Istanbul Turkey

At the invitation of Turkish Airlines I flew out of Toronto on April 11, 2011 along with other travel consultants and arrived in Istanbul on late afternoon on April 12th.  Our flight with Turkish Airlines was perfect.  We were seated in Comfort Class seats which is a category below Business Class.  The seats were wide and comfortable and had a leg rest so that when you put the seat back you were almost laying down.  There was enough room that someone could go by you without you having to get up.  Each seat had individual entertainment units in the arm rest. We were all provided with a leather pouch that held toothpaste,  toothbrush, socks and eyecovering, slippers and blankets.  The food was superb.  Appetizers, full course meal and deserts all served on china and real cutlery (not plastic)  There was a chef on board with full chef cap and uniform who came around and asked your your meal was.  How civilized.  Hats off to Turkish Airlines for a great flight.

After our arrival in Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon we were taken to the Grand Yavuz Hotel in the old city on the European side of Istanbul.  After check in we went out for supper at Gelik Restaurant on the watefront where we were treated to a mixture of Turkish foods.........excellent.  





Shisha House



 On our return to the Hotel one of our hosts from Turkish Airlines suggested a short walk for anyone who wanted.  A few of us decided to take up the offer and we ended up in an old building that was jammed with people sitting and smoking sisha (Hookah) water pipes and drinking tea.  We of course participated in this ritual and were told that the building we were in has been used for only this purpose for centuries.  As you can see from the picture the pillars holding up the domed ceiling are ancient.  The picture also shows about 1/10 of the size of the total building as there were separate rooms on the sides.  The whole experience was just unbelievable.  By this time we were getting very tired and it was back to the hotel for a good night sleep.

Egyptian Spice Market

Wednesday after breakfast we departed for the Spice Market which is much smaller than the famous Grand Market but is the one that the locals go to as the Grand Market is mostly a tourist attraction.  There was a phenomenal array of spices in the market along with Turkish Nougats and other goods.  Right next door was the New Mosque which actually goes back centuries. 



view from the pine hills

 After our vist to the Spice Market it was off to a cruise on the Bosphorous Strait and we were able to view the city from both sides with all the palaces and ancient buildings plus the modern city going up the hills.  We went under both bridges that span Europe to Asia and docked on the Asia side.  We were then taken to the highest hill in Istanbul were we had a panoramic view of both the European side and the Asia side of Istanbul.  Our next stop was for lunch at a Seafood restaurant on the Bosphorous Strait where we dined on grilled fish.  After lunch it was off to see the Sultan's Summer Palace which is on the Asia side of Istanbul.  The palace was magnificent filled with furniture, chandeliers and paintings and really showed the oppulent lifestyle of the Sultan and his many wives.  We are now back at the hotel and will be going out for supper in another section of the old city.  After we returned from supper a few of us went to the 7th floor rooftop restaurant and bar for a few drinks.  The views of the city were spectacular.


Emergency ramp



inside flight simulator





Appetizers



Lunch at DO&CO



preparing appetizers



Thursday was to be a free day in the city however our hosts had another surprise for us.  After breakfast we were bussed to the Turkish Airlines Training Centre at the airport were  flight attendants and pilots are trained.   We we first taken to a full size mock up of a 737 and Airbus Jet and demostrated the emergency training required by all flight attendants.  The mock up was actually sitting in a small lake so that training could be completed for evacuation of the jet on dry land and also in the water.  A few of our group actually slid down the emergency ramp.  We were then taken to see the flight simulators used to train pilots.  Turkish Airlines has 7 of these simulators at a cost of approximately $ 13 million each.  Some of the simulators were actually manufactured in Canada.  The simulators are used to not only train Turkish Airline pilots but also pilots from quite a number of airlines.  Some of the simulators were in use and when training was completed we were all give a chance not only see the inside of the simulators but actually sit in the captains seats as I am in the picture.  We were then given another surprise as we were taken to the assembly plant of Turkish DO&CO a partner of Turkish Airlines and who provides not only catering services to Turkish Airlines but also other major airlines.  We were provided lunch at their facilities in a reconstucted airline cabin with the actual food that was made for the flights that day.  We had already experienced the fantastic food on the flight to Istanbul  and now we were going to see how it was prepared.  After lunch we were give a complete tour of the kitchens were all the food was being prepared fresh daily for the flights that day.   



