Day 14: Istanbul

Sadly, our trip is almost at an end. Today began our last day of touring, and come 3 AM tomorrow morning, we will be headed to the airport to fly back to Seattle. The day began at the Church of St Saviour in Chora, which was built in the 11th century AD, was at one point used as a mosque, and today is the Kariye Museum.  This church is home to some of the best Byzantine frescoes and mosaics, which date from 1321 AD and document topics such as the Genealogy of Christ, The Life of the Virgin Mary, The Infancy of Christ, Christ’s Ministry, and the Apostles.

Next we headed to see Topkapi Palace, built in the 15th century not as a single building but as a series of pavilions surrounded by four huge courtyards. The palace was later abandoned in 1853 when it was deemed too old-fashioned, and is now a museum. Photography and video is prohibited inside the buildings of the palace, so the only photos we have are from the courtyards and surrounds, but some of the things we viewed were caftans through the ages, the royal treasure, which includes a 86-carat diamond, and religious relics, including the supposed sword of David, supposed staff of Moses, supposed arm of John the apostle, and supposed footprint of Mohammed. After walking through the rooms of the museum, we wandered over to the waterfront to look across the Bosphorus Strait at the Asia side of Istabul, and then sat around the courtyard, talking and waiting for everyone to finish up.

We left the palace then and headed over to the Great Bazaar, a covered marketplace established in 1453 and home to thousands of booth-like shops filled with anything you could imagine. You could definitely get lost down these streets if you weren’t paying attention! We split into smaller groups and spread out, exploring, shopping, and grabbing lunch during the next 2 hours.

Our next stop was to head over to Sultanahmet Square and visit Haghia Sophia, which literally means the “church of holy wisdom”. The current building was built in 537 by Emperor Justinian, and has survived for over 1,400 years with some additions and occasionally exterior butressing, but with no major reconstruction. For over 1,000 years, it was the largest church in the world, and today, it is still the 4th largest church in Europe. The nave, giant domes, balconies, and side rooms are beautifully painted, and some of the church’s Byzantine mosaics are visible in the galleries of the balcony. It truly is a remarkable architectural achievement, and amazing to walk through.

From Haghia Sophia we walked across the square to the Blue Mosque, named for the blue tilework in its interior and built in the first part of the 17th century. At the time, the splendor of the plans was shocking because a mosque had never before been built with 6 minarets. The beautiful colors and tiles of the interior are spectacular to see, though it is a bit more challenging to view them, as it is still a working mosque. Modest clothing, with knees and arms covered, is a must, and shoes have to be removed and carried through to the other side.

After finishing up, we had some free time, so about half of us went back to the hotel to rest, pack up, and wander around nearby Taksim Square, while half were dropped off at the Spice Bazaar to do a little more shopping and exploring.  The L-shaped building that houses the market was built in 1660, and though you can get great prices on spices and teas, you can also find a wide variety of other items. We all found what we were looking for fairly quickly, and headed back to the hotel. We walked across the Galaga Bridge, which crosses over the Golden Horn, an inlet into the European side of Istanbul, climbed partway up Beyoglu Hill to Galata Tower (which a few climbed while others had some tea at the base), then strolled up the pedestrian walkway Istiklal Caddesi to our hotel on Taksim Square.

Our last day was fun and busy, and it will be sad to end our time together, but I’m sure everyone is eager to finally be home to see our family and friends, and sharing our adventures with you. Tomorrow will be a full day of travel, but I promise to let you know when we have arrived home safely! God bless!

Categories: Holy Land.