istanbul and back

Well, just got back from my first trip outside of Bulgaria since i got here, and i had a blast. me and my friend Tyler went down to Istanbul for 5 days of sightseeing and soaking in the local culture and let me tell you that Istanbul is a kick-ass city. its actually the 4th largest city in the world, and is a very modern and liberal city when compared with both the rest of turkey and bulgaria. istanbul (the only city that i know of that spans across into two continents) is an interesting mix of everything European and middle-eastern; the food, music, architecture, culture, etc. not to mention that istanbul (byzantium/augusta antonina/constantanople) has more historical places and history than most other cities anywhere in the world.
we took an overnight bus into istanbul on sunday and arrived at around 6 a.m. in the main bus terminal in the city, which size-wise resembles more of an airport than a bus terminal. from there we took the metro into the main part of town and spent the morning just walking around town getting a feel for the sights, sounds, and layout of the city. the main part of istanbul is relatively easy to navigate, and mass transit is surprisingly convenient, with light rails, metros and ferries servicing all the major tourist and shopping areas.
around noon we visited our first sight, the topkapi palace. this immense complex used to be the residence and main adminastrative center of the sultans, and is a very lavishly decorated place. it also holds some very impressive collections of china, armor, and jewels (including one piece that is inlaid with the worlds 4th largest cut diamond surrounded by 22 other large diamonds). the palace was interesting to me because of the middle eastern style of architecture and art that decorated it.
after a late lunch of turkish kabob, we went to the blue mosque, one of Istanbul's most prominent landmarks. this 400 year old structure is massive, with a large dome 140 high, supported by 16 ft thick stone columns. it is adorned with intricate paintings and stained glass windows that rival that of the notre dame. we had to wait until after prayer time to enter (there are 5 prayer times a day in islam) to see the mosque, but it is a most impressive building.
prayer time itself was interesting as well, since most of the large mosques (there are more mosques than you can count in istanbul) broadcast the daily prayers from large speakers mounted on the minarets. the prayers are sung though, and from in front of the blue mosque you can hear the prayers go back and and forth between buildings.
we eventually made our way across the city to where we were staying with a couch surfer. he was a super cool guy and and most nights we ended up going out with him for dinner and to see the town. it was also cool to get advice on where to go and have conversations with him about various things such as religion (turkey is like 90 percent muslim) and turkish accention into the EU.
on our second day we spent the morning browsing around the egyptian spice market and the grand bazaar. the grand bazaar is immense, comprised of over 4,000 shops, cafes, restaurants selling pretty much anything you could need to buy. the center of the bazaar is all covered, and you could get lost wandering around all the little paths packed with shops and shop keepers telling you that they have just what you are looking for. i did my fare share of price negotiating when was there, and i have to admit that it was a lot of fun.
after a quick dooner for lunch we went and visited the basilica cisterns, a huge underground aqueduct fed water storage chamber built in the 6th century. the room has all arched ceilings supported by rows and rows of columns, and raised walkways span over the fish filled water that is still covers the base of the cistern. in one corner of the room are two columns carved with Medusa's head. from there we went across the street to the hagia sofia. built over 1,500 years ago, the hagia sofia was the largest cathedral in the world for about 1,000 years and was converted into a mosque after the the fall of Constantinople. the size of the room is amazing, and makes even the blue mosque seem small in comparison. we walked around the building for almost an hour before heading off to visit other sites around the city.
on our third day we visited the dolmabanche palace, which is the new palace that was built for the sultans and is a curious mix of european and asian architecture. it is just as impressive as the tokapi palace, but more modern amenities added to it through the years. that evening we took a ferry across the bosphorus to asia to a traditional turkish bath that our host had recommended to us. the turkish bath was quite the experience, let me tell you. first off, the place we went to, while very popular with locals, was not a huge tourist spot so none of the staff spoke english. there was a lot of confusion on our part of what the heck we were doing, but they were nice and helped us out. we got the whole package deal, which included relaxing in the main sauna room, then a full scrub down and rough massage by a large mustachioed turk. normally i dont go for this kinda thing, but it was an interesting cultural experience and i have to admit that afterward i felt a lot better.
the last day we just spent wandering around seeing little things here and there. overall i had a fantastic time on our trip, and aside from visiting huge tourist spots, i had a great time eating the food (they have a pizza hut all you can eat buffet, first real pizza i have had since july!) talking with our turkish host, and just sitting around cafes smoking hookah and playing backgammon. i got back to bulgaria just in time to throw a st patties day party, and now im ready to start planning my next trip. hmm, where to?
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