2025_0914 & 0915 Istanbul, Turkey...

Sunday, September 14th, the Viva would dock in Istanbul at about 10am. We would spend the night in this port and leave on Monday at 2pm. Claude and I opted to tour the first day and stay on the Viva the second day. 

We had a leisurely breakfast and went to the Viva Theater to awake the call for our tour, "Byzantine Heritage of Istanbul". Two things we wanted to see in Istanbul were the Hagia Sophia and the underground cistern that figured in the movie Inferno based on the Dan Brown novel of the same name. This tour was noted as challenging. Yike!! This was the point where we noted that our tour time was different on some of the tours than when I booked them well before the trip. We thought this tour would begin at 1pm and go till 6pm. The new time was a 9:50am meeting time. One must be flexible when traveling! Better to do this kind of thing in the morning instead of the heat of the afternoon. 

Our tour guide was Akmed. He pointed out that we were on the Europe side of Istanbul and would stay on that side the entire tour. Istanbul is one two continents and straddles the Bosporus Strait. Part of it is on the Europe side and the other part is across the water 

The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Turkey which is straddled by the city of Istanbul. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental boundaries between Asia and Europe.

Our coach would drive along the John F. Kennedy highway that follows the waters edge on the Europe side. I took a few pictures as we drove to our destination, the Sultan Ahmet Park and Square. 

Once at our destination, we would get off the coach and walk to where the Hippodrome would have been. I found a map and tried to label in blue what we would see. Top right underline Aya Sofya-i Kebir Cami-i Serifi is the Hagia Sophia. To the left of that, the underline of Yerebatan Sarnica is the Basilica Cistern. Go down from that to the next underline of what looks like a chess piece. That is the German Fountain. It marks the north end of where the Hippodrome would have been. The Hippodrome would have gone to the second of the two blue dots on Sultan Ahmed Square. Those blue dots are two obelisks. To the right of this inside the green (which is Sultan Ahmed Park) isSultanahmet Camii or The Blue Mosque. This is the area we would walk around in. 

We walked past the Hagia Sophia.

Then we stopped at the German Fountain. It is at the of Sultan Ahmet Square which marks the area when the Hippodrome would have been. The German Fountain is a gazebo styled fountain in the northern end of the former Hippodrome of Constantinople in Istanbul. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898.

The Hippodrome would have been from the German Fountain all the way down and around where the two obelisks are located. The first picture is from the fountain to the obelisks and the second picture is from the obelisks to the fountain to give an idea of the length of the Hippodrome. 

The first Hippodrome was built when the city was called Byzantium. It is estimated that the Hippodrome of Constantine was about 1,476 feet long and 427 feet wide. The stands were capable of holding 100,000 spectators. 

We walked from the German Fountain to the obelisks. The first one is from Egypt and is the Obelisk of Theodosius (Theodosius Dikilitasi). It was erected in the Hippodrome in part to commemorate the defeat of the usurper Maximus and his son Victor by Theodosius in 388. The obelisk is made of Aswan granite and is almost 66 feet tall. It rests on an elaborately decorated base depicting Theodosius and his court at the Hippodrome. 

The second obelisk is Orme Dikilitas or the Walled Obelisk or Masonry Obelisk. It is a Roman monument in the form of an obelisk and is made of individual stones instead of one solid block of marble. Alas, I did not get a great picture of it. But it is behind the Theodosius Obelisk in this picture.

Our tour did not include entering the Blue Mosque, which is right next to Sultan Ahmet's Square. We walked along one side of it to get to the Hagia Sophia. 

We passed this interesting building behind a wall. Not sure what it was. 

Then we got to where we would enter the Hagia Sophia. Another long queue in which to wait. 

Then it was time to for the ladies to cover their head and hair to enter Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia is a historic building in Istanbul that began as a grand Byzantine church, was later converted into an Ottoman mosque, and served as a museum before becoming a mosque again in 2020. It is famous for its unique architectural genius, particularly its massive dome, its blend of Byzantine and Islamic art and design, and its long history as a central religious and cultural symbol for both Christianity and Islam. 

