Sightseeing

A Visit to the Roman Ruins of Ephesus

December 30, 2012
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We visited Ephesus on a dreary rainy day, yet it was still spectacular to see where and how people lived more than 3000 years ago.

We were lucky in that our hotel offered free rides to and from the ruins, including instructions to go to a specific vendor’s stall at the exit to have them call for a pick up. We were dropped at the top entrance gate and walked down through the site to the bottom gate. I believe you can enter at either side. Both entrances have restrooms, but there are no restrooms or water or anything sold in the middle of the site. There are food stalls at the bottom gate.

At the time of our visit, the entrance fee was 20 TL (about $11 ). In addition, we opted for both the audio tour ( at 10TL each, not worth it as the explanation and language quality were

horrible) and extra 15 TL to visit to the current excavation of the Terrace Houses (worth every extra lira) which thankfully was covered and allowed us to walk around without the hindrance of umbrellas.

I wish I’d seen these references before our trip and I would have opted out of the rented audio tour:

Rick Steves podcast audio tour of Ephesus

Planning a DIY tour of Ephesus

Before you head to the ruins, you might want to check out the museum in town.

 

At the entrance there was this introductory sign:

 

Walking down the main street toward the Library…

 

Inside the terrace houses which are being painstakingly reassembled:

 

 

 

 

 

ephesusJenga

 

Jenga!

There are two amphitheaters and they still have surprising acoustics. In fact, we recorded people spontaneously singing. Watch the video here:

 

Sheep! On the hillside above the ruins.

Of course there …

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The Other Side of Istanbul; Istiklal Caddesi, Galata Tower, Beyoglu

October 1, 2012
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There’s more to Istanbul than the old quarter’s Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Take just a short walk across the Galata bridge and find another, more modern world.

Don’t be tempted to power walk across the Galeta Bridge. Take your time, slow down, and look around, there’s a whole lot going on along the way. Restaurants line the bridge on a lower level and up top, there are almost always a group of men standing, smoking and fishing.

 

 

Once you’re on the other side of the bridge, look  to your left and below you’ll see a fish market. If you have the time, head down there, take a look and maybe grab a fish sandwich or some fried anchovies.

At this point you have two choices; walk up to see the Galeta Tower or take the historic Funicular to Istiklal Caddesi.

Look up with your back to the bridge and you can’t miss the Galeta Tower which dates back to the 6th century. You’ll walk up some very picturesque, but steep and winding streets, before you get to the tower’s base. By the time we got there it was late (ok, we were winded) so we didn’t climb the tower for the view.

 

 

Another option, instead of walking up the hill, is to take the funicular up to Istiklal Caddessi, Istanbul’s main pedestrian shopping street. The entrance to the funicular is down by the fish market at Karakoy, so taking it will bypass the Galeta Tower. Built in 1875 by the French, it’s worth it to take once, of only to see the beautiful tile work and ride in the historic underground railway.

Once at the top, head out of the funicular station to your right and you’ll be on Istiklal Caddesi which …

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Riding the Ferries in Istanbul and a Bosphorus Cruise

September 11, 2012
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One of the best parts of hanging out in Istanbul is riding the ferries to get from one part of the city to another. Where else in the world can you go from one continent to another, still be in the same city, and not even need a passport? This is just one of the many things that make Istanbul so special.

The Commuter Ferry

There are many options for getting on the water in Istanbul. The first is to simply spend 2TL and get on one of the many daily commuter ferries which shuttle kids to school, the local population to and from work, and tourists to the various sights around the city. Think of it as a big bus on the water.

On one of our days in Istanbul, we took the ferry from Karakoy to Kadikoy to check out the food market there (this is the trip which took us from Europe to Asia in half an hour). We picked up the ferry on the Northeast side of the Galeta bridge and bought tickets from a machine at the dock. Along the way we were treated to excellent views of all of Istanbul including the distinctive domes and minarets of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia in Sultanhamet.

The ferry makes one stop at Haydarpasa train station on the way over, but did not stop here on the return. If I were to do it again, I would have gotten off here to check out this old train station, the terminus for trains coming from Eastern Turkey and points farther East. From there I would have walked over to Kadikoy. We tried to walk over there along the waterfront after lunch in the market, but it’s not possible to get all the way there that way and …

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Visiting the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul

July 30, 2012
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During the planning process for this trip I did a lot of reading, both online and in the DK Eyewitness Istanbul guidebook. I also discovered Rick Steves’ app which I downloaded to my phone and then listed his podcasts on Turkey (and Italy) in my car. I’ve never been a huge fan of Rick Steves’ books or TV shows, but I’ll admit I really enjoyed listening to the podcasts. On one of the podcasts he interviews the couple who wrote his Istanbul guidebook. One of the things which stayed with my from listening to that program was that Lale Aran said she thought the most beautiful mosque in Istanbul is the Suleymaniye Mosque. So of course, I made it a goal for to see if for myself while we were there.

We walked to the Mosque after walking through the Spice Market. While a part of the walk is uphill, it’s not difficult and we wandered though a neighborhood which sells (wholesale) all the trinkets sold in the tourist areas (note, this is a great place to buy a set of 10 key chains for the same cost as 1 or 2 in the grand Bazaar, but more on this in a later post). I believe this street is called Uzuncarsi Caddesi, and if you stay on it, it will take you right to the Grand Bazaar.

We arrived late in the afternoon, right as the call to prayer was happening. View the video to hear the call to prayer and see the outside of the mosque where the fountains are for ablutions.

We checked out the courtyard and then entered the mosque from the main entrance as there was not separate visitor’s entrance.

