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Istanbul

After a night at sea relocating from Thessaloniki we docked around 8am in Istanbul, Turkey.

Docking at the Istanbul Cruise Terminal

The city is vast, sprawling and bustling compared maybe only to Athens so far. Every other stop and those to come would be small islands with towns rather than cities. Because Istanbul is so big we were about to spend 2 days in the dock. This is different to other stops where we only had 1 day and were immediately on the move each evening, that is the nature of cruising. This time we were allowed on and off the ship as long as we wanted, as long as we were back on the ship by departure the following evening.

The first part of our plan for the day was to find the red City Sightseeing Bus and to get a 48 hour ticket to cover both of our days in Istanbul. with transport organised we hopped on the bus heading East.

We knew that there were a couple very beautiful palaces near by and we also planned to visit the other side of the Bosphorus Strait which is in fact the continental divide between Asia and Europe.

Dolmabahce Palace Clock Tower

First stop was the Dolmabahce Palace Clock Tower. The Clock Tower was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II and designed by Sarkis Balyan. The final tower stands at 27 meters tall and was built between 1890 and 1895. The style of the architecture is a blend of Neo-Baroque and Empirical styles. It has 4 ornate clock faces, one on each side of the tower which were originally mechanical but in 1979 they were replaced by electric machinery to keep up with the technology of the times. The original clocks were built by Johann Mayer.

The clock stands directly between the Dolmabahce Mosque and the Dolmabahce Palace. We walked down the long avenue toward the palace gates and peered in to get a glance of the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans.

The entrance to the palace and the mosque

Then we made our way past the Dolmabahce Mosque and to our bus stop.

Bosphorus Bridge

We took in the sights as our bus travelled across the Bosphorus Bridge and for a couple hours we were in Asia on the opposite side of the Bosphorus waterway.

We walked along the river and noticed an extremely large Turkish flag across the other side.

Hamid-i Evvel Camii Mosque

Soon we made our way a little further up the river towards the Hamid-i Evvel Camii Mosque.

Outside we noticed the towers and plain white finish. It was not a time for prayer so we removed our shoes and entered to find a magnificent teal carpet and the most incredible domes and stained glass windows. The Mosque was originally built by Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid I on the waters edge.

The Blue Mosque

We got the next bus back across the European divide back into bustling central Istanbul and headed straight to The Blue Mosque. We were hoping to time our arrival between the calls to prayer when we would not be allowed in. Luckily we arrived an hour before the next call and were pointed toward the side entrance where our dress code would be checked.

The main courtyard of Blue Mosque / The guest entrance

Entry is free, but women need to wear a long dress and a scarf to cover the head and shoulders. Men need to wear long trousers and a t-shirt. My husband had worn long trousers with legs that zipped off, so he quickly zipped them back on while I fished my scarf out of our bag.

Shoes removed, we were allowed to enter the sanctuary.

Unlike the Haggia Sophia, which was originally a Byzantine cathedral, the Blue Mosque was always a mosque and was built in the 17th Century. The two buildings face each other. The Blue mosque is known for its blue tiles inside.

We were blown away by the interior. The beautiful tile work reminded my of the beautiful building facades in Porto, Portugal. The lighting, windows and many domed and vaulted ceilings only drew the eye up towards heaven. I am not Muslim, but I prayed to my Heavenly Father the entire time while we visited. Humans were created by a greater God to glorify and worship Him and these magnificent buildings exude that heavenly workmanship inspired to create a feeling of awe and wonder.

We lingered and wandered around until the last possible minute before we made our way out to the courtyard and back to one of the last buses of the day to the NCL Getaway Cruise Ship.

The Spice Market

On Day 2 in Istanbul we visited the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar.

The Spice Market was an interesting experience with Turkish Delight, Nougat and Baklava everywhere we looked. The shop merchants stood on the threshold of their stores handing out trays of tasters to the many visitors that passed by. We got to taste every type of treat and went home with a fair amount of both Baklava and Turkish Delight for our families.

The Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar was a fair bit further up the hill. The Bazaar was a maze of activity.

The tile work was impressive and I especially loved the public water stations, crafted with so much care for a free resource for its citizens.

I really appreciated the fact that the merchants were not pushy in their sales. They made an offer and backed off immediately if you were not interested. I always prefer to bring home functional items rather than chachki's so when we found the beautiful pot holders I knew we had to get one.

The lamp stores were also extraordinary, but I couldn't bring myself to ship something so decadent across the world.

Simit

Eventually we made our way through the narrow alleys of the old town and cobbled streets to find the local Turkish bagel called Simit. I had being eyeing these gorgeous smelling baked goods for the last 2 days and was desperate to try one.

Luckily we had some Turkish cash left and I got one just as we were about to get on the final bus back to our ship.

That evening we managed to go above deck just as our ship was crossing under the bridges crossing the Bosphorus Waterway. The ship must have looked spectacular from the bridge, but the bridge also looked just as spectacular from the ship.

The next day didnt' go as planned so follow along for our next stop on our Greek Isles Cruise with NCL on the Getaway.

All photos are my own.

[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 41.03278 lat 28.99291 long The Greek Isles: Istanbul, Turkey d3scr))