Trips: Turkey (January 22 - 31, 2001)

Turkey (January 22 - 31, 2001)
While surfing the Internet on a Thursday night, I found a $500 round-trip ticket to Istanbul. One week later, I was there taking in some of the greatest architectural and historical sites of the world. Here is a summary of what I saw and did.
Monday, January 22
Nothing exciting, just a red-eye to Paris.

Tuesday, January 23
Due to an unexpected six-hour layover in Paris, I decided to catch a train into the city to visit Notre Dame again. I didn't arrive in Istanbul until 11:30 p.m. Luckily, I found a taxi and a hotel with little difficulty.

Wednesday, January 26
Since my hotel was located in the heart of Old Stamboul, I had no problem seeing all of these following sites by foot in a single day.

Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) (more info)
The world's largest church until St. Peter's Basilica was built in Rome 1,000 years later, this is one of the World's Seven Medieval Wonders.
Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Cami)
Decorated with 20,000 shimmering blue Iznik tiles interspersed with 260 stained-glass windows, this massive structure is studded with mini- and semidomes and surrounded by six minarets.
Hippodrome
Once a Byzantine stadium with 100,000 seats, the Hippodrome was the center for public entertainment. Now, it is just an open park that is invested with hundreds of Turkish peddlers selling postcards, nuts, and souvenirs.
Topkapi Sarayi (Topkapi Palace)
Considered the city's number-one attraction, this palace sits on Seraglio Point where the Bosporus meets the Golden Horn (two bodies of water). While it was nice, it pales in comparison to Aya Sofya and many other attractions.

Yerebatan Sarnici (Sunken Cistern)
Part of an underground network of waterways, it was always kept full as a precaution against long sieges. It contains 336 marble columns rising 26 feet to support Byzantine arches and domes. Classical music was piped-in to join the sound of endlessly dripping water. Awesome.

Thursday, January 25
Flew to Izmir, rented a car, and drove two-hours north to Pergamum (Bergama), where I visited this city's windswept ruins, which are among the best in Turkey. The most dramatic can be found at acropolis, where I saw remains of the Temple of Athena and the Altar of Zeus; once among the grandest monuments in the Greek world. Eager to see more, I drove six hours south to Selcuk, where I'd start my Friday.

Friday, January 26
Just a few miles outside of Selcuk, I found Ephesus (the best-preserved and most evocative ancient city in the eastern Mediterranean) and many other great sites. As you will see, I covered a lot of ground this day.
Ephesus
On the sea at the time, Ephesus was a powerful trading port and sacred center for the cult of Artemis. Its harbor has since silted full, making its port useless. Its ruins, however, are amazing; requiring a half day of exploration.
Graves of the Seven Sleepers
Legend says seven young Christian men hid in a cave to avoid persecution by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, waking 200 years later. Their tombs were from the Byzantine era.
Temple of Artemis (more info)
Since only fragments are left, it was hard for me to find this holy site that drew pilgrims from around the ancient world. One of the Seven Ancient Wonders, all that was left was a foundation and a lone standing column.
St. John Basilica
Eleven domes used to top this basilica, which rivaled Aya Sofya in scale. Still an incredible sight, the church's labyrinth of halls and marble courtyards provided great views of the Selcuk Castle, Ephesus, and what's left of Artemis.
Meryemana (The House of the Virgin Mary)
About 10 miles up the hill, this was a small church built over the site of an ancient house that many believe is the place where St. John took the Virgin Mary after Jesus' crucifixion and from which she ascended to heaven. Pope Paul VI even confirmed the site's authenticity in 1967.

Saturday, January 27
Having spent my evening in Marmaris (a coastal town on the Aegean Sea) on Saturday, I was hoping to catch a ferry to Rhodes to see another of the Seven Ancient Wonders (Colossus of Rhodes). Unfortunately, the ferries don't run everyday in the winter. So I ditched the rental car and caught a three-hour bus to Bodrum for the evening.

Sunday, January 28

Considered Turkey's leading coastal resort, Bodrum is pretty boring in the winter. But I did explore the white-marble tomb for Mausolus at Halicarnassus (more info), which made the Seven Wonders list and gave us the word mausoleum. I also explored the Castle of St. Peter, which is built right in the middle of their harbor, providing great views of the town's coast.


Monday, January 29
Flew back to Istanbul to spend my last two days in Turkey visiting the sites that I missed my first day there.
Beyazit Cami
Inspired by Aya Sofya, this domed mosque dates from 1504 and is the oldest of the Ottoman imperial mosques still standing in the city.
Istanbul University
It wasn't really a destination, just a passing point in between other attractions. It did have an impressive gateway and a 200-foot tower.
Suleymaniye Cami (Mosque of Suleyman)
The grandest and most famous creation of its designer, Sinan, houses his tomb and that of his patron, Suleyman the Magnificent. This is the city's largest mosque and was very impressive.
Galata Koprusu (Galata Bridge)
I made it here just in time for sunset, which offered a great view of Old and New Stamboul as I stood over the Golden Horn. From here you can see Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque, and the Suleymaniye and Yeni mosques.

Tuesday, January 30
Suffering from tourist overload, I decided to spend the day viewing the city by boat. Istanbul is the only city to stretch across two continents (Europe and Asia). Going north up the Bosporus, we passed Dolmabahce Palace, Ortakoy Cami, and many other great sites. We disembarked for one hour to explore Rumeli Hisari (Thracian Castle), a 1452 fortress that was built in only 40 days.

Wednesday, January 31
Flew back to DC.

It was a great trip. And believe it or not, I managed to come home without a carpet despite their persistent salesmen. Best of all, I visited a new country and can scratch at least five attractions off my to do list.

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