Istanbul - Day 1

My mom in Sultanahmet, or the Blue Mosque, as its better known. Its notorious for having six minarets, which was seen as presumptuous back in the days. The structure and its huge dome reigns over the old neighborhood and its quite a sight. Inside as well, where the lighting manages to make the place look cozy yet the decor makes it expansive at the same time.

Visiting Istanbul is quite an experience. The culture at a glance is different of course, but you find a lot of familiarity with the western way of life, which is best explained by Turkey (especially Istanbul) being truly a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. Nothing symbolizes this more than the city being split along three different landforms along the Bosphorus, the straight which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Tankers, cargo ships, ferries, fishing boats and even the occasional submarine are constantly cruising through Istanbul, giving the city a sense of importance, as a lieu de passage and a gateway between different worlds. The city itself is also bustling, although a lot of it is tourists of course. Tourists stand out here even more, simply because they're dressed in shorts and short sleeves!

So what else? After our flights from Brussels, my sister, mom and me went to explore the old neighborhood, where we're staying. It's pretty much the epicenter of things to visit. We started with the Blue Mosque and then had a walk around, taking in the atmosphere.

So in the area in front of the Blue Mosque, hundreds of locals gather on the grass for picnics at nightfall. Why nightfall? Well, we just happened to time our trip with Ramadan perfectly. Sometimes it did make finding places to eat more challenging (particularly today), as we wanted to avoid the touristy restaurants, as usual. But overall it was intriguing to see how everyone gathered for large feasts an hour or so before the booming voices of the muezzin resound all over the city announcing nightfall. At that point, everyone starts stuffing themselves, and within half an hour or so, everyone is already done eating! No wonder.

Speaking of which, the calls to prayer by the muezzin give the city a certain vibe, as they echo a bunch of times a day from the minarets of mosques all over the city. I assume its the case in lots of cities and towns, but this was the first time I visited any muslim country properly (although my mom says it was the case in Tunisia as well, although I don't remember...). Anyway, its not particularly pleasant when you're trying to go to sleep, but otherwise it makes the city feel like one big home.

So with Ramadan considered, we ended up at a very local place with set meals, one of which we got served precisely when night fell, which was quite cool. The kebabs are good, particularly served with yoghurt, which is a specialty of course. Today we had a bunch of kofte and similar stuff. Alcohol (mainly beers) is not easy to find though!

Anyway, a good start to the trip and a great immersion into a different world for the first day.

peace