Suleyman Mosque

After a very educational tour it was back to the hotel where we did have some free time.  We learned at that time that the major attractions of Istanbul - Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome were all within a 10- 15 minute walk from the hotel.  Turns out the Shisha place we visited the 1st night is actually next to the Grand Bazaar.  A group of us decided to go to the Grand Bazaar and those that wanted to stay and shop they did so but others like myself decided we would go and try some Boza  a popular fermented beverage in Turkey.  This trek took us around the University of Istanbul and into the unique old neibourhoods of Istanbul with its wooden houses and right past the Suleyman Mosque, at 70,000 sq. metres the largest but also the least know mosque in Istanbul.  As prayers had just started we continued on to the Boza shop and enjoyed this very unique drink.  On our return prayers were over and after taking our shoes off at the entrance we went inside and spent about 20 minutes wandering around this magnificent mosque.  It was very peaceful as very few tourists every see this mosque.  After returning to the hotel it was time to go for supper.



Sultan's coucil chamber



Sultan's Palace



Haghia Sophia



Friday was our historical tour day.  We started out in the area of the ancient Hippodrome now just a square with 3 different types of Egyptian obelisks. Then it was off to the Topkapi Palace built in 1459 and was both the residence of the Sultan and also the centre of government for the Ottoman empire.  This site alone could take up a full day in order to see everything within the walls and 4 courtyards.   Our next stop was the Haghia Sophia Museum, the Church of Holy Wisdom....the existing church was built in 537 A.D. and converted into a Mosque in the 15th century.  Since 1934 it has been a museum.  When it was converted into a Mosque all the icons were plastered over as the Muslims cannot have images on the walls of mosques.  Today it is still being restored with the plaster being removed and the original icons had been preserved by the plaster. 



inside Haghia Sophia





Blue Mosque



Washing before prayers



Our next stop was the famous Blue Mosque with it's 6 minarets.  This mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet and completed in 1616 and is widely knowed as the Blue Mosque because of the blue Iznik tiles in the interior.  We arrived just as the call to prayers was made however as the Blue Mosque is a major tourist attraction we were allowed into the mosque during prayers.  Outside the mosque the men where washing their hands, feet, faces and heads at taps to cleanse themselves before entering for prayers.  We again had to take our shoes off at the entrance and women had to cover their heads with scarves.  As this was Friday the prayers from the Koran were in Arabic so there was a large screen set up in the mosque which translated the sermon from Arabic to both Turkish and English. 







inside Grand Bazaar



Our final stop this afternoon was the Grand Bazaar one the world's largest buildings, containing a network of 61 covered streets and about 4,500 shops and in business since its foundation in 1461.  The bazaar is the world's oldest covered market.  The place is mind boggeling.  Vendors inviting you into their stores, a mass of humanity walking up and down the streets. For a shopaholic this place is nirvana.  I did venture outside of the market only to find more shops and vendors as far as you can see.  The building has 13 gates to enter so you have to remember were you started in order to get out the same way. 

Whirling Dervish

That evening prior to supper we went and witnessed the prayers and meditation of the Whirling Dervishes.  Since I first saw a documentary many years ago about the Whirling Dervishes I have wanted to see them and here they were.  This was not a performance but a prayer so cameras, talking and applause were not allowed.  Their increase whirling actually puts them into a trance state.  It is hard to describe it but here is a good link that shows their prayer.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnunfciSr7k  .  After supper it was back to the hotel as we had an early ferry departure for Bursa the next morning. 