We went up a lot of stairs to get to the second floor. This is where we would tour. The is a large opening to the first floor and a wall from which you can look from the second floor to the first floor. The first floor is used for Muslim worship at prayer times. One of these happened while we were in the Hagia Sophia. 

These pictures were taken as we walked around the second floor. Akmed had us pay close attention to the floors. They slant. It seems the big domed roof is very heavy. It began to weigh the walls down and push them out like a flower blossom opening. Steps have been taken to brace the outer walls and prop them so the pressure from the roof stops pushing them out. 

During the Byzantine period, Hagia Sophia was a Christian church. It was covered with Christian mosaics, paintings, etc. When the Ottoman's took over, they quickly plastered over all this beautiful art. They do not believe you should have any images on the walls. Instead, they have gorgeous calligraphy and geometric artwork. These pictures were taken from our walk around the second floor looking over the wall into the open area where the mosque is used today for religious services. 

There are some places were the plaster has been removed or came away with water damage. In those spots, you can see some of the mosaics or paintings from the Byzantine era. Where these images show, the Muslim worshippers below will not look during their service. 

There are four seraphim mosaics on the walls. 

This section on the second floor was marked off by a dark tile in the floor. This area was where the royalty would have sat. 

The door is to the secretary's room. You cannot to in that room. 

Looking down from the second story into the mosque area on the first floor.

The marble doors separate the Emperor's chamber from the other areas. 

More places were the plaster has either been removed or water damage has removed it. 

Mosaic above vestibule door. On the right is Emperor Constantine holding a model of the city. On the left is the Emperor Justinian, who constructed Hagia Sophia, holding its model. They are both presenting their models to the Virgin Mary who is holding the Christ child. 

Dandolo was the doge of Venice who promoted the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the sack of Constantinople and the transport of valuable art to Venice. Doge Enrico Dandolo is briefly mentioned in Dan Brown's novel Inferno, with the main character Robert Langdon connecting him to the Hagia Sophia. This is the marker over his tomb.

In this mosaic, John the Baptist is on the right, the Virgin Mary is on the left, with Jesus in the middle. Akmed pointed out that this mosaic of Jesus is made so his eyes follow you wherever you move. A close look reveals this is done by the pupil on the Jesus left eye being at the top and the pupil on Jesus right eye looking straight forward. 

We left Hagia Sophia and walked a short distance to the Basilica Cistern. This was featured in the movie Inferno based on the Dan Brown novel by that name. I really enjoy the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown. I have the three movies made from his novels "Angels & Demons", "The DaVinci Code" and "Inferno". Claude and I were looking forward to seeing this bit of film history.

The Basilica Cistern, known as "Yerebatan Sarnıcı" in Turkish, is an ancient underground water storage facility located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Basilica Cistern was constructed during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century. The cistern was built to supply water to the Great Palace of Constantinople and nearby buildings, especially during sieges. Measuring approximately 453 feet long and 210 feet wide, it has a capacity of 104,636 cubic yards of water. The structure is supported by 336 marble columns, each 30 feet high, arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns. The columns are all recycled from other places. Each is a little different. Today, it stands as a testament to Byzantine engineering and an important historical site in Istanbul. There are several cisterns in Istanbul. You must go down metal stairs into the cistern. There is a metal path to walk through them. Then you ascend another set of metal stairs to exit. 

Let's take a walk through the Basilica Cistern. The first picture has a metal rod across the top of the picture. That would have been the water level when the cistern was in use those many years ago.

Today there are works of are placed throughout the cistern.

Notably, two columns feature the heads of Medusa, one placed sideways and the other upside down, which are believed to be repurposed from earlier Roman monuments. 

The Hen's Eye Column is located in the northwest corner of the cistern, this column features a carved medallion resembling a hen's eye. Its function is unknown, but it is believed to be an ancient Roman relic.

Time to go back to the coach for a ride to the Spice Bazaar. 

The tour would have taken us to the Grand Bazaar. Since it was Sunday, that area was closed. The alternative was the Spice Bazaar. Once inside, we were directed to a certain stall where they sold Turkish Delight. I love Turkish Delight. Had my first taste when in Ireland and was instantly hooked. However, the samples they had in this store were a different type made with honey. It was soooo good. They also sold spices and essential oils, etc. Very pushy sales person. We were hoping for a lesson in how they made Turkish Delight. Instead it was a stop to get us to buy from a vendor. 

