By Lara
We had to wake up early on the first day of the cruise. We got our bags out and downstairs by the designated time, and sat down for breakfast. We said goodbye once again to those members of our Greek tour that were not going on the cruise. It was sad.
After breakfast, we got in a bus and rode to the harbor. Technically Piraeus is a different city than Athens, but they've grown together over the years. There were lots and lots of cruise ships waiting in the harbor. We were shepparded by Karen to Cristal.
It took forever to get through immigration and check our baggage, but we were eventually on the boat. We didn't have very long to enjoy our cabin before we had to meet Karen on the 8th deck in the Metropolitan Lounge for a briefing. Then we had a buffet lunch and explored the ship.
I spent a significant amount of time on the fifth deck railing watching the waves hit the side of the ship and catching up in my journal. It was very peaceful and relaxing.
Eventually, we went up to dinner in our designated dining room. I don't remember what we ate, but it was fancy. There were eight of us left. Alistair, Cheryl, Anne, Aine, Shelly, Rebecca, Mandi and myself.
There were several opportunities for merriment that evening, but we had to get up early for Istanbul in the morning, so I opted for an early bedtime. I know. I'm a barrel of laughs.
We got into port in Istanbul late because there had been "traffic" in the Straights of Dardanelles. Once we disembarked, we were assigned a tour bus. Ahmet was our guide. He was an older man who gave us some interesting facts about Istanbul. For example, Istanbul is the only city in the world that is divided by a continental boundary. The harbor was on the European side of the city. We took a bus to Asia.
I was so excited to get off the bus. My first footfalls in Asia were walking briskly towards the Sultan Ahmed mosque. Most Americans know this as "the blue mosque" due to the interior design that incorporates blue Iznik tiles.
The line to get into the mosque was quite long. I amused myself with some kittens playing in the courtyard. When I got to the front of the line, I was given a bag to put my shoes in and was inspected by the modesty police. They decided that I was showing an acceptable level of skin and let me pass. Several of the people on my bus were given shawls and/or wraps to cover their bare shoulders or knees. (Please keep in mind that we had been briefed about this the day before.)
Since the mosque is an active place of worship, we stayed in the roped off portion of the main room. The interior of the mosque is stunning. Honestly, I expected more blue. However, I did not expect the gorgeous stained glass windows. Due to the dim lighting, none of my pictures give the windows justice. However, a friend with a better camera just came back from Turkey with some gorgeous photos of the interior that I plan to steal for my scrapbook.
We stopped to put on our shoes once we left the mosque and continued our journey to Hagia Sophia. That is also a beautiful building with a rich history. It was originally the home of the Greek Orthodox Church during the Byzantine Empire. It was to Greek Orthodoxy what the Vatican is to Catholics. When the Ottoman Turks took over, they converted the building to a mosque. Now, the Hagia Sophia is a museum. They are doing extensive work to uncover some of the art that was painted over during the Ottoman Empire. More exquisite stained glass windows. My pictures of these were more successful. I also took a photograph of the coronation circle where Byzantine Emperors were crowned.
From there, we managed to fight our way through the crowd of fez merchants back to the bus. On the bus, we passed some monumentally historic items like the ruins of the hippodrome and the terminus of the Orient Express. Sigh. Parts of me wish we had more time to explore Istanbul...
This is the portion of our journey when Ahmet took us to the carpet distributor. We were supposed to learn about how to tell an authentic Oriental Carpet from a machine manufactured carpet. However, we were instead treated to an hour infomercial about how valuable the carpets were and how everyone needs an Oriental Carpet in their home. If I had four thousand dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I would still not have purchased one. It was a slightly sketchy operation, if you ask me. It didn't help that they offered us apple tea and bagels. After I had accepted their offer of food and drink, I had second thoughts about the wisdom of it. Fortunately, I managed to browse the jewelry and escape the merchants unscathed.
Back on the bus. This time headed for Topkapi Palace. We had lunch at a restaurant inside the grounds of the palace that had the most beautiful view of the Bosphorus Straights. After lunch, we took a look at the collection of jewels amassed by the various Sultans who made the Topkapi Palace their home. This display of jewels puts the gem exhibit at the Smithsonian to shame. There were so many jewels. Sadly, we were unable to photograph any of them. Nor were there postcards readily available to purchase. I guess I will have to rely on my memory and the magical internet to keep the wonder alive.
By this point in my tour, I was fairly tired. I was definitely tired of people trying to sell me things. However, our next stop was the Grand Bazaar. As I did not want to be accosted, I had my best New Yorker game face on and walked at a good clip through the bazaar. I must admit that it was colorful and interesting. However, I did not buy anything. I took a couple of photographs and left.
I sat near Mandi while she tried some authentic Turkish coffee. I amused myself with people watching. Then we walked back to the bus. There was a slight incident in which several members of our specific tour group were almost left behind, but we all made it back to the bus before it left.
Karen managed to negotiate with Ahmet to take us to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar as a little side treat. That is the market where the actual Turks shop. Let me just tell you how beautiful it was. Bushels of spices and olives and bread and cheese and fish and nuts and fruit and olives and spices. We got to taste some of the spices. I also ate Turkish Delight for the first time in the spice bazaar. I almost bought a hookah. It was deep green with silver designs. I couldn't figure out how I would get it home, though. Aine and I watched a bit of the world cup while everyone else were finalizing their purchases.
We got back on the bus one last time. I silently said goodbye to Istanbul. It was a brief encounter, but definitely a memorable one. Once back on the boat, we ate dinner and I fell into bed.