Day 48/49 (17-18/1/10) - Istanbul (Hamam Mia!)

Our first port of call on Sunday was the Hagia Sophia, which Nik mentioned in the previous blog post. We have been walking past it a fair bit on our way to other sites around Sultanahmet, but Sunday was when we actually went inside this impressive structure. What was once a church in Byzantine times is now a Mosque, but relics of years gone by remain on the walls. In fact, one might wonder at how gold embossed depictions of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus complement the dome of the mosque and surrounding minarets.


Somehow, it does. If the sheer size of the Hagia Sofia does not leave you in awe, then closer inspection of the detailed paintwork and tiles that line the walls and high ceilings soon will. Below are a few photos that do not even begin to do this beautiful place justice.




Exploring the Hagia Sophia consumed our time until early afternoon, when we eventually visited our good friends at Malcok's for some tea and a light lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the hotel, where we booked a treatment at a traditional Turkish hamam for that evening. We did not know what we were in for.

The hamam we chose is probably one of the most expensive ones in Istanbul, but also one of the best: Süleymaniye Hamam. The complex was built by Sultan Süleyman The Magnificent in 1557, and you can still see where he bathed today in the hamam. We paid 35 euros for entrance to the hamam (which also included a wash, peel and soap massage).


When you enter they supply you with linen "clothes" (a bikini top and shorts for women, essentially just a loincloth for the guys); you go into the "hot section", which has a temperature of about 40-60 degrees. It is in here that you lie on a marble slab and roast for a good 30 minutes. I found it comfortable for about 15, and then I was worried I would sweat out every last drop of moisture in my body.

Then came the scrub and massage. I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to have cold water thrown all over me. The soap massage was my favourite: imagine having hot bubbles (a la bubble bath style) massaged across your back. Because that is essentially what it was. Poor Nik did not seem to enjoy the massage as much as I did, although that may have been because his masseuse's hands were getting uncomfortably close to his "loincloth".

I did have a rather scary moment when I stood up from the massage (relaxed though I was) where I thought I was going to faint. I think the heat and steam (and the fact I was hungry) had got to me: I stumbled out to the "lukewarm room", gasped for a water and eventually recuperated.


It certainly was an experience!

We had a late dinner near the hotel at a place called Rumist (both a cafe and art/handicrafts gallery). It was here that we ran into Turkish Kirby again. Although not as beautiful and fluffy as my baby back home, I think people would agree there are definite similarities:


Today (Monday) saw us rise bright and early at 7:30am. We had breakfast at the hotel and then got a taxi to Galata, a neighbourhood over from Sultanahmet. We went to the top of Galata Tower, apparently the oldest tower in the world (that still accepts visitors), although from what I read the thing has been built and re-built so many times, that it's probably impossible to tell how old the current structure really is.


Still, the 360-degree views were interesting (dampened a little by the drizzle) and we got to see Istanbul from another perspective.


We were content to just wander after that, taking in all the different characters going about their Monday morning and walking through Galata/Beylogu.


We crossed the bridge back to Sultanahmet then walked back over again. There were so many men fishing off the top of the bridge (which I found comical in amongst the traffic), some of them working multiple rods at once.


After a brief stint back at the hotel to get the ferry information, we caught one over to the "Asian side" of Istanbul, Kadıköy. The trip over was only about 15 minutes, and we braved the slight drizzle in order to take in the views as we crossed the Bosphorus.


Kadıköy was completely different to what we had seen in the old city. There were high-rise buildings, new shopping malls, a rather graphic statue of a bull and other modern-looking shopping complexes.


We had lunch at a nice place called Mix (where I made a tentative attempt at saying "thank you" in Turkish), then took a look around. It was bit gloomy to be walking around (and Nik didn't have a hood on his jacket) so we got the ferry back over again. We will be heading back tomorrow though for some markets that are only held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The later part of the afternoon, therefore, was spent on laundry and resting. We managed to get 8kg of laundry done, albeit for the equivalent of 16 euros - ah, the price of cleanliness.

For dinner we went back to Turquoise, where they gave us a hero's welcome and complimentary tea. The food, as before, was excellent.