Sunday in Istanbul – the Basilica Cistern

November 30, 2014Travel, TurkeyBasilica Cistern, Istanbulkarenfranza

11/30 – you’ve seen the Basilica Cistern in the James Bond movie From Russia With Love, and you’ve read about it in Dan Brown’s Inferno.

The Emperor Justinian used 7000 slaves to dig the cistern in the 6th century, to provide filtered water for the palace gardens. It consists of 336 marble columns, holding up the roof. If full, it would contain 100,000 tons of water.

Carp swim in the shallow water below.

The columns are presumed to have been scavenged from older buildings, and are a mishmash of styles. One has a hole that people stick their thumbs in for good luck.

This column’s decorations are said to represent the tears of the slaves who died constructing the cistern.

The highlight of the Cistern is the two heads of Medusa. Scavenged from an older Greek building, one was placed upside down, and the other on its side. Why? No one knows…

Our neighborhood had no electricity this morning, so we had to walk to find a restaurant for lunch where the lights were on. We returned to my favorite lunch place, filled with locals. There are no menus, you just walk up to the counter and point at what you want – half a dozen bubbling stews that change daily. I picked chicken and green peppers, but Jim got the tastiest – eggplant and beef with vegetables. You sit at a table with a big basket of bread, thinking, “who could eat this much bread?”, but once you start eating, you keep reaching for another hunk of bread to sop up every bit of sauce on your plate. Food heaven. We try to determine what is in each dish in the hope that we can reproduce these flavors at home. Maybe we’ll just stay here instead!

Saturday in Istanbul – Pope Francis!

November 29, 2014Travel, TurkeyBlue Mosque, Istanbul, Pope Franciskarenfranza

11/29 – How often do you get a chance to see the Pope? When we were in Rome, we didn’t catch a glimpse of him, so when we heard we was going to be at the Blue Mosque here in Istanbul this morning, we thought we’d better take advantage of the opportunity.

There was a police cordon all around the mosque, of course, with policemen stationed every three feet or so, but the crowd was small, and we had no trouble walking right up to the barricade. His modest car was waiting, with the headlights on and motor running. Overhead there was a news helicopter and a drone, presumably taking photographs. We were interviewed by a Reuters reporter, who took down our names and where we were from. Perhaps we will become famous!

And then we saw him emerging from the mosque! I zoomed in as far as my poor camera would allow, with these very grainy results. Here he is coming down the steps:(white figure in the center)

Approaching the car:

Chatting with the Mufti (Pope on left, Mufti on the right):

And getting into the car for the short ride to Hagia Sophia:

We waved and cheered, as others applauded politely. I hope he appreciated our enthusiasm!

Thursday in Istanbul – the Hagia Sophia

November 28, 2014Travel, TurkeyEmperor Constantine, Hagia Sophia, Istanbulkarenfranza

11/27 – Happy Thanksgiving to all! We especially miss our family today, but are thankful for their health and happiness. If we can’t be eating turkey, we’re happy to be in Turkey! We tried to describe a turkey to our Malaysian friends at breakfast…

Today we visited the Hagia Sophia, which started out as Emperor Constantine’s church in the 300s, was burned down and rebuilt by Justinian in the 500s, then was converted to a mosque in the 1400s, was closed when it began to seriously deteriorate, and was reopened as a museum in the 1930s as part of the secularization and westernization of Turkey under Attaturk. It shares a square with the Blue Mosque.

There’s a golden library on the main floor:

There’s also a Wishing Column, where people stick their thumb in a hole and try to rotate their hand all the way around to make their wish come true:

In the process of restoration, some of the original Christian frescoes were uncovered. It’s so neat to see the juxtaposition of two cultures.

Here you can see where the cross images were covered over with abstract patterns.

The view from the upper gallery was magnificent.

Just loved this place!

Wednesday in Istanbul – the Blue Mosque

November 27, 2014Travel, TurkeyBlue Mosque, Chinese Consulate, Istanbul, Sultanahmetkarenfranza

11/26 – No rain this morning, and a double rainbow! It’s going to be a good day!

Up early and back to the Metro for another run to the Chinese Consulate. This time, the office was open, and, after standing in line and going through two metal detectors, we got into the visa office. Although the room was full of people waiting, some with newborn babies, we walked right up to the window, slid our paperwork under the glass, and asked for tourist visas. The young woman behind the glass spoke some English – hallelujah! She looked over our applications. Where is your invitation from a Chinese official? Where is your proof that you are not a criminal? Where is your plane reservation and detailed itinerary? Where is your proof that you are a resident of Turkey? We had none of those things. We explained that we were traveling overland and that train reservations can only be made 20 days in advance, and you must have a visa to make a reservation. We explained that we were not criminals, and that Americans have no form to prove that this is so. Our Turkish visa says we are residents for 90 days. She took our passports, photos, Turkish visas, and four page applications to a room behind a door.

