Istanbul – Part IV

Since we had an early afternoon flight, we were up (relatively) early for our final day of exploration. Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia, which served as the cathedral of Constantinople from the 4th – 15th centuries before being converted into a mosque after Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. In the early 20th century the building was secularlized following Turkish independence.

I was very impressed by the sheer size of the Hagia Sophia (for nearly a thousand years it was the largest cathedral in the world) and its massive dome in particular. While the building itself is a bit run down (though holding up quite well given its age), it has plenty to capture your attention. The mix of Christian and Islamic symbols / imagery was definitely unique and something that I found very interesting.

































After the Hagia Sophia we made a quick stop by the Blue Mosque since Emilie wasn’t there during my visit on Thursday. She came prepared to respect the local customs…

We used our remaining hour to do some shopping at a nearby marketplace. We both bought some nice gifts and managed to demonstrate some absolutely terrible bargaining skills. The key to a successful bargain is being ready to walk away from the purchase if the price isn’t right – and we unfortunately weren’t willing to do this. Thus we never had a chance -- full retail price for us. But at least we liked what we bought.

And before I go, here are some random final observations…

- The double security screen / bag x-ray at the airport (the first just to get into the airport; the second was a regular one) was a first for me
- There were cats absolutely everywhere in Istanbul. Similar to Greece with all its dogs
- The metro tokens looked like they belonged in a childrens’ board game. And it was interesting that you couldn’t always buy the tokens at the actual metro stop – sometimes you had to buy them from a small store nearby (which wasn't always easy to find)