Trying To Get Our Bearings In Istanbul

[TECH NOTE:  This post has been delayed because I’m using a new iPad 16 for our trip and the simple way to shrink photo file size on my MacBook doesn’t exist (or at least I couldn’t find it here.)  I’ve looked at a bunch of videos on how to do it plus more written instructions and was even more confused.  Finally I found this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAz60h22k6c Which shows a really easy way to do what I’ve needed to do.  Thanks Dan for the video.  Now I can post some pictures of Istanbul (and one from Frankfurt, Germany.]  

[A few minutes later after uploading the first picture.  First Blogger said it couldn’t upload the image.  I did it again.  It uploaded it, but none of the controls (size, right-left-center, etc.) seem to work.  It may be all the pics will be large and centered.  Better than no pics at all.]

Actual post begins here:

After a couple of nights in Frankfurt to catch up on sleep and meet Nik’s sister-in-law and niece, we went on to Istanbul.  (Nik is the Ukrainian who lived in Ketchikan who I tutored in English for about two years over FaceTime.)

                             

Above is the Haupt Bahnhof (main train station) in Frankfurt

By the second full day in Istanbul I was wondering what we were doing here - it was all so overwhelming. 

 [Pic is Istanbul Airport walking and walking and walking to get to passport check and then to baggage.  At least here there were long big open spaces so you can see where you are going.  In Frankfurt you were in smaller spaces turning this way and that way, never quite sure if it was the right way. Not sure how the pic got on the left.]

We were staying in Sultanahmet - the most touristy section of Istanbul from what I can tell. [Because it has the oldest and most spectacular things for tourists to see, like the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Casıı), the Grand Bazaar, and other notable landmarks.  [Can you tell that I’m stalling here?  

We stayed at the Side Hotel - see the little white circle, middle bottom - in the section called Sultanahmet.  The section on the right is the Asian part of Istanbul

We spent our time just walking around, figuring out where we were, how  to get an Istanbul Card (lets you ride on all the forms of public transportation), getting Turkish Lira from the ATM and trying to figure out how much things are in US dollars (1 Lire is about .024 cents; a dollar is worth 41.58 Turkish Lira.  Quick, they bring you the bill and it’s 1670 Lira, what’s that in dollars?)  It’s been harder than most places for me to be able to ‘feel’ my way around and naturally know which way is North. The hotel map suggests that lots of places are less than a kilometer away. This stalling I’m doing now reflects how I felt, and still feel].   Below is a picture of Turkish Delight.  Below that is a display of teas in a spice shop.

The second day I determined to do something.  Well, of course walking around and looking at things is doing something, but the next day we took the Bosphorus ferry.  The Bosphorus Strait flows from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea (which eventually connects to the Aegean Sea).  North is the European Side,  South (I think - east of the Sultanahmet section) the Asian side The tour boat went close to the shoreline on both sides.  That helped a lot for getting my bearings and seeing how much more of Istanbul there is.  But from what I can tell, where we are is the real tourist area - lots and lots of places to eat, from food carts to fancy restaurants.  Carpet salesmen lurking like sharks.  Opening line for most seems to be, “Where are you from?”  It’s been in the 70sF during the day (which feels hot in the sun) and into the low 60s in the evening, with a strong breeze.

Most of my Bosphorus pics are on my camera.  I’m not even going to try retrieving those for this post.

We’d been told not to visit the Ayasofia (Hagia Sofia) - the huge mosque about a quarter of a mile from our hotel - not only is it more crowded on Sunday, but we were told there was also a cruise ship adding to the crowd of people who wanted to get in.  So we got our tickets early Monday.  

Above is the exterior of Hagia Sofia and below an interior shot. The link takes

you to the Hagia Sofia museum site and will help you understand the significance of this mosque

The next day we visited the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (the Blue Mosque).  It’s maybe a quarter of a mile away from the Hagia Sofia.  Here’s a link that tells you more, though most of the links are tourist oriented and talk about getting tickets.  You don’t need tickets to enter this mosque.  

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque) exterior from the roof of our hotel above

And from inside.  Magnificent!

Istanbul folks, according to the guide books and websites, use an Istanbul Card, which functions like similar cards in other cities.  This one may be a bit broader in scope than most - it works on all forms of transportation - busses, trams, trains, subway, funiculars, and ferries.  Even though you can switch the machines to English, it was still a bit daunting to buy our card (more than one person can use the card).  So this day we topped it off to make sure there was enough money in it.  

Machine to get Istanbul Card

And after Sultan Ahmet Mosque we took tram 1.  I wanted to cross over the water into the northern part of Istanbul.  We rode and rode but never crossed the bridge over the Golden Horn.  Eventually we got off and walked around a neighborhood that didn’t seem to have a lot to offer (us anyway). We walked back three stations before we got on the tram to go back.  When I was relating our adventure and lack of water crossing to Emre who works at the hotel, he was confused.  I showed him a picture of the station where we got off.  Eventually he said, “You went in the wrong direction.  You got off in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Istanbul”. 

Riding back on the tram.

I told you I was having trouble getting my bearings.  But getting lost is part of the adventure of traveling. Fortunately this was a test ride.  We didn’t have a specific destination in mind, except to cross the water into the ‘newer’ part of Istanbul.   

I’m done with this post.  Obviously I’ve left out a lot.  But my problems with this iPad and photos has made this one of the most frustrating posts to write that I can remember.  I’m sure there were problematic posts long ago that I don’t remember.  But I’m going to stop here.  

And, by the way, 1670 Lira would be $40.39. (At least at today’s official exchange rate.)