Istanbul: Day 4

September 7

Our last full day in Istanbul.

Hippodrome

This site was once the scene of chariot races and the center of the Byzantine life.  Its located next to the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque.  There are two obelisk's that are on opposite ends where the chariot race would circle around.

 This obelisk was first set up in the Lexor from Pharaoh Thutmose III in around 1425 BC and in 309 AD a Roman Emperor had it brought all the way from Egypt to be re-erected here.

 The serpent obelisk

The Grand Bazaar

We could not come to Istanbul without seeing one of the largest and oldest markets in the world; the Grand Bazaar!

Brad and I aren't much for buying souvenirs, but we had fun walking around seeing what they had to offer.  We almost bought a beautiful hand sewn table runner, but they wouldn't except our offer on how much we were willing to pay.

 The market is massive and you could get lost for days.  I know we got turned around a bit.

 The Spice Market

Even though on the map this was supposed to be just down the street from the Grand Bazaar, we got so lost trying to get there!  Although we did get to see where and how the locals shop outside of the touristy area, but my how my legs got tired!

The actual spice market was small compared to the Bazaar and not too exciting to see.  Just a lot of spices and tea sets.

Galata Bridge

We crossed the Bosphorus river to see what the European side of Istanbul had to offer.  It definitely had a different feel to it compared to the historical Old City and we quite liked it.  

We stopped off at Galata Tower to see the beautiful view of the city.  This tower was built in 1348 and served as a watchtower for the city.

Gorgeous 360 view of the city!  So fun to see.

Istanbul Modern

 One of the top things all the guide books and internet told us to see in Istanbul was the Istanbul Modern Museum.  Which is right down the street from the  tower.  I guess Brad and I aren't much of modern art type people.  There were one or two things we liked, but overall it wasn't our cup of tea.

 We then tried to find the rainbow stairs that I've heard about (they are regular stairs that someone painted each step on the color of the rainbow), but we couldn't find it and later found out we were headed in the wrong direction.  We had already walked a long way and didn't want to backtrack.  Oh well.

Hamam

We took the tram back into Old City and decided to cap off our last night in Istanbul by taking a Turkish Bath.  Doesn't the saying go "when in Turkey, do as the Turks?" ok maybe I made that up.  But taking a Hamam Bath (aka Turkish Bath) was one of the highlights of the trip.

The outside of a Hamam.  

Here's how it went:  As we arrived we picked the bath we wanted.  We did the bath plus an oil massage.  The men and women are then separated to opposite ends of the Hamam. I was then given a kit (girls are given a bikini while the men are naked) and I went to the dressing room to change.  I was a little nervous about wearing a bikini as I normally do not like to show that much skin.  I was extremely surprised that when I opened my kit to find that it was only a bikini bottom and no top.  I left the dressing room clutching my towel.  I then went into the steam room for my bath.  My attendant immediately ripped the towel from off of me and I stood there in shock at being almost completely naked with a bunch of other naked women.  After the initial shook wore off it really became no big deal (I guess after delivering 3 babies I've already lost all my dignity) and I had quite the pleasant experience.

For obvious reasons I did not take pictures inside the Hamam, but I found these ones off the internet to give you an idea of what I'm taking about. They have beautiful dome ceilings with holes to let in the light.  Ours was at night so we didn't see it in its daytime glory.

In the steam room all the women lay on a warm circular marble platform for about 20 minutes.  It was heavenly! After my steam bath my attendant brought a bucket of soapy water and scrubbed me all up and down! I was COVERED in bubbles, and after she washed my body she even shampooed my hair.  She was so nice too.  She kept saying how beautiful my face was and asked if I was Italian.  When I said American she grabbed my face and kissed both my checks.    

After my bath I went upstairs to be given an oil massage.  They do your entire body, butt and all!  It felt so good.  Brad and I both agreed it was one of our favorite parts of Turkey and would love to do it again if given the opportunity.