I highly recommend Turkish Airlines! They came around to do drinks like 6 or more times during the flight and you can even get any kind of alcohol you want for free. I had a Turkish red wine, which was good except it was too cold. They also gave us a menu before coming by with dinner, which was fancy. We each got a little kit with earplugs, lip balm, an eyemask, socks, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. So nice! It was definitely the most comfortable plane-sleeping experience I've ever had.
I got to Istanbul and took a shuttle my hostel offers to the hostel, which is in the old part of town on a cobblestone street with lots of other hostels very close to the Blue Mosque and other main attractions. All of the hostels on this street have a restaurant/pub on the street, with comfortable couches and tables and hookah, and then the hostel part is behind and above that.
I got about 5 or 6 hours of sleep last night, and then just couldn't sleep any longer due to jet lag. This morning, I woke up at 8, had breakfast at the hostel (during which the hostel workers pegged me as a German high schooler... no, wrong on all accounts) and headed off to the Blue Mosque. It's free because it's still used for prayer 5 times a day (yes!) and very beautiful. I had to wear a head scarf and everyone took off their shoes. The mosque is called "Blue" because of the tiles on the inside. It's ornate and beautiful and also very symmetrical. I've seen more ornate cathedrals but it was exciting to be in a mosque. I found it more open and simple in terms of floor plan than most cathedrals but with more detailed walls.
Next I walked through a connecting park to the Ayasofia (Hagia Sophia). This is a building that's got a Christian and Muslim past, having been used as a cathedral at times and a mosque at others. A building called the Hagia Sophia has stood on that ground since the 300s (THREE HUNDREDS!?!) and this is the third one, which has been there since 537. It only took about five and a half years to build (using 10,000 unskilled workers, which I'm guessing is a gentle way of saying slaves) and it is remarkable. Giant gold panels showing words from the Koran, intricate mosaics showing Christ and other Christian figures from the 10th century, beautiful old marble and other stones. It's great. I think maybe better than the Blue Mosque.
After that I went back to the hostel to change shoes and then decided to go check out a part of town that my cousin Austin told me was cool when he was here a few days ago. I chose to take the tram instead of walk all of the way, so I bought a token and got on. I found a seat and was pretty proud of myself for figuring it all out. We got to the third stop and the doors opened on the side facing the track instead of the platform. "That's kind of weird and dangerous," I thought to myself while I sat there (I was going two more stops before getting off.) A man came over to me, gestured, and said something in Turkish. I assumed he said something like, "this stop has major tourist attractions, you should get off!" so I just stayed put, thinking, "little does he know how cool I am going to a not-as-touristy part of town." The doors closed, and the tram started going BACK the direction we had already come!!! It became clear to me that the man had really said, "you need to get off and get on another tram going the right way." I went back to the previous stop and got on the right tram. If only I understood Turkish!
I went to that part of town and walked up and down some BIG hills going to little shops. I decided to stop for an authentic Turkish coffee but after sitting down I noticed the place was playing country music. I'm pretty sure the coffee was still authentic but not necessarily the place locals would go. It was great to see this part of town, which definitely has more locals living in it than the area where the hostels are. It looked a lot like other European neighborhoods with narrow streets and small shops.
I took the tram back and wandered around poorly-marked streets until I found the spice bazaar. I was sort of looking for a tapestry and some incense for my place in Spain, but it just goes to show how ignorant I am of Turkish culture: there was none of that. There were tons of spices used for cooking and tea, but no incense, and plenty of scarves but no tapestries. I bought some tea and Turkish delight and moved on.
Next I went to the Topkapi Palace. This place is massive. I got the audio tour, which I'm pretty sure was a voice thing like Siri (though male) reading a direct translation of the Turkish tour. Not the greatest audio tour in the world, but somewhat informative! The palace is covered head to toe in ceramic tiles, mostly shades of blue. It's beautiful, and has great views of the other parts of Istanbul over the water. I found the harem especially interesting, where all of the Sultan's women lived. The palace was super crowded and I got very weary walking around its many acres, so after listening to all of the audio tours and seeing the whole thing (~2.5 hours) I left.
Now I'm just back at the hostel relaxing! I've seen the big things I wanted to see here and spent more Turkish Lira than I had planned. Tonight I'll try to find some cheap food and go to bed early because I fly to Madrid tomorrow at 7:30am!
Good for you Clara! Doing all that on your own and on your first day of the BIG adventure. XO Aunt Anne
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