A Magnificent Day

We didn’t’ expect to do too much today as we weren’t’ sure we would be able to get to the places we still wanted to visit. We met Aslan yesterday. He was the guide from the boat tour and was a big help getting Peter on/off the boat. He mentioned that today was his day off and asked if we were interested in seeing anything else in Istanbul. We told him where we wanted to go and, since his price was ridiculously inexpensive, we arranged to meet him at 9:00 for our half day private tour.

After a trip on the Metro, our first stop was Taksim Square in the heart of modern Istanbul. A few weeks ago, there was a terror bombing in the square which killed a few people and injured scores more. We were there pretty early, so the square wasn’t very crowded.

There is a monument dedicated to the formation of the republic in 1923.

We visited the Taksim Mosque which was completed in 2017.

We learned that the inside of every mosque in the world follows the same basic design. The “altar” is inset into the wall and faces Mecca. The emblem on the right side of the altar is Allah written in Arabic and the one on the left is Mohammed.

On the other side of the mosque, there are 4 additional emblems with the names of the next 4 prophets after Mohammed. Even though this mosque is 600 years newer and much smaller than the Hagia Sofia we saw on Monday, it was easy to see the resemblance between them. These are the only 2 mosques we’ve ever seen but now we have a better idea of how they look.

After leaving the square, we walked a pedestrian street of İstiklal lined with every type of shop you can imagine.

We stopped for our morning snack at Saray Muhallebicisi, a landmark Istanbul pastry shop. Oh foodies, you would have loved it.

Once we finished our amazing snacks, we continued our walk to Galata Tower. In 1267 a Genoese colony was established in Constantinople, and they built the tower as part of the city walls. The walls are long gone and now the tower is a museum.

This is something we would have never been able to see on our own as the road to get there was about 5 blocks long and straight downhill. And, once we left, we had a walk just as far back up the hill. I actually felt pretty bad as Aslan was pushing the chair and it was very difficult in both directions.

Once back on the top of the hill, we took the 2nd oldest metro in the world (London has the oldest), down the other side of the hill to get to the tram.

Then we used to tram to get to the Spice Bazaar. This is the one place we probably could have gotten to on our own as it’s on the tram line with a stop in front of the hotel but we’re glad we went with Aslan. The Spice Bazaar is also known as the Egyptian Bazaar and is the center of spice trade in Istanbul. While not as large as the Grand Bazaar, it’s still quite spacious with a total of 85 shops.

Every shop sold the same basic products, and the scent of the stores was amazing. Aslan’s nephew works in one of the stores, so that’s where we went for our purchases. Like in the Grand Bazaar, we were treated to tea. Peter had apple tea and I had pomegranate. I don’t like pomegranate, but this tea was absolutely delicious.

We bought some saffron (most expensive spice in the world), tea, dried fruit and nuts. We also got a box of 5 pieces of Turkish Delight. Everything is vacuum packed with labels, so we won’t have any difficulty getting them through customs. We got Peter a small bag of nuts he can munch on over the next couple of days and on the long plane ride home. Anything not eaten by the time we get to LAX will have to be thrown away before we go through customs. Although, if LAX is like the other airports we’ve been through, there won’t even be anyone at customs. We’ve not been stopped even once.

We grabbed a few sandwiches to take back to the room for lunch as we didn’t want to spend a ton of money again in the hotel restaurant. We spent $65 yesterday for lunch. Today we spent less than $6.00 for 2 large sandwiches and one can of soda. Good deal for delicious food.

After lunch it was time for my spa treatment. First, I had tradition Turkish bath or Hammam. This was a 40-minute bath on a marble slab and includes a body scrubbing with a handwoven was cloth called a kese. The bodywash is followed by a foam wash where I was covered by soap bubbles which were massaged into the skin. Then, my hair was washed followed by gallons of water were dumped on me to get all the soap off.

This ritual, which is an important part of the Turkish culture and has been around since the 1600s, is not for the modest as the very small towel I was originally covered with didn’t last long. The amount of dead skin the therapist pulled off my skin was disgusting but my skin is now baby soft.

After the bath, it was time for my 60-minute massage. My back has been very tight, and I could barely move my neck this morning, so I was really looking forward to this part. The massage was incredible and, while still sore, my neck is much better.

It was certainly a very interesting experience. I get massages regularly, but I don’t see myself doing another Turkish bath. Being bathed in that manner by another person was too weird. I’ll invest in a good loofah when I get home and do that part myself in the shower. I’m glad I tried it, though.

Tomorrow, we’ll stick close to home as I have to repack (again) and get ready for Friday’s flight home. We arranged for a late checkout, so we have someplace to hang out before grabbing a taxi to our last on the road. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Night everyone.