BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING ON EARTH

Our second attraction in Istanbul is one of the most beautiful man-made places I have ever been on earth. Since I’ve been home people have said, “Oh you should have gone to Hagia Sophia,” or “Why didn’t you see the Suleiman Mosque?” Well, the short answer is this mosque is the one on the tour I thought would allow me to get the best taste of Istanbul in one day. Another answer is that I can’t imagine anywhere on earth being any more beautiful. Come along with me!

The Transition from Palace to Mosque

Like Lot’s wife being led from Sodom, I looked back over my shoulder wishing to linger longer at Topkapi Palace. Thankfully, there was no chance of becoming a Pillar of Salt, but if I’d have known where I was headed, I wouldn’t have been reluctant at all.

Istanbul’s Old Town holds many remarkable sights and there are only a few steps apart. Hagia Sophia was right outside Topkapi, but it is hidden by all the scaffolding. I would like to go someday, but I was glad we had another destination.

The plaza connecting all of these wonderful sights is pretty marvelous on its own. It truly is a melting pot of tourists and natives. You see everything! Youngsters with e-cigs and senior citizens gathered around a hookah. Some people look down checking their phone for updates, while others gaze into the blue sky as if no updates are needed. Some heads are covered in the traditional hajibs, others let their hair blow in the wind. I was still trying to stuff all the things I’d just seen into my memory, but couldn’t help notice the lives being lived around me.

Awe and Wonder

Then we had to go get in a line to enter the mosque. Ever since I first booked this shore excursion I had known I needed to have an appropriate head covering to go into the mosque and if I didn’t have it, they’d give me one of theirs to wear. Well, I packed several options, but did I bring them with me? Of course not, but in my tote bag was a wind breaker I brought along, just in case the weather got to wet or windy for my cape. Even as I was panicking over forgetting a head scarf, some reasonable part of me was saying, your windbreaker has a hood that can be unzipped. I dug around in my tote bag, unzipped the hood from my windbreaker, stuffed all my hair up under it and tied it under my chin.

I think I must have looked pretty ridiculous, but I passed the inspection. That’s part of the reason there are no photos of me inside the mosque.

After the head covering inspection, our guide trotted off and we followed him like ducklings. He gave us the run down of what we were going to see, how to behave in the mosque and also a set of instructions for when and where to meet after we’d seen the mosque, but Bill and I heard two different things, both of which turned out to be wrong – but we wouldn’t know that until later.

I’ve been to beautiful places in my life, all around the world, some designed by the Creator and others designed by his Creation and I honestly believe this was the most beautiful one I’d ever seen created by Man. I’m not going to try to describe it. The photos were took are quite good, but nothing compares to standing there inside the mosque.

The huge dome is divided into two parts. About a third of the domed area is reserved for infidels, like us, to gawk at the majesty of the building’s interior. I’m one infidel who is very grateful they let us in, at all. The faithful are invited to the other two thirds for prayer and worship.

Panic and Relief

So, the time was drawing nigh for us to meet our group and go to the Grand Bazaar. I went to the far edge of the tourist section which was opposite where we came in. I thought I had arrived. Bill was sure we were supposed to meet on the other side of the security area, where you put back on your shoes. Neither one of us knew anything about a courtyard.

No one from our group was gathering where I thought they should be, so Bill dragged me through security, but we didn’t see anyone there either. We stepped out on a large porch area and still saw no one. We were close to the courtyard, but no one that we saw was holding up a Viking sign. I convinced Bill to re-enter the mosque which was a big no-no. Thankfully, he speaks Arabic and made a big fuss about his spouse waiting for him inside the mosque.

While he was fighting that battle, I saw our guide heading towards me, obviously afraid he’d lost his some of his tourists. He wanted me to go join the others and I freaked out about leaving the last place I’d seen Bill. The guide said it was impossible to go back into the mosque from where we were, so Bill must have gone somewhere else, but obviously, he didn’t know Bill. Impossible doesn’t exist in his world. About that time Bill came back through and the problem was resolved, but both Bill and I were a little rattled. Between the two of us, one or the other usually gets it right. The fact that we had both missed it completely and were almost lost in Istanbul on the last day of the cruise, well that was not good.

From the mosque, we had to board the bus again to get to the Grand Bazaar. Come join me for our last adventure next week.

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Fashion, Gardens, International, Libraries, Memory Keeping, Museums, Photography, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace

Jane Sadek

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.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Memory Keeping, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Troy – Legends, Archeology and Movies

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: DID HEROES BATTLE IN TROY?

We’re cruising through the world of the Ancient Aegeans. Together we’ve strolled through the Acropolis with Ancient Athenians, marveled at Mycenean artifacts on Crete, followed the footsteps of Crusaders on Rhodes, celebrated the flowering of Roman Architecture in Ephesus and our boat is about to dock in the port city of Canakkale so we can go to Ancient Troy. Even though I did all these things and have all these photos to prove it, its still somewhat unbelievable. Come lets add another legend to our belt!