Suleymaniye Mosque

It really is stunning inside. Built between 1550 and 1557, the mosque is a memorial to …

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A Visit to Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace and Harem

July 24, 2012
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Visiting the Topkapi Palace is like peeling back the layers of an onion. No, wait. It’s more like one of those Russian dolls, with one inside of another getting progressively smaller. Ok, sort of but not really, but you get my point, don’t you?

Most people enter through the Imperial Gate which is located behind and to the right of the Hagia Sofia. You then walk through the walled exterior palace grounds until you reach the ticket booth and along the way pass by the Hagia Eirene and the Archaeological Museum. At the time we went, admission tickets were 25TL per person.

The next layer peels back after passing through the crenelated Gate of Salutations which looks straight out of Disney movie. Be forewarned, you must go through airline style security to get inside (bags are x-rayed).

Once inside there’s a large grassy area and a number of pavilions and buildings. Many of the pavilions have been turned into exhibit rooms showing items from the Sultan’s treasury as well as imperial clothing and the Sultan’s arms and armor (this exhibit was particularly well designed).

While I enjoyed seeing all the bejewled and bedazzled kaftans, scabbards, even a baby’s crib, I was particularly fascinated by the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle which holds many holy relics of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed’s mantle. Twenty four hours a day there are holy men chanting the words of the Koran over the mantle through a microphone. Unfortunately none of these exhibits allowed photographs inside.

After visiting most of the exhibits, we headed for the Harem which requires a separate admission fee of 15TL at the time of our visit. Fortunately, with the price of admission, photographs are allowed inside.

The first thing you will learn when reading about the Harem is that “harem” means “forbidden” in Arabic and that the …

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Visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Turkey; Tips and Photos

July 9, 2012
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Determined to make the most of our sightseeing time while staying in Sultanahmet, we made sure to visit the Blue Mosque on one of our days there. Like the Hagia Sofia, the Topkapi Palace, and the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque is on just about every tour and must-see list of the city and there’s a good reason why; it’s flippin’ magnificent.

The dome or the minarets can be seen from just about anywhere in the area. The entrance to the courtyard in front of the mosque is through the Hippodrome, once a giant Roman stadium, now a public square.

Blue Mosque

Non Muslim visitors are asked to enter the mosque not through the entrance inside the courtyard, but from one outside and on the right. Women are asked to cover their heads (scarves are provided) and everyone is asked to remove their shoes at the entrance. Plastic bags are provided for your shoes, but they’re tiny.

Tip #1: Bring one of those lightweight reusable shopping bags, the kind which fold up into about a 1″x2″ pouch, to slip your shoes into (wish I’d thought of this before going). The bags they gave us were small and broke easily. We could have used the reusable bags when visiting other mosques as well.

There is a large central area in the front of the mosque reserved for men’s prayers and tourists are asked not to walk through there. In the back of the mosque, behind carved wood screens is the women’s area. The visitors area is in the back, in front of the women’s space, and visitors are allowed to sit on the floor or walk through.

Tip #2: Don’t just walk through quickly, especially if you are there during prayer time. Take a seat on the carpet, listen to the Imam chant, and …

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Visiting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)

June 28, 2012
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Walking through the giant entrance doors is both humbling and breathtaking. There is a crumbling faded beauty here. Along with the peeling paint and missing mosaic tiles, there are graceful arches, intricate wood carvings and ironwork, and sunlight filtered through high windows. Close your eyes and imagine the electric bulbs suspended from the ceiling were once thousands of candles.

From the outside it’s easy to confuse the Hagia Sophia with just another mosque in a city which has hundreds. There’s a big dome and minarets flanking the four corners, but walk inside and it’s another story all together. In fact, many times I found myself looking at the skyline from a distance and wondering …”which is which?”

The Hagia Sophia was first a christian church built mostly as it stands now, giant dome and all, in the sixth century. When the Ottomans took over in the 15th century it was converted to a mosque, complete with minarets and changing the orientation of the apse to face Mecca.

Now, both the church and the mosque have been deconsecrated and the building is a museum open to the public Tuesday-Sunday, check for summer/winter hours and admission prices.

It’s hard to gain perspective on the center dome from photos, but from the floor to the top of the dome is 184 feet. Keep in mind this was built in 537 AD, long before the likes of St Peter’s in Rome.

The photo above shows the mihrab, placed offset at the end of the apse, indicating the exact direction of Mecca. They could not change the orientation of the church when it was converted into a mosque which is why the mihrab is not symmetrical to the rest of the structure.

Upstairs in the gallery are a number of mosaics. We went in search of one listed as “Emperor …

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Santa Cecilia in Rome; A Surprise Under the Church

May 2, 2012
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I’m just going to say this up front; this was the last thing we did and probably my favorite experience of the trip. And it’s a little odd that it has nothing to do with food, right?

We arrived at Santa Cecila to find it closed for a mid day break. My tip; get there when they open in the morning, or after mid day break and head right for the crypt. There were a couple of dozen people waiting, some clearly part of a tour group, when a nun in full habit arrived to open the locked doors to the church from within. We were there to see the crypt and headed there as soon as we entered the church.

The entrance is inside the tiny gift shop to the left as you go through the front doors. There is a small fee for seeing the crypt. I paid the nun and she handed me a heavy key and spoke to me in Italian. I didn’t quite understand what it was for, but I figured we had to unlock the door to enter and that I’d bring her the key right back.

It is said that Saint Cecilia was an aristocrat and an early Christian who was martyred in her home in AD 230. The church which stands in Trastevere today is built on top of that home which was used in her time as a secret place of worship. The remains of a tannery can also be seen in the area beneath the church. The first church on this site was founded in the 4th century and the present church was first built in the 9th century. Cecilia’s remains and those of her husband and his brothers were moved here from the catacombs of San Callisto. When her …

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