Am writing on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Almaty, Kazakhstan at midnight (3am Almaty time). It's been a long day so I'll try to keep it brief. Today the weather was quite warm and sunny. On the way to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art we stopped into the tomb of Sultan Ahmed built in 1620. Inside, in addition to the tombs of three sultans (all of who died at very young ages), there were many very small coffins/tombs ranging in size from infant to child. We began to suspect fowl play. I'm sure it's highly likely that in wrangling for power, one entire line of the sultan's clan might have been done away with to make way for another. And here they are all together. What a rather strange picture. But a beautiful building and dome, designed by, who else, the brilliant SINAN.
At the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art I photographed virtually every rug and kilim I could find. Fortunately the museum allows photos since we've discovered it's impossible to ship a book back to the US without paying an exorbitant fee. For example I fell in love with a large format paperback book about Sinan's architecture. The book costs about $50, but to mail it home would cost about $70 (not including the price of the book)! I'm already planning to return one day with an empty suitcase that I will fill with glorious books that can't be bought at home. Another treat at the museum was a special exhibit commemorating the 1400th anniversary of the Qur'an (Koran). A long hall was filled with the finest examples of Qur'an dating back to the 10th century, along with inlaid Qur'an boxes and stands.
We returned to the hotel to check out and store our bags until departure for the airport at 6. The crescendo of our stay in Istanbul is a visit to Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), one of the most famous and historic buildings in the world. It was built as a church in 537AD but converted to a mosque in 1543 and is now a museum (not a functioning mosque as are the others we've visited). When Scott and I were here two years ago, much of the interior of the building was obscured by scaffolding. Today there was almost none. I sweated and struggled with my photographs (attempting futilely to capture its beauty) and size. My guidebook says that the Statue of Liberty, with torch, will fit inside its dome. As an aside, we've been pleasantly surprised that there are not as many tourists in Istanbul as you might expect at this time of year. While Hagia Sophia, as I'm sure is always the case, was crowded, most of the other sites we've visited have not been.
We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the day. We rested for a while on a rooftop deck that had a marvelous view of the city. Returned to our favorite bookshop to drool and lament. Wandered around the "Seven Hills" area and stopped in a variety of small shops. By 5 we were exhausted and returned to the hotel to enjoy the view for the last time from our own rooftop patio. At 6:30 a van came to take us to the airport (the ride took 45 minutes for future reference). I was amazed as we drove on the major artery along the water to see endless flags crisscrossing the road bearing the word "EVET". The extent to which the people of Turkey are being bombarded with propaganda about this referendum is unbelievable. For example there were two balloons flying over the city today that said EVET. On many of the billboards all over town there's simple red lettering on a white background saying EVET. It's everywhere. Stay tuned to Turkish politics on September 12th.
Boarded our flight to Almaty at 10pm and at the moment it's 1am (4am Almaty time). I dare say no one on this plane has gotten any sleep so far. Plane is full of rather harsh looking and acting Russian-speakers. We may be in for an interesting experience in the 'Stans since during our first minute on the plane three people were fighting over overhead compartment space. They've just dimmed the cabin lights so I should take that as my queue to try to sleep. Arrival time in Almaty is 6:30am. And we have no room to check into tomorrow - or should I say today - until 2pm.
Quick book me a seat, airline sounds wonderful.
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