Hotel Montania - Bursa

Our 5 a.m. wake up call on Saturday coincided with the first call to prayer from the surrounding mosques and after breakfast and check out we were on our way to the ferry docks to take a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to Bursa.  Fortunately the sea was fairly calm and we had a good crossing.  On our arrival our hosts had another suprise and we made a stop at the  Montania Hotel in Bursa were we were treated to an excellent breakfast.  This hotel was originally an train station built by the French with all marble and building materials brought in from Marsailles France. 



Silk Markets







fountain in mosque



In the centre of old Bursa is the Silk Markets and the Mosque.  We wandered through the market squares and it was one building into another building with covered markets and courtyards everywhere.  Again, if you were a shopper you were in heaven.  We then visited the mosque which is unusual as it is the only one in the world with a fountain in the middle of the mosque where men can wash themselves.  We were told by the guide that at the time the mosque was being planned by the grand vizer the land where the fountain presently stands was owned by a Christian women who did not want to sell her land to be used as a place of worship.  The grand vizer promised her that it would not be used for worship and that is where the fountain was built. Our hosts again had another surprise for us as they advised us that the Governor or Bursa has requested a meeting with us at the government house close by.  After a short walk we arrived at the Governors building were we were welcomed by the governor and each presented with a gift from Bursa. 

Hotel Turkish Bath



Restaurant



We then checked into the Hotel Celik Palas with its thermal spas.  Bursa is in an area that has a high mountain with snow still on top of it and during the winter is used for skiing with beautiful chalets and hotels on the slopes.  The area also has many hot thermal & mineral springs and is famous for its Turkish Baths (Hammam).  Our modern hotel had a spectacular view of Bursa and also a huge Turkish Bath.  The afternoon was ours to spend as we pleased so without any hesitation I decided to try out the Turkish Bath.  Let me just say that it was quite an experience.  In the men's locker room each locker had a bathrobe, slippers, towels and even a safe.  There were lounge areas with more towels before you went into the Turkish Bath.  The air temperature in the bath area was 32 degrees celcius and I would estimate that the water was over 42 degrees celcius.  At that temperature you couldn't stay in the water too long so you just relaxed on the loungers to cool off.  Both the Sauna and Turkish Bath were free for all guests.  That evening we went out for supper at a restaurant just across from the hotel. 

Pedestrian street - Taksim Square

Greek Orthodox Church

On Sunday we returned to Istanbul again by ferry and in the late afternoon we checked into our final hotel the Istanbul City Center Hotel located in the Taksim Square area.  As the streets in this area of Istanbul are so narrow our bus had to drop us off at Taksim Square and we walked to the hotel, about 10 minutes.  After check in it was time to check out Taksim Square which is the largest pedestrian shopping street I have ever seen.  Did not spend to much time walking through the mass of people and so returned to the Greek Orthodox Church close to the hotel and attended the Palm Sunday service.  A unique experience as the entire service was in Greek however I was able to follow the liturgy and thereby participate in the service.  Supper was not until after 8 p.m. so after our return to the hotel it was early to bed as we had an early morning wake up call to have breakfast and then take us back to the airport.

Monday morning after a good breakfast we again walked to Taksim Square to get our bus and our suitcases as before were transported by the hotel van.  After numerous security checks we were at the boarding gate and awaited out long 10 hour flight back to Toronto........however, again in Comfort Class with excellent meals and drinks time flew by very quickly and we were landing in Toronto.

Istanbul is an exotic city and the only one in the world that is on 2 continents - Europe and Asia.  It is a large city of 15 million people with modern conveniences yet still maintaining its ancient charm.  It is safe as any large city can be and we had no problems walking the old city streets in the evening.  People were very friendly everywhere we went.  It is a destination I would highly recommend and would love to return to and explore more thoroughly.  Thanks to Turkish Airlines for making this a most memorable trip.