Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Bursa to Istanbul

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

We headed back to Istanbul today, traveling along the Sea of Marmara from Bursa to Sabiha Gochen Airport, where we returned our car.  We were relieved to find that the bottom line on the broken tail light cover and smashed window was not too painful. 

We took a shuttle into town and a tram to our hotel; it felt a bit like coming home.  We were greeted warmly on our return to our first digs in Turkey, and welcomed with pomegranate juice and the ubiquitous sweet treat, Turkish Delight.  While we enjoyed our snack in the lobby, the hotel phone rang and there was a call for us from our dear friend Diane Smith – talk about timing!  Diane is on the first leg of a vacation in Turkey and will be leaving Istanbul tomorrow morning, and we’d been hoping since before we left Arizona that we’d be able to get together.  Over the course of the last day, we’d been trying to contact each other via uncertain Internet connections, Turkish hotel telephone operators and less-than-perfect Turkish cell phone reception, all to no avail.  We quickly arranged a rendezvous for late this afternoon.

We set out to visit a couple of sites nearby, one that we’d missed during our initial time here and the other a return to an irresistible favorite.  The “something new” was the mausoleum complex of the Hagia Sophia, a series of five beautiful buildings, each of which is the final resting place of a sultan or two, along with assorted wives and children.  

 

Each mausoleum is beautifully decorated, some with tiled walls, others with decorative painting and the quiet of their shared courtyard contrasts with the crowds just outside the walls.

We just had to return to the Blue Mosque, to gaze at the profusion of tiles and experience the ethereal feeling of that special place once more.  Sigh…

With a quick switch of gears and ambiance, we made a quick circuit of the Grand Bazaar again en route to the hilltop Suleyman Mosque, where Diane and her traveling companion, Trudy, were waiting for us.  

 

What a feeling it was to be together in a truly amazing, serene space so far from home; we just kept pinching ourselves!  After leaving the mosque, we made our way through narrow alleys filled with all manner of merchandise (much of it made in China!), stopped to see the gem-like Rustem Pasa Mosque and then at Hamdi Restaurant near the Spice Market.  

 

We enjoyed lahmacun (a thin-crust Turkish pizza) and a chance to compare experiences and share Turkish travel tips. The conversation continued as we strolled across the Golden Horn on the Galata Bridge, passing fish restaurants and fishermen alike, and taking in the view of the beautifully-lit Suleyman Mosque.  We bid Diane and Trudy farewell at the funicular station and returned back across the bridge to Sultanahmet and our hotel.

A day to remember!