Asia for the Morning

Once again, my aunt and I set off early to meet Claire, our tour guide for the day, at the Spice Market. We were going on a tour of the Bosphorus sites! I was really excited to go across the Bosphorus, because I would be in a boat over the Marmara and Black Seas as well as getting off on the other side in what was officially Asia! Claire was an American woman who had come to Turkey sixteen years ago and married a Turkish man. She was quite an interesting woman, being born in Pakistan but raised in America, and now living in Istanbul with her husband and seven year old son. She knew a lot about the history of Istanbul and the Republic of Turkey, and so I had a chat with her about it, having learned it all from my Senior Research Paper. We also discussed Snow by Orhan Pamuk and Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga, two of the four books I read for my paper. She had some really good opinions and had similar views as me about how the Turkish Republic would be better off blending the Eastern and Western cultural traditions and ideals. She definitely reinforced the thesis of my paper!

We took the ferry across the Bosphorus. The water was so blue and clear, although it isn't the cleanest. As we left the European side, I got a gorgeous view of the skyline with many mosques, houses, the Bazaars, and more:

View of the European side of Istanbul

As we continued towards Asia, Claire pointed out the Maiden's Tower. The legend is that a princess was cursed at birth to die from a serpent's bite. Her father, in order to protect her, built the tower in the middle of the sea where she would stay and be safe. She grew up and was very beautiful and attracted the attention of a boy. The boy would swim out every day to talk to her beneath her tower and they soon fell in love. One stormy night, the boy didn't come, so the princess decided to go to the mainland to look for him. When she arrived, she was offered some food. As she reached into the basket to take the proffered food, a serpent slithered out and bit her and she died.

Maiden's Tower in the middle of the Bosphorus

When we disembarked, the city felt completely different. There wasn't a frantic rush. It was still very crowded, but felt more like a neighborhood, maybe like South Kensington in London. It was nice because this felt like the real Istanbul, not just a built up, tourist attraction like parts of where we had previously been felt like. Our first stop was to the Beylerbeyi Palace. It is a French and Ottoman designed summer palace, built for Sultan Abdul Aziz in 1861. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor have also stayed there! The palace reminded me of the Ringling House down in Florida--it was very ornate and pleasing to the eye. The mixture of French and Ottoman styles (Western and Eastern!) looked lovely together.

Beylerbeyi Palace on the left (behind the tree unfortunately) and one of the two bathing pavilions on the right, overlooking the Bosphorus. The Ataturk Bridge behind it is the largest suspension bridge in the world and it connects Asian Istanbul with European Istanbul over the Bosphorus.

Prettiest Room!

Blue Marble columns

The most beautiful room in the palace, in my opinion, was the reception hall on the second floor. It had a large fountain with running water (though it was turned off) in the center, marble columns, agiant crystal chandelier, and perfect symmetry of the placement of furniture and statues (left).

After that, we wandered down to the edge of the Bosphorus to a quaint little square where the locals hang out and fish and have tea. Claire told us more Greek mythology stories with a bit of a Turkish twist (see, everyone has their own versions of Greek mythology!). We could see a military high school that had been around since the 1800s on the Asian coast of Istanbul. I got really excited because that was probably the military school Irfan Orga had described attending in his novel, Portrait of a Turkish Family! The fact that I was actually seeing what I had read about was really fascinating to me. The water still looked clear to me, so I asked if it was clean enough to swim in (not that I had any desire, with all those ferries and boats chugging across constantly). Claire said that the mayor assured the citizens annually by jumping in on television, but he jumps out just as quickly, so it probably isn't that clean. Although, at the narrowest point between the two sides of Istanbul, there are sometimes swimming competitions by age groups. It is very difficult because the Bosphorus has two currents: the cold, rough Black Sea on the bottom and the warmer, calmer Sea of Marmara on top.

Looking down the edge of the Bosphorus

Boats docked at the square

Little street

While we have been walking A LOT, we have also tried the public transportation, though not the trolley because it is always jampacked and looks incredibly uncomfortable and claustrophobic. We tried one of these minibuses that zip around the neighborhood.  I've noticed that as you get closer to the residential areas of Istanbul, everything downsizes, such as the buses! They're pretty small and can get really uncomfortable if there are a large amount of people, either sitting or standing around the doors. But they definitely get you places. We stopped off in this adorable little neighborhood nestled a little way up from the edge of the Bosphorus, but lined with cobbled streets and houses like in Amsterdam: all connected together and very tall. The style was different though. Along the streets, there are cafes and little stores where people sit outside and play backgammon and, of course, drink tea and coffee. When we passed by, they always smiled and said hello. I really like the people here! Another interesting thing is that in one street, we saw a Greek Orthodox Church, an Armenian Church, a Synagogue, a Mosque, and another chapel. In Istanbul, they are very tolerant of religions. Claire, as a Christian, is married to a Muslim. We asked if there was any pressure to convert, but she said that there was absolutely none at all. The population of Turkey is over 90% Muslim.

Chapel

Houses

Vegetable Market

That pretty much ended our morning in Asia. I'll tell you all about my visit to the Suleymayine Mosque back on the European side after I get some sleep. Goodnight!