Trekking in Luxury

My hat’s off to all of those who did the dirty work to make this trip possible. I can’t even imagine all the blood, sweat and toil that went into the development, the rediscovery and maintenance it takes to keep all these wonderful places available to casual tourist like me. For century upon century, Troy was merely a legend, a fun story passed down through the ages. Then they found it with perseverance and hard work.

My day in Troy began at a breakfast table in The Restaurant aboard Viking Vela. They served me hot cocoa, fruit, sausage and a well done fried egg. From there, Bill and I relaxed in the spa, letting the water, steam and heat melt away the trials of traveling. It is lots of fun, but it does wear you out.

At 12:30 PM we reported to our tour bus and initially I thought we’d done all right in the guide department. Handsome Arab, beautiful English and he actually spoke with inflections in his voice, something the Ephesus guide hadn’t used, which added to the frustration of trying to listen to her. We were almost to the ruins of Troy and he had us on the edge of our seats as he detailed the battle among heroes and suddenly he’d drifted off to some agricultural report on the land that has filled in what was once the port of Troy – the location of these legends.

This was his distinctive guide dialog. Reel them in with legends and them bore them to death with data. Though I never turned off my audio pack, my brain did tend to tune him out from time to time. It’s a good thing I am familiar with both the legends of Troy, the rediscovery and excavations. He never did pick back up where he left off.

The Archeological Site of Troy

Unlike the Parthenon which stands proudly above Athens, marking the glory of Ancient Greece, Troy is more of jigsaw puzzle in the process of being put together. There’s not just one Troy. There’s Troy upon Troy upon Troy and the Troy of Helen and Paris is somehow woven between the layers. Unfortunately, what would probably be the richest area for artifacts of that era was destroyed when Heinrich Schliemann and Frank Calvert forced their way into the site, with little to no use of the careful methods of preservation archeologist use today. So about halfway through the site, when all we’d seen so far was partial walls and bits of sculpted columns, our guide pointed to a trench and said, “If there are artifacts to prove Homer’s story was true, they are lost in that trench and if we try to excavate, we’ll destroy them.” Great Heinrich and Frank. What were you thinking!

This is not a visually compelling site like the Acropolis or Ephesus. It’s a graveyard of carved stones. I’m glad I went, but I think Bill was somewhat bored. At the entrance was a replica of what someone thought the Trojan Horse might have looked like, but it was totally created out of imagination, because nothing tells us anything except it was made from wood.

We came, we wandered and we got back on the bus. There was one little group of cats at the entrance but that was about it. We had stopped for a potty break before starting our tour and the facilities were those holes you have to stand or squat over. So, when we returned to the bus, I had no interest in visiting again. I knew we’d stop in Cannakkale to see the prop made for the Brad Pitt movie, but I thought that would be very brief.

Free Time in Canakkale

So, if you’re a movie buff or Brad Pitt fan, you’re familiar with the movie, Troy. The Trojan Horse prop from it was given by the movie company to the city of Canakkale. I’m guessing that was probably the easiest and cheapest way for them to dispose of it, but the city has made the most of the donation. It sits on a square with a fountain in the city center, right by the water. Tour buses like ours drop off their load of tourists there and go a few blocks away to park.

I panicked when our guide told us we’d be there for 45 minutes and then walk to the bus which would take us to the port. I began to regret not stopping to squat above the primitive toilet at the archeological site. Bill jumped out and started taking photos. I chose to sit on the edge of the fountain and pray not to embarrass myself.

I can’t tell you how happy I was when the guide reappeared and we started toward the bus, but I had a very close call along the way. You know how cites put barricades up to keep cars from driving on sidewalks. Well, Canakkale has done that, but the short stele they use are only a little taller than my ankle and I didn’t see it. It caught my boot mid-stride and I almost tumbled, but as I regained my balance I also needed to regain control of my bladder. I was standing in the middle of the street and everyone was urging me on, but I just stood there until I was back in charge of all my parts.

Back on Board

I almost ran across the parking lot and onto the boat, trying hard not to be rude to personnel who needed me to scan my boarding card. Every other day I graciously received the warm towel being offered with tongs by a polite and smiling crew member. This day I nearly ran him over in my haste to get to the restroom!

There was one food venue we hadn’t made it to, yet, and this would be our last opportunity. Each day from 4-5, Viking serves tea in the Wintergarden. We were a few minutes late, but the ever gracious staff made room for us and served us up a mid-afternoon treat – only since most of it was pastries there were slim pickings for the gluten free among us, like me. Still, the beverage was nice and while I couldn’t eat any, Bill assured me the treats were quite nice.

We also made it to the history lecture – same boring guy, but he was talking about his favorite things, catapults and he was a lot more entertaining. After dinner in The Restaurant, there was a Beatles Songbook program, much like the Abba Songbook earlier in the cruise, and it was just ass much fun.

