Today is Monday, August 28, 2023. First and foremost, today is Aubrey’s birthday! She is now NINE! I hope that she is celebrated appropriately at school! Because her birthday falls so close to the beginning of the school year, it has happened that her birthday has been inadvertently overlooked. Hopefully, this year will be different for our Precious Aubrey.
Today, we are docked in Istanbul, Turkey! It is a hot, sunny day. People say that it isn’t actually all that hot but that it is the sun that makes it feel that way! Nevertheless, my body FELT hot today, as it did during our stay in Athens, Greece, when we visited the Parthenon and Delphi. Our bodies sweated a lot in response to the ambient temps, the physical activity, and, yes, probably our “fitness” level. So…. We walked TONS! I now have my first-for-this-trip BLISTER on my foot! Tomorrow, I shall wear gym shoes and socks when we get to port.
We went on an all-day excursion called, “The Best of Istanbul.” We were delighted to board an air-conditioned tour bus, only to learn that we would only stay on for about 15 minutes. We were visiting the highlights of Istanbul, and they happened to all be within walking distance of each other. So, we rode for 15 minutes, walked for several hours, and rode for about 15 minutes once again.
We saw the bridge that connects the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Haghia Sophia Cathedral, had a fancy Turkish lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel, which used to be a court house and prison, viewed the Golden Horn of Bosphorus Strait, watched a handmade Turkish rug “Kilim” demonstration, where we were “treated as guests” and served delicious, very hot, Turkish apple tea (in a small glass), walked a small segment of the Grand Bazaar, and passed the Orient Express train station—among other sites along the way. The crowds were huge everywhere we went, and the walking pace was “swift” so we could cover all of the sightseeing in time for the all-aboard. (Because this was an excursion offered through Holland America, we knew the ship would not to leave us behind had we encountered unexpected delays). Just.WOW,! The photos that John will share on SmugMug will give you an idea of how beautiful—and interesting—everything was! Perhaps you will recall words/phrases like, Siege of Constantinople, Chariot Races, Byzantine Empire, Byzantium, Sultans, the Ottoman Empire…from your studies of ancient history. And, perhaps you will recall recent news accounts of the war in Ukraine, the blocked grain exports, and so on. Well, THESE are all historical markers of the Istanbul we saw today!
I was a bit concerned about appropriate mosque etiquette for women. Some Muslim women wear the full burka, but others stop short of covering their faces. I wore long pants and a crew neck tee shirt with short sleeves, sandals, and packed a light sweater and head/shoulder scarf to use as needed once we arrived. I did not need the sweater, all women were required to cover their heads (provided at the Mosque if one did not have her own scarf), and everyone had to remove shoes prior to stepping on the carpets on which Muslims pray. Bare feet were OK. If men wore short pants, they could “borrow” a cover-up for the legs that was provided at the Mosque. John wore long pants, as did other males in our group, thanks to the tips provided in advance by the ship’s cruise director! We respected those norms inside the Blue Mosque and inside Haghia Sophia, the latter of which currently being a Muslim mosque even though it was once the seat of the Catholic Church. All in all, our concerns over how to dress were unfounded—everything turned out just fine! (But…I really do not look good in a head scarf…and…I don’t know how Muslim women so gracefully wear burkas on a regular basis! I have full admiration for them because especially in summer, it can get HOT)!
In spite of our tour guide’s (Irfan’s) expert commentary today, I am left with as many questions as I have learnings. There was no way to cover EVERYTHING I would have liked to hear, so I will look everything up when I have full access to the internet at home. Here are some of the things I learned:
—There are 4,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar!
—Negotiation, caution, and information are key to success when shopping in the Grand Bazaar.
—The Grand Bazaar was CROWDED, and…it’s just not our “thing”—but perhaps you’d have a different perspective, and that’s equally OK!
—The Orient Express connects London to China! Wow!
—Cats and dogs can be seen around the sites in Istanbul. They appear to be strays, but SOMEONE provides kibble and water for them, because we saw a regular pet water-and-food bowl—filled. We also saw kibble strewn about on top of a concrete building structure. The animals also seem quite friendly and confident in their safety.
—Atop each hill around Istanbul, there is a mosque with at least two minarets.
—Like Catholics, Muslims must attend a prayer service with people (in community—as in Catholic Sunday Mass) on specific days of the month.
—Linear patterns in the carpets within mosques outline where people should stand shoulder to shoulder to face Mecca and pray.
—The Bosphorus Strait connects Europe to Asia and is the only way for goods to be moved from one part of the world to the rest of the world. Because of the high traffic, freighters move in one-way patterns at given intervals. This traffic is heavily regulated by agreement among Turkey, Russia, and …. (Can’t recall the third country).
—Mosques were central structures within a much larger community complex. That is one reason many sites are within walking distance of something else. So, mosques provided water, food, and other items to the needy in their communities. Bazaars close to the mosques brought in revenue to defray the expenses of the mosque and its works for the community, especially the needy.
—Five time a day, a call to Muslim prayer is issued to the entire community in Istanbul. It is in chant form and audible to everyone in the area.
—Muslim mosques do not permit any images of humans /faces on their artwork.
—Fountains with flowing fresh drinking water are everywhere, typically built into the outer walls of buildings/structures. People can drink from them as needed.
—Muslims wishing to enter a mosque participate in a “Ritual of Ablution.” Men have separate facilities from women. I saw the men’s facilities (two): A row of fountains and concrete seats, positioned shoulder to shoulder. Men washed their feet and sometimes their faces. (I was told that they wash their feet and heads). They then partially slip on their shoes so as not to soil their feet and proceed to the mosque and remove their shoes inside. Shoes go into wooden cubbies within the mosque.
Some questions that I still have:
—Why do some mosques have two minarets, versus four, or six?
—What is the significance of all of the water fountains around Istanbul?
—What is the rationale for Muslim women and Muslim men doing things apart from one another ?
—Why must women cover their heads but men do not?
—Were Sultans generally benevolent?
—How is the public Muslim call for prayer issued/projected/initiated?
—What should Muslims do in response to those calls for prayer?
—Are the cats and dogs we saw actually strays? What is the rationale for the “of-course-ness” of their presence in public spaces around town?
Tomorrow, we are scheduled to anchor—not dock—in Mykonos, Greece!
Our Travels 