Kauffman Commentary

The Tomtom Suites checks all our boxes. It is in the middle of the new district, which doesn’t really mean new. It was built in 1850 as an annex building for the French palace/foreign embassy and was then used for the Franciscan nuns. In 2000, it was fully restored to a 20 suite hotel. It is on a quiet street straight across from the Italian embassy. The morning breakfast is on the top floor with amazing views of the Bosphorus.

After breakfast we tackled the tram ticket machine. We had heard that they were a challenge and that is correct. First you have to purchase the card and then load money onto the card, all without English prompts. After a couple of tries we were successful and took the tram to the old town. Yesterday we learned that the streets are “Rocky Mountain” steep and the tram is the best option.

The Blue Mosque was built in the 1600s and stands directly across from the much older Hagia Sofia. It is nicknamed the blue mosque because of the blue tiles on all the walls. It is free to visit and only takes about 10 minutes to see it all.

Next up was the Topkapi Palace, it is very close to the mosque and since we went about 9:00 a.m. it was virtually empty. The palace was the residence for the sultans of the Ottoman Empire from 1465 – 1856. We walked through four courtyards which were manicured with lush flowers, shrubs and trees. The prime spot on the edge of the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara gives the best balcony views. The whole harem lived in 400 rooms, wives, mother, children and concubines. They had 100 black and white eunuchs, who were the only men allowed, to serve and guard the palace. Several palace buildings are museums with clothing, furnishings and artifacts used during the 400 years.

There are over 3,000 mosques in Istanbul. Sounds like a lot, but with 16 mil. people that does not work with 98% Muslim. To get to the last mosque on our list we had to venture out further from the old town area to a mosque called Ortakoy. It is small and sits on the edge of the water. We got to go into the mosque during prayer and take pictures. Something we were told we would not be able to do. Below is a recording of one of the calls to worship from today. They do this five times a day and it is done live each time.

Two for two on restaurants, tonight we ate at another one close to our hotel, Tomtom Kebap. We stuffed ourselves on hummus with tomatoes and peppers for an appetizer. Then I had a chicken kabob and Bryan had a spicy beef kabob. They were yummy.