The next day we were going to Istanbul and that was my very favorite part of the cruise. I loved Athens, but there was an exotic air in Istanbul that made it more romantic than the temples on the Acropolis. Come back next week and enjoy it all with us.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Memory Keeping, Shore Excursions, TRAVEL

Ancient Ephesus with a Chatterbox Guide

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: THE PORT OF KUSADASI, GATEWAY TO ANCIENT EPHESUS

In ancient times, Ephesus itself was an important port on the Aegean Sea, but now the sea has pulled back and the sleepy little town of Kusadasi serves as the gateway to Roman Ephesus. Ephesus was also the home of Mary, the mother of Christ, and his disciple John, according to tradition, the occult and some archeology. Come with us as we explore these ancient sites for ourselves.

An Early Morning Tour

A good friend cruised the Aegean earlier in the year and she thought seeing Mary’s house was one of the highlights of her trip, so I booked that tour, even though it would mean an early departure from the ship, as we did in Athens. So, I was up before Bill and got my shower, ate my breakfast bar and got ready for the day. Bill was interested in breakfast, so we went to the World Cafe for him to browse the buffet and I took advantage of their Diet Coke to offset the one glass too many I’d enjoyed the night before.

We found our bus and were safely in our seats by the 8:30 departure, which did not happen right on time. The daughter portion of a mother/daughter duo showed up to make us wait for her mother. There’s always someone who can’t seem to make it on time. Lo and behold, it was the lady who got lost on Crete. Thankfully, once she made it to the bus that morning, there was no more drama.

When we got on the bus, the guide was talking and she never stopped. OK – she had instructions to give, though we’d already heard them for three days in a row, then she had to let us know what was delaying our departure and then she started giving us the tour highlights, but we got more than the highlights, we not only got lots of details ad nauseum, I began to notice that to keep up her constant chatter, she was also giving us her life history, including the in vitro origins of her twins. TMI, for sure!

Well, I listened the best I could, trying to ferret out the important stuff stuffed in between the life events of a Turkish mother of in vitro twins! Bill on the other hand turned off his headset and snoozed. As part of her ongoing dialog with herself, our guide was quite interested in acquainting us with the goods which would be available at the souvenir shop close to Mary’s House.

Now, according to her, you wanted to go to the open air shop, not to the shop inside the restaurant. The open air shop had the blessed plates and icons. Not all plates and icons were blessed in the shop, but our guide was happy to help you know the difference. She never told us blessed by who or blessed for what, but they were blessed and we needed them – according to her. Even though not blessed, the shop had other merchandise available and she gave us a good run down of those, but assured us she’s be available for assistance during our time at the site.

Visiting Mary’s House

I was all prepped for a truly spiritual experience. The group climbed off the bus and immediately split into two groups. One was all about the blessed platters and the other group headed down the sidewalk, past the souvenir shop, to the holy site.

I took the photo of the the Mary statue, passed by an area with folding chairs, where groups had special ceremonies, and there we were at Mary’s house. The guy next to me looked just like my handsome, sophisticated and extremely smart husband, but when he stepped inside the small building he became a loud mouth skeptic, pointing out all the reasons this couldn’t be where Mary lived. There went my spiritual experience. I had an urge to grab his ear and drag him out of the building, instead I grabbed him by the arm, shushed him and then drug him out the back door.

I wanted to die. Here these people had traveled from all over the world to see this edifice and my husband had just been a very ugly American using his outside voice. He was walking very cocky, like someone who’d just debunked an urban legend. I had to calm myself and breathe before I could even talk to him. So we used the restroom facilities.

When I finally felt as if I could talk to him reasonably in an appropriate tone of voice I asked, “Did you realize the building we went into was not actually the home that Mary lived in, but a recent construction built over the foundation, of what is believed to the real thing?” His answer was more of a snort than anything else, as if to point out how obvious it was that it wasn’t her real house, but after the snort, he kind of got a funny look on his face, as if he were getting clue that he might have missed something.

Then I asked if he’d listened to anything the guide had said about authenticating this location as the home of Mary. Well, then I got an earful of how ridiculous our guide was and of course, he didn’t listen to her. So I replied, “If you had listened, then you would have known…” and I went on to tell him the many reasons why it is generally accepted as Mary’s house by authorities of various disciplines, both historical and religious.”

His demeanor changed somewhat and I scolded him a bit for embarrassing me. I admonished him to either listen to the guides or keep his mouth shut in the future and we can discuss authenticity privately. I had to listen to a little more pushback, blaming his faux pas on the inadequacy of the guide, but he had gotten the message. He wondered if I wanted to go back and see the house again and I assured him I most certainly did not. I was too embarrassed.

So, we headed back towards the bus and there was our guide directing all the shoppers on the proper blessed plates to buy for their homes. While I had no interested in the plates, blessed or unblessed, there was a counter of crosses of various sizes and prices. Had I been alone, I would probably have bought several, along with a handful of the smallest ones, but Bill was in no mood for me to create any benefit for our guide, which certainly she gets if we buy anything or she would not have been as focused on selling us the blessed plates.

Our next stop was the Roman ruins of the port city of Ephesus and there were no doubts about its authenticity. Come back next week for a real treat!