Istanbul

Knowing that, come March, our traveling will be seriously slowed down for some time, we decided to take advantage of Jonas & Clara's time off school in the fall. We thought about what trip we wanted to take that would be the hardest with three children and Istanbul rose to the top of that list. We were even more excited because we would be able to take this trip with our good friends Rijen, Megan & Fiona.


Aside from a very embarrassing hang up in the Zurich airport where I couldn't seem to get my boots off by myself and held up the entire security line, we made it to Istanbul. I love my boots but they are ridiculously hard to get off and usually require I sit on the floor. I didn't think this through when I chose to wear them to the airport. I was so humiliated as I noticed many people behind me laughing out loud. Never again will I wear those to an airport!!!!

After figuring out the public metro system and taking a jam-packed train ride (complete with one poopy blow-out that I tried to ignore and pretend nobody but myself could smell), we made it to the old district of Sultanahmet where we would be staying. As soon as we stepped off the train we saw both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque and I think I can speak for all of us insaying we were very excited for the upcoming days.

We quickly learned that having a map with street names did very little good as we tried to navigate our way around with all of our luggage and strollers. After what seemed like forever, we finally found our apartment, dropped off our belongings and headed back out to find some food.

The next morning we stopped off at a bakery where I realized that even with our handy-dandy google translated allergy list, nobody understood I was trying to avoid nuts...they kept pointing things out that were covered with nuts so I gave up and Jonas and I made due with what we had.

Visiting the Hagia Sophia was first on our list. It was the central church to the Byzantine Empire and was dedicated in 360 AD. It has gone back and forth between being a mosque and a Christian church over the centuries but is now open as a museum.


It was amazing inside and so remarkable to see the different influences represented over time.


Here's Clara standing in the walkway that takes you from the ground floor up. It was quite steep and actually slippery which made bringing the stroller up a fun challenge.


But as far as Clara & Fiona were concerned, it was one big play area. They had fun "ice skating" across the floor, running around and enjoying the open space.


After lunch we visited the Underground Cistern. It was built in the 6th century and was much larger than I had imagined. A little dark to get great pictures, but you can get the idea.


Around this time, Jonas needed another diaper. Devin took him to the public restroom and asked the man running the place if there was a changing table or bench. The man simply looked at Devin and asked "Where is the mother?" If you know anything about me, this kind of remark is about the most obnoxious kind. I thought of many snarky remarks I would have loved for Devin to say back - but then again, I'm married to Devin who wouldn't say those snarky remarks. Needless to say, I was not happy when Devin came back - Jonas still poopy - and told me that the only bench was in the woman's restroom. Apparently, it is not common for fathers to be changing the diapers!

I quickly forgot about my annoyance as we headed over to the Grand Bazaar where I was excited to explore. To be honest, I was completely overwhelmed.


The place is huge and it was hard to know when you were getting a "good" deal and when you weren't. As a result, we wandered around trying to keep track of the children, spent time in a few shops and eventually made our way back out.

A Bosphorus Cruise was on the agenda the following day. We arrived at the docks fairly early to board an all day cruise up the Bosphorus where we would end up on the Asian continent and spend a few hours. The town we arrived in had multiple seafood restaurants all vying for our business. It felt strange and uncomfortable. The food wasn't great but Clara really enjoyed the mussels-on-a-stick.

We then hiked up to the top of the hill where we could look out over the Black Sea.


Then back to the ship with a stop off at the ice cream stand, of course!

The Spice Market was near the docks so that is where we headed when we returned. The spices all piled next to each other looked amazing. It was fun to pick out some spices to bring home.

I couldn't eat any of this candy, but it still served well as eye candy.


Clara then needed to use the restroom. I found some public ones outside and after we paid our 1 Turkish Lira we went into the first available stall. There I found the good-ole' hole in the ground. She had to go so badly but I wasn't sure how to instruct her...plus there was yellow fluid alllll over the ground. I had visions of her pants getting completely soaked. Thankfully she managed better than I could have expected. The ironic part? As we were leaving I saw that the first two stalls had ACTUAL TOILETS!!! I was so frustrated that we went through all that unnecessarily. Oh well, at least she acquired one more skill that day.

