20 hours in Istanbul

I booked my flight ticket back home from London to Malaysia with Turkish Airlines. The very main reason for me to fly with Turkish Airlines is because I will get a free tour, under the scheme Touristanbul that includes entrance fees to the few most notable historical sights of the city, transport and food. I have always wanted to go to Turkey (having watched so many travel documentations about The Grand Bazaar, The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia etc...), hence when I saw the cheap air ticket (about £550 for return flight to Kuala Lumpur) I got the ticket straightaway. Who can resist cheap air ticket and free tour of the city that you have always wanted to go?

To be eligible for the scheme, the passengers must fly with Turkish Airlines for both flights to and fro Istanbul and the time between the two flights should be longer than 7 hours for Business Class passengers and 10 hours for Economy class passengers. More information about the tour can be found here. 

Sights
1) Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
After having breakfast included in the tour, we walked from the restaurant to the Blue Mosque. There was no queue when we went in (or maybe because being part of the tour allowed us to skip the queue). All women had to make sure that their heads and knees were covered. I brought my thin pink scarf there to cover my hair.

The Blue Mosque, gains its name from the mainly blue tile-work decorating its interior, and it is one of the most famous religious buildings in the world.

Apparently when this building was being commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I, the splendour of the plans provoked great hostility at that time because a mosque with six minarets was considered a disrespectful attempt to rival the architecture of Mecca itself (Source: Eyewitness Travel: Istanbul)

The tour guide was not quite helpful. Expecting a relatively comprehensive guide (since it is called a "tour"), we were pretty much left on our own to wander around the place. We were just told to meet at the exit 20 minutes later once we entered the attraction... I also noticed many visitors were just sitting in the mosque, which made the mosque a little bit congested. It was quite puzzling because it was just 10am and how could they get tired since the day had just started? (It wasn't the fasting month either...) Maybe they just wanted to appreciate the beauty of the holy building...

One of my tour mates went on to wash his feet with the taps outside the mosque... which is pretty cool :D

2) Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is within walking distance from the Blue Mosque. With the tour, we managed to skip the long queues too.

Hagia Sophia has been around for more than 1400 years and it was built over two earlier churches in 537. Then in the 15th century the Ottomans converted it into a mosque. Currently, it is a museum.

Designed as an earthly mirror of the heavens, the interior of Hagia Sophia had a celestial feel. It could be even more impressive after the refurbishment in the building.

3) Basilica Cistern

Photo source: Tour Istanbul official website 

Basilica Cistern is a very unusual tourist attraction in the city. It is a vast underground water cistern to supply water to the Great Palace and Hippodrome. From my guide book, it says that the Ottomans did not know of its existence for a century after the conquest. It was rediscovered after people were found to be collecting water and even fish just by lowering buckets through holes in their basements. And indeed, there were many fish when I visited and they were HUGE! I wonder if the people actually feed the fish or something...

It is also interesting to see the Heads of Medusa being used as the columns to hold up the roof. I didn't take any picture in the place itself because it was really dark and slippery...

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/sep/14/10-best-sights-istanbul-city-guide

4) Spice Bazaar
Stalls in the bazaar stock spices, herbs and other food like nuts and sweets. 

I bought some Turkish Delight and pistachio for my family. The sellers constantly tried stopping me to sample the food and being totally on my own, I was very cautious. One man even said "I love you" to me seconds after saying "Ni hao"... 

More pictures of the stalls in Spice Bazaar...

5) The Bosphorus trip
Walking out from The Spice Bazaar, we went on to take a trip up the Bosphorus, the straits separating Europe and Asia. This is not part of the tour provided by Turkish Airlines. I saw quite a few Turkish people (probably locals) on the boat tour as well, probably because the cool breezes provide welcome relief from the heat of the city.

The boat trip costed 10 liras and lasted for 2 hours.

Bosphorus suspension bridge connecting the continents of Europe and Asia

Old man and the sea

Transcontinental flight

6) Galata Tower

Galata Tower is the most recognisable feature on the Golden Horn (where I boarded the ferry for Bosphorus tour). Its origins date from the 6th century when it was used to monitor shipping. Then it was turned into a prison and naval depot by the Ottomans. Subsequently it was used as a fire watchtower.

The entrance fee is 13 liras for adults. The view was breathtaking especially just before sunset.

It was already 8pm after visiting Galata Tower. I then took a cab with my tour-mate to the airport and ended our 20 hour transit in Istanbul.

Turkey, I will be back again to visit Cappadocia and Pamukkale. :)