Istanbul bazaars and mosques

Istanbul Turkey

Stayed as per last night.

With the knowledge that the Grand and Spice Bazaars would be closed during the week long holiday period, we made them our priority this morning. At 8am the streets were just waking up and were much less crowded than yesterday afternoon. Along the way we popped into our first mosque.

We then found an entrance into the amazing Grand Bazaar which is a huge complex sprawling 30,000m2, with 60 streets and around 4,400 shops! There was plenty of things to buy but nothing for us today..the salesmen approach you and one great line today was “I have everything but customers”. Hopefully his day improved. In general we find the people friendly and courteous and if you say No they will back down. There were several instances during the day people offered their help. 

After our explore we found an exit that would lead us to the Spice or Egyptian Bazaar through streets with more shops mainly selling clothes. We could smell the spices before we saw them, beautifully arranged in the stalls. The Bazaar acquired it’s name due to the arrival of goods from Egypt, Arab lands, India and the Far East. Of course plenty of other goods were also for sale including tea, dried fruit, Turkish Delight...and more.

Hope the police don’t need to use their weapons.

 As we went out we walked through the nearby streets which seemed to sell more to the locals.

 After buying some breakfast we sat down looking out at the Galata Bridge which spans the Golden Horn inlet of the Bosphorus River and over at the Asia side of Istanbul.

 At the foot of the bridge there were plenty of sellers of the popular bbq fish sandwiches. Which looked delicious and at 12TRY, a bargain, but too early for us.

 So we walked over the bridge and UP hill to Taskim Square. Here we found the Monument of the Republic.

Their serious about their kebabs 

 Feeling a bit weary we decided it was time to use public transport so we bought the equivalent of a Myki card for 6TRY adding credit as well. We then took the funicular down and then the tram back across the river and stopped near the Blue Mosque. This is where the tourist action is with the main attractions next to each other. Our first point of call was the Basilica Cistern which is an underground water reservoir built in 565. Being 70m wide and 140m long it could hold 100,000 tons of water. The ceiling is supported by 336 columns each 9m high. 

One of the fascinating features are the Roman Era Medusa head sculptures.

 After a bite of lunch we headed off to see Hagia Sophia which began as a Byzantine Church then became a mosque during the Ottoman Era. The church features rich mosaics and a 31m grand central dome richly decorated with murals, Arabic calligraphy and colourful marble. 

We then made our way to the Blue Mosque getting its name from the 20,000 tiles which adorn the interior walls. Unfortunately it was under renovation so we could not get in awe of the place. 

We did enjoy walking on lush carpet as we had to take our shoes off. From here we walked out into the Hippodrome area that had once been the entertainment and social hub of the Byzantine Empire. It is now a much smaller area with a few monuments including a pink granite Egyptian obelisk from 390AD, the German Fountain gifted in 1901 and the mile stone which was the zero mile mark on the road to Rome.

There were lots of security trucks around this area.


Around the other side of Hagia Sofia we found the Tombs which were beautifully decorated...probably the best so far today.

 We then took the tram back to Bluey and rested before heading out for some dinner and a stroll through crowded streets.