We sat and waited. She came back after a while with more questions. If you are retired, what income do you have per year? Who will pay for your travel? How much money do you have in the bank? We were prepared for these questions and provided financial statements. Sounded like we were getting close!

We sat some more. Finally, she came back with all our stuff. Without a plane or train reservation and a detailed itinerary of where we plan to spend each day in China, and extra copies of our passports, we were not getting visas. We reminded her about the train reservations – would a hotel reservation suffice? She allowed that it might, if it was all we could get. We sadly took our pile of papers and retreated home to fabricate an itinerary and get a (cancelable) random hotel reservation from booking.com. On Friday, we will try again.

To cheer ourselves up, we had a delicious lunch, and went to see the Blue Mosque. The first thing you will notice is that the outside is not blue, but grey. Why did I think it would be blue?

Like the Suleiman, this is an active mosque, and we take off our shoes, and I cover my head, before entering. Tourists are only allowed in a small area, to enable the faithful to pray in peace.

The inside has some blue windows and tiles – I guess that’s why it’s called Blue? The carpet is definitely orange-red… The official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, and the whole area where we live is called Sultanahmet.

Of course, I notice that the women’s praying area is all the way in the back, behind where the tourists put their shoes.

Although we always endeavor to show reverence in holy places, there are so many people taking selfies, including a man in the prayer area who is taking a pic of himself prostrated in prayer, that we figured, what the heck? Here is our Blue Mosque selfie:

A Little Taste of Istanbul

November 26, 2014Travel, TurkeyChinese Consulate, Grand Bazaar, Hotel Buhara, Istanbul, Suleiman Mosquekarenfranza

11/25 – I love our little Hotel Buhara. They provide a lovely breakfast of tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, hard boiled eggs, grapes, clementines, olives, yoghurt, and Nescafé. This morning we met a young man from Malaysia and a couple from Iran. It’s nice to be in a place where people have a little English and we can share friendly conversation.

Today we had our pictures taken for the visas we will need as we move east, and learned to navigate the Metro so we could get to the Chinese Consulate to apply for a visa to mainland China. An hour’s ride north to the end of the Metro line was all for naught – the visa office is only open from 9am to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There was no indication of this on the Consulate website, and they don’t answer their phone or email. Oh well, we’ll try again tomorrow.

We took in some sights and aromas of Istanbul. The Suleiman Mosque:

We noticed that stray cats are well cared for here – welcome inside the mosque and fed by passersby. This mosque has ostrich eggs included in their light fixtures to keep away spiders, according to the helpful mosque volunteer who answered our questions.

The female volunteers said the question they are most often asked is why females can’t pray in the same area as males. They explained that when fervently praying, they don’t want to have to worry about brushing against a man. It is more comfortable to pray with other women. The Qur’an says: “do not annoy women as to make their lives miserable.” Well said.

The Grand Bazaar:

Many people wanted to sell us blue jeans or carpets. You can buy everything from cheap trinkets to diamonds and furs. It goes on for blocks, with shops both inside and outside. I was especially attracted to the glass lamps and colorful ceramics.

There are restaurants one after another on our street, and we both love Turkish food. We are having a wonderful time here – Turkish Delight, anyone?

How do I know this is true?

November 26, 2014Travel, TurkeyIstanbul, Suleiman Mosquekarenfranza

From Jim…

Beinghere

We visit Suleymaniye Mosque, largest in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566. Suleiman spent 10 years fighting in 17 military campaigns. He conquered Belgrade, most of Hungary, and laid siege to Vienna in 1529. His era was considered the Ottoman empire’s high point, the farthest extent of its domain. The Vienna siege failed due to heavy rains, over-extended supply lines, shortage of heavy artillery, and Viennese skillful use of arquebuses (early firearms), long pikes, and defensive positions.

We approach the mosque courtyard in front of the main entrance.

Inside, we view the low-hung lamps, which, in olden-times required refilling with oil. Islamic belief focuses on one God, with the thought that images distract from this idea. As a result, mosques display calligraphy but no human images.

We see a poster explaining Islam to visitors. It portrays the…

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Sofia to Istanbul, Turkey

November 25, 2014Backpacking, Bulgaria, Travel, Turkeybus, EuRail Pass, Istanbul, Sofiakarenfranza

11/23 – please forgive the level of detail in this post, but some fellow travelers may need this information if traveling to Istanbul.