Claude and I exited after the sales speech and found our way out a back side door. We found an open area with benches in the shade of trees on which to sit. We picked a spot and noted it was covered in bird poop. Oh My Goodness! We found an area that didn't have as much and sat to enjoy the wait while others shopped. There was a vendor selling Turkish pretzels. I purchased one for each of us. As we sat and munched on our pretzels, we felt a splat and realized a bird pooped on Claude's shirt. I quickly got in my purse and found Kleenex to clean his shirt as best we could. We moved to another spot and had no more issues.

From where we were sitting facing the Bazaar building, the roof of that building was covered in pigeons. In front of the Spice Bazaar was another building and its roof was covered with black birds. Every now and and then, the black birds would leave their roof top in mass and fly over the trees where we were sitting and the over the top of the Spice Bazaar where all the pigeons were sitting. Then the pigeons would do that same kind of pattern over the roof where the black birds were sitting. There were hundreds of these birds. I am sure it is an easy meal with all the people have a treat and dropping crumbs. Just before we left to join the group at our meet-up time, the pigeons swarmed down to where we were sitting. It seems some kind soul dropped a ton of something they could eat and it was definitely first-come, first served! 

The group gathered in front of the Spice Bazaar and we walked back to the coach which took us back to the Viva. 

A word about the port in Istanbul. You had to have a special Visa to get off the boat and enter Turkey. We were each given a half sheet of paper with a QR code on it. That was our Visa. If you didn't have it to scan you would not enter Turkey or exit Turkey. It was good both days we were in Istanbul. This port was enormous. We had to go down two long escalators to get to the basement level which has many, many numbered spaces for touring coaches to park to gather and return the tour groups. The top level was a huge shopping mall. On top of that were many nice restaurants. It was enormous.

When we got back aboard the Viva, we changed our bird poop clothes and cleaned up a bit. I took a  picture of the view from our balcony before we went to have lunch. 

Dinner in the Hudson. Sandi had Caesar salad, chicken cordon bleu, and carrot cake. Claude ate Asian noodle salad, Asian style market fish, and carrot cake. Carrot cake was outstanding. I want to state categorically that this was the very best carrot cake we have ever eaten. We both agreed it was superb!

In the evening, Claude watched "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Then we enjoyed good night’s sleep.

Monday, September 15th, we were both awake about 8:45a. Our bodies must be getting used to Greece time. We enjoyed breakfast at Surfside Cafe before the closed to prep for lunch. The we took our Kindles and headed to the Observation Lounge to read.

I wanted a 360 degree view of Istanbul. We went to the 8th deck to walk Ocean Boulevard so I could get pictures. Here is Istanbul from all sides of the Viva.

We then spent time on our balcony labeling pictures and updating notes of trip.

At lunch time, we tried lunch at the Local Bar & Grill. It did not work for us. Evidently, it was a specialty restaurant. You didn't need a reservation, but you had to pay extra. There was a little machine at your table and you entered your order there and paid by taping your credit card or your key card. Neither worked after multiple tries. We gave up and headed to Surfside Cafe instead. We had our soft serve ice cream cones for dessert.

We sat on our balcony for departure to the watch the Viva leave Istanbul at 2pm. 

The highlight of this departure was a fly over of several military jets in a tight formation like the Blue Angels. It was a bit intimidating as we were in Turkey. Lots of political unrest in that country. Never felt nervous until I heard those jets approaching before we could see them from our balcony. They flew over two times. 

Claude was able to get a nap. I decided that must be a good way to sleep. The balcony door was open so you had a cool ocean breeze with the sound of waves against the ship. I know I enjoyed it while I read.

Dinner was in the Hudson. Sandi had Caesar salad, potato gnocchi, and Black Forest cake. Claude at French onion soup, steak, and Black Forest cake.

After dinner we found a place to sit on deck 8. Richard from the Philippines worked the bar in that area and there were NO customers. He stayed and chatted for a long time. 

Back in our stateroom, Claude watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" before we went to bed.