Spice Market, Grand Bazaar and Topkapi

Since we are traveling with Bill and Patty and Patty does a fantastic job of summarizing our trip. She sends out her daily reflections via email, I have decided to plagiarized her emails while adding a bit of mine own impressions. I am hoping that this will result in both a better blog and having it completed in a more timely manner. I also will add my pictures because it will be a challenge to import her pictures.

Istanbul is a city of 16 million. Our experience is that it is clean and orderly. There has been no sign of homelessness. We have felt safe during our 5 mile walk in the historic district today.

Our walk began through the garment district. This is an area of shops which are a combination of wholesale and retail selling. Merchants from around the country come to this area of Istanbul to buy items in bulk to sell in their stores in other areas of the country.

We have noticed that shops selling similar items are located next to each other. On the drive from the airport, we noticed a similar arrangement. One area sold flowers and another sold lightening etc. In the garment district, shops selling socks were next to each other. There were a sections of business suits, children's clothing, under garments etc.

We then strolled around the periphery of the Spice Market to discover plants, pet food and animals for sale.

The Spice Market was established in 1664 as a place where merchants came together to sell goods and materials. We strolled through an incredible market filled with every kind of spice, tea and tea blend possible. It was overwhelming to see so many choices in one place.

The merchants would offer samples of their wares. Bob and I (Brenda) got carried away in a tea shop and bought a lot of tea. This will necessitate us purchasing an additional piece of luggage. As most of you are aware, this dilemma happens quite frequently. As a result, our luggage closet at home is about at capacity.

We toured the Rustum Pasha Mosque which is located above an area of the market. This mosque is purported to be one of the most mosques in Istanbul due to its abundance of Iznik tiles. These tiles are very rare because of the fact that they have multiple colors. The knowledge of the technique of firing tiles with multiple colored glazes had been lost. It wasn't until recently that tiles with multiple colors have again been able to be produced.

We then journeyed through the back streets between the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. This was a fascinating area of workshops. We were once again thankful for our guide, Suleyman. Without him, we would never have explored this area.

We journeyed the Eirene Tower which is a refurbished and renewed tower that was built in the 8th century. It was used as a watchtower, prison and treasure house. It has been reborn as a workshop for artisans and art galleries to display the work of local artists. The dome of the tower is constructed as a rib dome, a technique that was thought to be difficult to accomplish. It was amazing to be walking through a tower complex of such great age.

Our last stop in the morning was at the Grand Bazaar. It is a huge complex with 3500 stalls selling everything you could possibly need or want.  It has a very large gold market where things are sold by the gram. Handmade carpets abound, as do scarves, leather goods and clothing. It was an overwhelming place.

Bob and I (Brenda) have been in many market areas. This was by far the largest and cleanest market that we have ever seen. In fact we have found all of the historic area of Istanbul to very clean and surprisingly quiet.

Bob and I made a couple of purchases.

We had a quick lunch at a restaurant located next to our hotel.

Our afternoon was spent at Topkapi Palace. This is a large palace complex located at the tip of the peninsula at the confluence between the Sea of Marmara, Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. The palace grounds consist of three courtyards and a series of buildings including the Sultan’s living quarters, administrative and government buildings, massive kitchen facilities and a large harem. It was built in 1465 and expanded on through the years.

The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire lived in a separate area of the palace next to the area where the concubines lived. We had quiet an enlightening lecture on the life of the Sultans, concubines, and Eunichs.

The interior of the palace is covered with Iznik tiles. mother of pearl and tortoise shell.

There are numerous museums now in some area of the palace. Suleyman asked which museums we wanted to visit. All four of us said we were satisfied with what we had already seen.

We bid Suleyman goodbye and journeyed back to our hotel for a quick dinner and we all went to bed early as we have a 3 AM wakeup tomorrow in order to fly to Cappadocia.Baca selengkapnya