Robin's Adventures

The Blue Mosque, which was built between 1609 and 1617, was commissioned by Sultan Ahmed I. The mosque has one large dome surrounded by eight smaller domes, 260 stained glass windows, more than 20,000 hand made Iznik tiles, and six minarets.

The Blue Mosque was so named because the Iznik tiles are primarily blue in color. The designs on the tiles feature cypress trees, fruits, roses, and more than fifty different designs with tulips. It is interesting to note that there are several ostrich eggs hanging in the chandeliers at the mosque. The purpose of the eggs is to repel spiders so there are no cobwebs on the chandeliers.

The six minarets at the Blue Mosque created quite a stir when they were built. The mosque in Mecca was the only other mosque at that time to have six minarets. In order to make things right, Sultan Ahmed I commissioned a seventh minaret to be built at the mosque in Mecca.

The Basilica Cistern, which was built in the sixth century by emperor Justinian I, was designed to store and distribute water to the Palace of the emperor. It was built on the site where the Stoa Basilica once stood and it was the largest cistern in Istanbul. The cistern is just over 100,000 square feet and has a capacity of 2,800,000 cubic feet of water.

The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns, many of which were salvaged from various temple ruins and have beautifully carved capitals.

Following some restoration work done by the Istanbul Metropolotian Museum in 1985, as well as the addition of walkways and some sculptures, the cistern was opened to the public. In order to add to the experience, the lighting changes through an array of colors as visitors meander along the walkways.

In addition to the cistern, we saw two of the most ancient monuments in Istanbul. The Obelisk of Theodosius, which was originally 100 feet tall and made from red granite, came from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor. It was brought first to Alexandria in 357 by Emperor Constantius II and finally to Constantinople in 390 by Emperor Theodosius I where it was mounted on a decorative base. Somewhere in transport, the bottom portion of the obelisk broke and it is now only 60 feet tall.

The next most ancient monument is the Serpent Column which was made in 479 BC and brought to Turkey in 324 by Emperor Constantine. The column, which was 26 feet tall, had three intertwined serpent heads attached at the top. The serpent heads remained attached until the end of the 17th century.

The Grand Bazaar has the distinction of being one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. There are more than 4,000 shops located in a maze of 61 covered streets. The market has 21 gates and 56 different arched corridors.

Construction of the market first began in 1455. In its earliest days, the market grouped together the goods of each particular trade. A variety of catastrophes, such as fires and earthquakes, have hit the bazaar during its lifetime, but it has always been rebuilt and restored and over the years the bazaar has grown in size and increased the diversity of the goods available for purchase. Currently, it is estimated that up to 400,000 guests visit the grand bazaar daily.

Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Christian cathedral by Emperor Justinian I. Construction took place between 532 and 537. The cathedral held the record as the world's largest cathedral for almost 1,000 years until the cathedral in Seville, Spain surpassed it in size in 1520.

When Istanbul (then called Constantinople) was taken over by the Ottoman Empire in 1453, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. Hagia Sophia remained a mosque until it was closed in 1931. When it reopened in 1935, it was as a museum. In 2020, the Turkish Council of State made the controversial decision to nullify the 1934 decision and it reclassified Hagia Sophia as a mosque.

It was a beautiful day for a stroll so we decided to spend the morning walking from the cruise port to the spice market via the Galata Bridge. Our walk took us through a cute little waterfront area with shops, street vendors, and restaurants. Suleymaniye Mosque stood out in the background. There were three colorful boats selling fish sandwiches and other local foods.

On the Galata Bridge, which spans the Golden Horn estuary, there were lots of fishermen with lines in the water and we could see numerous ferry boats and the Golden Horn Metro Bridge in the distance.

As we headed back to the ship at the end of our outing, the sky opened up and we ducked for cover during the storm. Fortunately, we were prepared with hats and raincoats so we were only moderately drenched by the time we got back to the ship. In spite of the rain, it was a delightful outing.

The spice market, which was built in 1660, currently has more than 80 shops. Most of the shops specialize in a variety of colorful and aromatic spices, Turkish delights, assorted nuts, dried fruits, teas, and other interesting foodstuffs. Also available were a medley of kitchen items.

We spent a couple of hours wandering through the Spice Market. The neatly arranged colorful displays were visually delightful and the shopkeepers were warm and friendly.

Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and it has one of the largest seaports on the Aegean Sea. There were lots of large building compounds and many very modern new skyscrapers. As we headed out of the city on our way to Ephesus, there were areas of farmland as well as areas where new apartment buildings were being constructed.

When we returned to Izmir following our Ephesus outing, we had an opportunity to see a demonstration of how carpets were made. We saw how silk was obtained from the silkworm cocoons and made into thread and then woven into carpets. There were many beautiful carpets and smaller wall hangings.

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city that was built in the tenth century BC. One of the things the city is most known for is the nearby Temple of Artemis, which was built around 550 BC. The temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ephesus came under the control of the Romans in 129 BC and flourished as it became second in importance only to Rome. The city also holds significance in Christian history and is known to be the final resting place of Virgin Mary and of St. John. The city, which was destroyed by the Goths in 263, was rebuilt, but its importance declined after that.

Today Ephesus is a major archeological site. Excavations have been ongoing since 1893 by the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Notable structures include the Fountain of Trajan (photos 1 & 2), the Library of Celsus (photos 3& 4), the Temple of Hadrian (photos 5 & 6), the Temple of Sebastoi (photo 7), and the Ancient Amphitheater (photo 8).

Although the excavation site for Ephesus is huge, it is estimated that only about 15% of the site has been excavated. The main street in Ephesus (shown in the first photo), which is almost 700 feet long, is called Curetes Way. In its heyday, the street was lined with statues, civic buildings, and shops.