We planned to use our EuRail pass to travel from Bulgaria to Istanbul. This involved getting onboard in Sofia at 5pm, changing trains 4 times, then transferring to a bus for the last leg to arrive into Istanbul at 7 in the morning. We negotiated the first two trains successfully (by asking “Plovdiv? Train to Parvomay?” Remember, we can’t read the signs…) then were told there was a problem. No train runs from Dimitrovgrad to the Turkish border, so we would have to take a bus instead. This is a long term issue, not just today. (Both EuRail and DB Bahn show a train.) No problem! We’ve done this before!

The train conductor was very kind, but had no English, so he sought out a student who spoke English to explain the situation to us. We never really got an explanation, just that there was no train, and we’d have to wait alone in the empty Dimitrovgrad station from 9:30 – 11pm for the bus. Our high school student, Constantina, had very good English, and wants to work in communications and study abroad. Translating for the conductor, she relayed that things were getting better in Bulgaria, as the Bulgarian singer had come in second place in the European Sing Off show on TV, and he believed that peace on earth was coming. He also recited many place names he learned about America: Boston! AnnaPOlis! Trenton, New Yersey!

When we got off in Dimitrovgrad, the conductor called ahead to make sure the bus would stop for us. He warned us to stay in the station to avoid pickpockets (there was no one around at all), and he even took us to the conductors office to use the bathroom as there was none in the station. He bade us good night, then came back a half hour later – 10:30 at night – to give us a tract – he was a Bulgarian Jehovah’s Witness! What a nice man.

Here we are, waiting in the station. There are evidently many things you’re not allowed to do here.

The promised bus arrived a little after 11, and we got on. The bus made several more stops, until only we and three middle-aged Romanian women were left. We caught a little shut-eye until we reached the Bulgarian border. We all had to get out of the bus and stand in the cold until the officer stamped our passports, then got back on the bus. It was now around 2am.

The bus drove forward toward the Turkish border, and joined a queue of other buses. The border looked like a toll plaza, but only one lane was open, and it was not our lane! We waited (and dozed) until the driver ordered us out of the bus. We trooped over to the open station, and waited while the border officer processed cars through. When there was a lull between cars, he examined our passports. It was VERY cold, probably in the 20s, and this took quite some time. Once stamped we all got back on the bus.

The bus was still in a queue of other buses. What were we waiting for now? When the bus moved up sufficiently, we had to get out again, this time with our luggage, and troop over to go through a security scanner. Then we waited outside for over an hour, until it was our bus’s turn to be scanned (for weapons? contraband? No idea). We were all freezing cold by this point, jumping up and down with teeth chattering. I will add that at no point was there any opportunity to use a restroom.

Finally, we were allowed back on the bus – it was now 6am – and were driven to the Kapikule train station on the Turkish side of the border. We all got off again. Train now? No, another bus! The Romanian women complained loudly at this point, (bless them!) so the driver agreed to wait while we all ran to the WC next to the station. Boarded the new bus and fell back to sleep, reaching the Istanbul Sirkeci train station around 11:30am.

So, fellow travelers, do not plan on making any sort of connection based on the train schedule, as you will miss it by a mile. But, you will eventually arrive in Istanbul – how exciting!

We changed our Bulgarian lev to Turkish lira and walked the mile to Hotel Buhara on yet another drizzly grey day. At least it is a little warmer here – mid-forties, which feels warm compared to where we’ve been. Our host gave us hot tea in little glasses, with sugar cubes on the side.

After a nap, we went out in the late afternoon to see the Blue Mosque. A little before 5pm, the Call to Prayer sung out over the loudspeakers, with another mosque nearby responding as a duet:
Allah is Most Great
I testify that there is no God but Allah
I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Come to Prayer!
Come to Salvation!
Allah is the Most Great!
There is no God but Allah.

It took my breath away.

A Day in Sofia

November 23, 2014Bulgaria, TravelChurch, Mosque, Orthodox, Sofia, St. Sofia Orthodox Basilica, Synagoguekarenfranza

11/22 – as luck would have it, there are several clothing shops right down the road from our pension. Within a half hour, Jim found a long, warm coat that he can wear over his fleece jacket, and a fleece hat. I opted for a ski hat and a pair of stretch jogging pants that I can wear under my thin hiking pants to warm up my cold legs. I have three long sleeved shirts and a scarf, and layered them all under my jacket, so don’t think I need another coat. We emerged warmed and ready to face the 30 degree, very grey day. Does the sun ever shine here?

GPS in hand, we want to see some of Sofia’s beautiful buildings today.

Above are the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nickolay in green and gold, and the St. Paraskeva Church.

In close proximity, there is a mosque, a synagogue, a Catholic cathedral and an Orthodox basilica, all near the ancient mineral baths.

