THIS PAST WEEKEND, I DECIDED TO VENTURE INTO THE CITY ALL BY MY SELF. ITS NOT THAT BEFORE I WAS AFRAID; RATHER, USUALLY PEOPLE WANTED TO COME SO WE MADE A DAY OF IT. SOME OF MY FRIENDS WERE AWAY THIS WEEKEND SO I DECIDED I WANTED TO GO PLACES ON MY OWN—AND DO A LOT OF GIFT SHOPPING! WELL I CERTAINLY SUCCEEDED. I WOKE UP EARLY, CAUGHT THE DOLMUS TO SARIYER. FROM THERE I TOOK WHATEVER BUS CAME FIRST, WHICH HAPPENED TO BE THE SEA BUS, SO IT TOOK A WHILE BUT I DIDN’T MIND. I HAD NOT CONCRETE TIMEFRAME FOR MY DAYS ADVENTURES. I WITNESSED A TIFF BETWEEN TWO ELDERLY LADIES. WE WERE SITTING ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER, IN A PLACE WITH FOUR PASSENGERS. ONE LADY DID NOT WANT TO WINDOW OPEN BECAUSE IT WAS TOO COLD ON HER EARS [ IT WAS SO HOT, WE WERE ALL SWEATING] SO EVENTUALLY THE OTHER LADY OPENED THE WINDOW AND THEY WENT AT IT. IT ENDED WITH ME BEING TOLD TO OPEN THE WINDOW, I DID SO ON THE REQUEST OF THE LADY SITTING NEXT TO ME. I GUESS I PROBABLY WAS HESITANT BECAUSE I WASN’T SURE WHAT SHE WAS ASKING ME AS WELL AS I KNEW IT MIGHT CAUSE PROBLEMS. ANYWAY, THE LADY THEN ASKED IF I WAS TURKISH, I SAID NO AND WE HAD A GOOD CONVERSATION IN ENGLISH!
I GOT OFF AT KABATAS AND CAUGHT THE TRAM TO SULTANAHMET. FROM THERE, I WALKED TO THE TURKISH AND ISLAMIC ART MUSEUM. I SAW SOME REALLY HUGE, OLD CARPETS FROM THE 15TH CENTURY. THERE WAS A LOT OF ARTIFACTS CLAIMING TO BE FROM THE PROPHET ISSAC, ABRAHAM, AND MOSES. THE MOST INTERESTING PART WAS THE VARIOUS QUR’AN BOOKS THAT WERE SO DETAILED AND COLORFUL AND THE HUGE CARPETS. THE LAY OUT OF THE MUSEUM WAS GREAT, AS THERE WERE ROOMS OF JUST HANGING CARPETS. BEFORE TURKEY, CARPETS NEVER EQUALED A WORK OF ART--THAT HAS DEFINITELY CHANGED! THERE WAS AN ENTIRE EXHIBIT ON THE BOOKS OF QUR’AN. IT WAS FASCINATING AND GORGEOUS WORKS OF ART!
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| DETAIL OF A QUR'AN |
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| ONE OF MANY ROOMS OF CARPETS |
AFTER THE MUSEUM, I WALKED A LITTLE, CHECKED OUT TOURISTY SHOPS, BOUGHT A SIMIT [PRETZEL LIKE STREET FOOD] AND WALKED TO TOPKAPI PALACE. IT IS KNOWN FOR ITS LOCATION, OVERLOOKING THE BOSPORUS YET INCORPORATED BY THE TERRAIN OF THE AREA. THE TILE WORK WAS JUST OVERWHELMING. [I RUN OUT OF WORDS TO DESCRIBE SOME OF THE ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECES HERE IN ISTANBUL, BUT REALLY ‘AMAZING’ AND ‘WONDERFUL.’] THE STABLE ROOMS WHO FULL OF JEWELS, CLOTHING, AND JEWELED SWORDS, ETC. I HAD NEVER SEEN SO MUCH JEWELED THINGS IN ONE PLACE AT ONE TIME. TO BE FRANK, IT WAS A BIT RIDICULOUS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SO MUCH WEALTH NEEDS TO EVER BEEN CONCENTRATED WITHIN A SINGLE SULTAN'S POSSESSIONS.
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| INTERIOR OF BAGHDAD PAVILION |
I WENT INTO THE HAREM WHICH LET ME SEE THE BEDROOM, BATHES, LIVING QUARTERS, AND CONCUBINES’ AREA OF THE SULTAN. IT WAS PRETTY NEAT. HOWEVER, I LIKED THE GENERAL AREA MORE. THE VIEW OVER THE CITY WAS AMAZING. I HAD LEARNED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BAGHDAD PAVILION AND THE CIRCUMCISION ROOMS. THE CHAPEL-LIKE AREAS WERE SO ORNATE AND DETAIL ORIENTATED.
BELOW ARE SOME PICTURES TO SHOW THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL EACH ASPECT OF THIS PALACE INCORPORATED... DIFFERENT DESIGNS ARE JUXTAPOSED TOGETHER AND SOMEHOW THE PRESENTATION IS STILL A GORGEOUS SIGHT.
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| COURTYARD IN THE HAREM QUARTERS |
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| HALLWAY IN THE HAREM |
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| DIFFERENT TILE PATTERNS |
I LOVED TOPKAPI PALACE. AFTER LEAVING THE PALACE, I WAS PRETTY EXHAUSTED. I DID A LITTLE MORE GIFT-SHOPPING. I WENT TO TAKSIM AND THEN CAUGHT A BUS BACK TO SARIYER. ONCE I GOT BACK TO KOC UNIVERSITY, I FELL RIGHT ASLEEP.
ON SATURDAY, I VENTURED BACK INTO THE CITY WITH A FRIEND TO MEET UP WITH SOME PEOPLE MY PARENTS AND ANDA MET WHILE HERE. THE LADY SHOWED US ALL AROUND THE GRAND BAZAAR...TO "TANIA'S PLACE" THAT GIVE US THE BEST DEAL. IT WAS FUN TO HAVE A GOOD TOUR OF THE PLACE. I SAW HOW CARPETS ARE SOLD...AND FOUND A LOT OF CUTE SHOPS THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER FOUND ON MY OWN. WE GRAND BAZAAR'ED ALL DAY. BELOW ARE PICTURES. IT WAS OVERWHELMING AT TIMES, EXHAUSTING, YET FUN!
ITS WAS ALL CRAZY. BAZAAR. I LOVED IT THOUGH. I DIDN'T BUY MUCH BECAUSE LIKE I'VE SAID BEFORE, IT IS A TOURIST TRAP BUT ITS UNFORGETTABLE PLACE.
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