Constantinople

I know I'm supposed to be in Egypt, but right now I’m in Istanbul, Turkey. This city is phenomenal. It has so many amazing buildings and they are all huge. I’m here with friends because of the Eid. That is Arabic for Holiday and this particular holiday is celebrating the end of Ramadan. For the past lunar month, Muslims round the world have been fasting from sun rise to sun set. At the end of this month, there is a holiday which for me means a four day weekend. Some friends of mine decided it would be worthwhile to stretch it to a five day weekend (missing one day of school) and go to visit the seat of the Byzantine Empire.

It is really great here. The best things I’ve done are seeing the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and two jumbo sized Turkish Palaces. The Hagia Sophia is filled with too much. Its vaulted ceiling is inspiring and it is incredible to see the mix of Christian and Muslim influences in one place. It was originally built by Justinian as a church, then converted into a mosque when the Turks conquered Constantinople and now it is a museum or tourist destination really, since there is nothing in the museum except itself. Still, every wall has Arabesque art or ancient Christian’s paintings that were painted over but are now being uncovered. And there is a mystery there that I don’t understand. Throughout the structure, there will be just a few fake paintings in an arrangement of real things. For example, there will be two real windows and one painted window all next to each other. Or there will be pillars behind pillars, but one spot is actually a wall with an optical illusion painted on it to seem like an open arch way with pillars behind it. It’s all very mysterious. Someday I will understand.

The Basilica is amazing; with just the right amount of modern-day presentation to accentuate it’s old world awe. Its entrance just looks like a box on the side of the street smaller then a Taco-bell but it leads to this vast underground chamber of pillars and flowing water. The low light and slightly strange music they play in the background really does accentuate the whole effect.

I was also massaged by a large Turkish man in one of the bathhouses. It’s really more fun than it sound, and if you ever get a chance, the Turkish bath house is on a list of 1000 things you should do before you die. I only have two more days left here, but there is plenty more to see. It’s a great vacation, but also I can’t wait to get back to Cairo!