The Banya Boshi mosque:

The Sofia Synagogue:

The Church of St. Joseph:

The Hagia Nedelja, from the tenth century:

In the middle of a city block, surrounded by tall buildings, was the preserved Rotunda of St. George From the fourth century, with ancient frescos still visible on the walls and ceiling.

Smaller yet was this little Church of St. Petka, preserved in a crevice next to a busy highway.

The St. Sofia Orthodox Basilica included a crypt where third to fifth century persons were recently excavated.

While we were exploring below, a choir started singing in the church above. From where we stood amidst graves of old saints, it gave us the shivers. We tiptoed up the steps to see an evening service in progress, with everyone holding candles. The choir was awesome. A beautiful way to end our day.

Belgrade to Sofia, Bulgaria

November 22, 2014Bulgaria, Travelsleeper car, Sofia, St. Alexander Nevsky Church, Trainkarenfranza

11/21 – We walked back to a very quiet train station at 9:30 last night to board our overnight train to Sofia. This was my first time on a sleeper train, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The conductor handed us each a sheet and pillowcase, and motioned us down the car to our compartment, where we found the seats folded down to make bunks, a pillow and a heavy woolen blanket. We had the lower berths, but there was no one on the uppers, so we had the compartment to ourselves.

We made up our bunks and settled in. I wasn’t expecting to sleep well, but the gentle rocking of the train had its effect, and we both got a pretty good night’s sleep. At 6:30am we stopped at the border for Bulgarian passport check, and by mid-morning we were in Sofia.

We were greeted by another cold, grey day. The sun is not expected out while we are here. The Sofia station had not a trace of western alphabet, and looked very much like a dreary communist-era building.

We walked the two blocks to our guesthouse and were pleased to find it clean and warm, with a little fridge and dining area. The all-in-one bathroom was the first we’d seen this trip – the faucets for the sink also control the shower hose, and the water just runs down a drain in the middle of the floor. An efficient idea, except the floor stays wet and slippery, so you must be careful.

We found a Bancomat (ATM) and a place to change our leftover Serbian marks to Bulgarian lev. We met a street performer on his way to work, and I took his picture. He immediately demanded payment, so Jim gave him all our Serbian coins.

We took a walk to see what facilities were close by, and were happy to find a Billa (high end grocery). Like our supermarkets, Billa sells a variety of hot foods – cooked chicken, pork chops, sausage, and side dishes like scalloped potatoes with goat cheese, spanakopita, and sauerkraut. We were happy because we don’t see many cafes or restaurants. We do, however, see lots of casinos – anyone up for a Bulgarian gambling vacation?

We walked over the Lion Bridge into the city center.

Our goal was the St. Alexander Nevsky Church, which we had no trouble finding, because a) it is very big, and b) our GPS works in Bulgaria. Thanks TMobile!

Inside was candlelit, making it hard to photograph, but so beautiful.

On our walk we admired some of the city statues.

We wanted to see more, but it was too COLD! Our fleece jackets just can’t stand up to 30 degree weather. We’ve been putting off buying winter gear, but it looks like it’s time to get some…

Thursday in Belgrade – St. Sava and Nikola Tesla

November 20, 2014Serbia, TravelBelgrade, St. Sava, Tesla Museumkarenfranza

11/20 – today is cold and rainy. It feels like an Eastern European grey day. We struck out to find the Temple of St. Sava, still under construction, the biggest Eastern Orthodox church in the world. When complete, it will hold 10,000 people, and the choir will hold 800 singers.

Inside is lots of scaffolding, hammering and drilling noises, but a steady stream of worshipers come in to kiss the icons and pray.

We stopped for lunch at a gyro shop, and watched as the proprietor fashioned each roll with loving care, and wrapped them as though they were his babies. It seemed a shame to eat such beauty, but gosh, they were delicious!

Walking across town, we came upon some buildings still scarred from the bombing during the 1990s war. We were told that they have not been repaired to remind the people of Serbia’s struggle:

Then we set out to find the Nikola Tesla Museum, one of Belgrade’s top attractions.

If you don’t know about Tesla, he invented EVERYTHING: the motor, alternating current, radio, wireless transmission, vertical take-off aircraft – hundreds of patents and 700 more never finished. We took an English-speaking tour from an engineering student from the University who spoke with passion and reverence. She also demonstrated neat stuff, like lighting a neon sign remotely:

Powering fluorescent bulbs by generating lightning with a huge tesla coil:

Having 100,000 volts pass through our fingers:

The museum also holds his books, papers, personal effects, and his ashes, displayed in a golden orb. It was a neat place, made extra special for me as Nikola was the spitting image of my dearly departed Alan, who would have loved this museum.