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Turkey Day 5: Istanbul was Constantinople

Remember that song when we were kids...

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople

We were in Istanbul but spending the day exploring the time when it was Constantinople.

Our morning started out with Turkish breakfast delivered to our room.
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I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. There was what sounded like a street party going on right outside our hotel until very, very late. People hooting and hollering and having a great time.

We set off on foot to Sultanahmet Square via the Galata Bridge. The fishermen were out in full force, lining both sides of the bridge.
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We reached the other side and were trying to figure out what direction to go when Google maps suddenly stopped working. I couldn't get anything to come up. We headed off in the general direction of Sultanahmet Square but soon were lost in the maze of Istanbul streets. I tried asking multiple people for directions but would only get vague answers. We wandered for about an hour (felt like several) and finally came to a McDonald's near the square. We stopped in for a Coke and to rest as I was super frustrated. I readjusted my attitude and despite Google maps still not working, we somehow reached Topkapi Palace. Because of our delays, it was already crowded when we got there so we decided not to stand in line for the audio tour.

Topkapi Palace was commissioned by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1459, about six years after he defeated the Romans and took over Istanbul (then called Constantinople). It was operated as the main palace of the Ottoman sultans for about 100 years until Dolmabace Palace was built. It's a huge complex consisting of four courtyards with multiple buildings in each. The first courtyard served more as an outer park rather than a part of the palace complex itself so we started in the second courtyard. During the time of the Ottoman Empire, this courtyard would have been full of peacocks and gazelles.
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Our first stop was the Imperial Council building where all the ministers of state and Ottoman empire leaders held official meetings.
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Around the corner is the Outer Treasury where they had weapons and armory on display.
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From there, we explored the Harem (which the museum treats as a separate exhibit with a separate entrance fee). The Harem contained the private chambers of the sultan and was the home of the sultan's mother, his wives, concubines, children, and their servants.

Fireplace
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Smoking room
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One of the most terrible things I learned on this trip was about eunuchs. These were slaves from sub-saharan Africa that had been captured or bought in the slave trade and castrated. They were then considered "genderless" and lived in the harem as protectors of the women. These were their quarters in the palace, of course, significantly worse living conditions than any of the other sections.
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Eunuch beds
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Eunuch toilet
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Various pathways and courtyards in the palace
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Contrast the eunuchs' quarters with the living quarters of the sultan's mother.

Ceiling
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Living room
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Bath and toilet
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Sultan's bedroom with fountain
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The courtyard for the wives, concubines, and children of the sultan. They lived in the upper rooms surrounding the courtyard.
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Our last stop of the day was down a hallway to one of the kitchens.
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We could have easily spent a full day here and I was slightly disappointed we weren't able to get the audio tour but we were getting tired and it was getting crowded. We stopped off at the gift shop then decided to grab some lunch at the museum cafe.
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Google maps was STILL not working but we were easily able to find our next stop, Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was originally built in 537 AD by the Byzantine Empire as a Christian church. It served as an Orthodox church as well as a Catholic church before becoming a mosque when Mehmed defeated the Romans in 1453. It is culturally significant for both Christians and Muslims.
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As women, we had to cover our hair to go inside. I knew this going in so we brought scarves. Other women had to wear ones provided on site.
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Before entering, you also had to take off your shoes and leave them in little cubbyholes in the lobby. Unfortunately, I wasn't very prepared for this so we walked around in our socks on the carpet which didn't seem all that clean considering the number of people in and out of here every day.
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I found it crowded and noisy inside so we didn't stay long.

Our last stop of the day was the Basilica Cistern, an underground water collection system built in the 6th century by the Byzantine Empire. The water in the system traveled 12 miles through an aqueduct from the Belgrade Forest. It was then supplied to the city of Constantinople. The cistern is huge at 105,000 square feet. It's supported by 336 marble columns that are about 30 feet in length. Since becoming a tourist site, colored lighting and statues were installed.
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The lighting changes colors throughout.
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Jellyfish installation
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There are two Medusa heads used as column bases in one section of the cistern. These are believed to have been moved here from another Roman era building. The heads are upside down in order to counteract Medusa's bad vibes.
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By now it was almost 5pm. Although Google maps finally started working again, it had been a long day and our hotel was an uphill walk. We hailed a taxi down the street from the cistern and went back to our hotel to rest up and change clothes for dinner.

For dinner, we had 8pm reservations at Nicole, a Michelin star restaurant located at the Tom Tom Hotel. We had rested up a little and Google maps was working so we opted to walk to dinner.
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We were seated at a window table in the corner with a beautiful view as the sun set. 20230531_200918.jpg

Once it got dark, the view was still beautiful, although the lights from the restaurant looked like a runway in the window.
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Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of our menu or take notes of what we ate. Suffice it to say, it was something like 14 courses. All were great but we were so full. Here are some pics of our favorites.
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It was late when dinner was finished and I had assumed, being a Michelin star restaurant, that the concierge would call a taxi for us. No such luck. He told us to walk to the nearby taxi stand, which we did, and it was closed. We finally found one and he took us back to our hotel where we promptly crashed for the night.

Posted by zihuatcat 22:35 Archived in Turkey Tagged turkey istanbul brenda

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