That night we ate at a restaurant we had walked past a few times. There were women making these potato filled pancakes in the window (yummy) and we sat on pillows around a low table. Being pregnant, I wasn't the most graceful getting down or up but it was such a fun experience. Fiona was adorable lounging back on the pillows and playing around - you could tell she was happy to be out of her stroller and would probably love to eat every meal lounging on a pillow...but then again, who wouldn't?? Especially if you don't have to wash them yourself?

My favorite part of the trip came the next morning when we visited the Topkapi Palace. The grounds were beautiful but my favorite part was the Harem. This is where the Sultan lived with his mother, wives and concubines. The entire residence was tiled with the most beautiful colors.



This was my favorite room in the Harem, I loved the combination of blues & greens.


Here is the Sultan's bedroom (whose mother's room sits right in between his and that of his wives...how would you like that??)


I especially loved this picture of Megan while Fiona was enjoying the game of walking under her legs.


Before we headed to the Blue Mosque, we needed a quick meal. With Jonas's allergies, McDonalds is sometimes the safest. We had been there before and ordered his usual - meat without the bun or toppings and fries - without a problem. Megan and I sat and waited for the crew to bring back the food but it was taking so long. When they finally arrived, Devin relayed that the manager of McDonalds initially refused to sell the meat alone. When Devin said that he had ordered the same thing a few days earlier, she wanted to know the name of the employee that sold it to him...CRAZY!!! After a few minutes of arguing, a man in line behind Devin spoke up in Turkish and finally convinced the manager to oblige.

After the ridiculous McDonalds experience, we contrasted it with a peaceful visit inside the Blue Mosque.


Although it was very beautiful inside, my favorite part came from the men there to worship. I noticed that many had young sons with them. These little boys were running up and down the beams and all around the floor where their dads were kneeling. Nice to see just how similar life is all over the world.

Just outside the Mosque, Clara found her friend "rock"...which led me to wonder why kids need Disneyland when they can find rocks like this to keep them entertained while their parents enjoy the sights. :)


Next came a walk through the Hippodrome, down my favorite street of shops to the best restaurant of the trip. It was traditional Ottoman cuisine and so nice inside with a beautiful view of the Blue Mosque. We got there early...thankfully...because I don't think they typically have children dine there. All three were wonderfully well behaved but I especially loved watching Clara. She has such a great imagination and can create an entire story or game using very little. This time, she borrowed some toys from Fiona's toy bag and went to work. I had to take a picture of this "story" as it kept her entertained for a very long time.


After dinner, we had a beautiful walk home and were able to see all the sights in the dark which was equally impressive.

The last day before flying home we ventured out in the rain to the Islamic Arts museum. While much of it was closed, it did have plenty of beautiful artifacts. I loved the rugs on display but my very favorite was the calligraphy work on the Qurans. I had never seen anything quite like it.


In the meantime, Clara found a new way to be entertained utilizing her hairstyle...hard to imagine that it didn't hold up well under this treatment. Still, I found it quite funny.


Afterwards we took a train ride to a different part of town near the Chora Church for lunch at a delicious restaurant. We finished up the day with some more shopping which ended in tears when Devin tried to drive a hard bargain at a hat shop and left Clara without the pink hat she wanted. I know that Devin thought he was playing the "bargaining game" but it didn't seem to be working in his favor. There was even a man on the street who offered to buy it for her - AWKWARD!! Where was that man when we walked away from the shop which had the necklace I wanted?? I may have taken him up on it!! :)

A walk to the chocolate shop solved everything and we headed home to enjoy our last night. While Megan & Rijen finished packing up, Devin & I got our kids in bed and headed out to get some pictures of the Hagia Sofia (pictured below) and Blue Mosque at night.


Before heading back, we stopped by the hat shop where we managed to finally purchase the beloved pink hat! Wouldn't Clara be surprised and happy in the morning! I never got a great picture of Clara wearing her hat, but here is one of her in spinning action!


Actually, it was me who was surprised in the morning when Devin ventured out for a few minutes while I finished up the packing and finagled a very good price on the necklace I had wanted. Who knows - maybe his method had been right all along, but in any case, he did a great job pleasing the two ladies in his life!!

That finished up our amazing trip to Turkey. We loved it and were so happy to experience it with such great friends.