Last thoughts on Istanbul

Turkish Delights, Ice cream and “Geroosterde Mielies”.

There is so much to tell about Turkey, but I have to finish this, as my next stop is fast approaching. The food in Turkey is yummy…I was not in Italy to taste their ice cream and was told that it is good. Well, the ice cream in Turkey is the best ever! It is absolutely fantastic! When I was in my first year in Port Elizabeth I was introduced to Turkish Delights! My mother sent me a parcel, through the post office and one of the items in the box was a beautiful tin with these pink sweets in some sort of powder. I fell in love with it and it always brings fond memories of my college days and my mother.Needless to say, I indulge in all the different types of Turkish delights.(see the picture)
After the conference I decided to find the famous Spice Bazaar. However, as I was also interested to see the Chora museum, I decided to go there first and then return to the Spice Bazaar. Walking towards the busses, at the harbor side which is called Kabatas landing, I bought ‘Geroosterde Mielies” or Corn on the street market. It was so nice and I remembered the first time I ate it. It was in 1997 when I visited Grenada in the Caribbean. It is a delicacy which you have to taste when in Turkey or in any of these countries where it is a practice to sell it on the street.

From there I walked in an effort to find the bus to take me to the Chora museum before returning to the spice bazaar. I was lured into taking a taxi which I refused because I wanted to see the city. I think because I did not want to take the taxi, the guy whom I asked misdirected me or pretended he did not understand me. So, I walked up and down and later decided to eat my stress away.”Kebabs” whether chicken or lamb, forms part of the Turkish Cuisine. So, I bought chicken kebabs mixed with ‘slap chips and tomatoes “inside square bread! It was okay, as those of you who know me closely, know that I am not into burger and pizza type of foods.


I finally found the bus and left for the Chora museum (I made an earlier post about it) on my return from the Chora museum I stopped at the Spice bazaar and found that there are not many herbalists, as they are called, left and that there are also many jewelers in the spice bazaar. The Spice Bazaar was built in 1663-1664 and was first called the New Bazaar or in Turkish Valide Bazaar. It was renamed as the spices came from Egypt. The bazaar burnt twice and it was renewed in 1994.
This is where I bought the “evil eye” anklet requested by one of my daughters. From there I sat outside on the stairs of the new Mosque to finish off my kebab bread!
My highlight in Turkey was to be on a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait. I cannot explain to you how it felt when we sailed under the bridge which connects Europe with Asia. It is something! I will forever treasure my visit to Turkey and wish that one day it will be possible for our children and my beloved husband to visit the historic places in Turkey.

Hagia Sophia,Blue Mosque and Chora Musuem

This post is dedicated to my late father, Eddy Mensah, who exposed his children to so many historic places, despite the fact that we, at the time, did not have any appreciation for it. Today I treasure the gift of travelling and visiting places so much that I want to say to our beautiful children and to my family and friends..'Take time to travel and visit historic places. It is enriching in so many ways, and just as education, nobody can take it away from you”.

There are three highlights in this post:Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Chora Museum. Hagia Sophia is also known as Aya Sophia or Holy Wisdom. I never thought that I will see a temple which was later used as a Mosque. More importantly, the mosaics and ceiling ornamentation which reflected Christianity was not removed when it was used as a Mosque. An example of ”Let’s agree to disagree and let’s respect each other’s position”


It was amazing to see Mother Mary and the child Jesus sitting in the middle with the symbols representing Arch Angel Gabriel and Prophet Mohamed on the left and right side ,on top of the Imperial gate. The Hagia Sophia served for 916 years as a church and 481 years as a mosque and since 1935 it has a historical function of a museum.
When visiting Hagia Sophia, I was in awe !I cannot explain to you the different emotions I experienced when I realized that I stood in a place whose construction started with the reign of Constantinius I and completed during the reign of Constantinius II.I always wondered why I had to learn about these people in history
Hagia Sophia with its glory and magnificence has survived until the present time and I was privileged to see one of the greatest examples of early Byzantine architecture.
The Blue Mosque is a masterpiece of architecture .
It is the culmination of two centuries of both the Ottoman Mosque and the Byzantine church development. It has its name from the blue tiles adorning its interior.
The day before I left Turkey I took a public bus to visit the Kharye (Chora)Museum o the outskirts of Istanbul. Altough much smaller in comparison with the Hagia Sophia and the Blue mosque, its mosaics and frescos are unique!

Not much is known about the history of this church but it is told that it was a monastery at the outskirts of the city before the city wall was built in the 5th century. Istanbul was built on seven hills and this museum is built on one of them. I am not surprised because everywhere you walk in Istanbul you realize that you are walking over hills.


I have never seen such mosaics...you cannot describe it...the most beautiful one is where Jesus is in the middle with his ancestors depicted in the inside of the Dome.Breathtaking and it looks like it was painted the other day.



A visit to these places reminds you how small you are and yet how special you are to be able to live to see buildings dating back to the 5th century!!

Exploring Istanbul

Istanbul is so rich of history and culture!More importantly , it is a history not far from us, but one which impact on our lifes .It is a history which was taught in our schools.I never imagined , when going to school and being taught about Constantinius the Great, that I will one day walk on the same soil!
My first impressions of the Turkish people is that they are very hospitable .Unfortunately it is not always easy to communicate due to language barriers.However,with a few gestures , one is easily directed:-) The food is great! But more about that later.
The first few days I visited the "must see " historic sites such as the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and the GrandBazaar.It is an experience I find difficult to express in words.
As all of it was so impressive , I will devote a few posts to it and in this post just talk about the Topkapi Palace .

When I stood in front of the palace the movie 300 came to life through many things .I mean , when you watch these movies one always wonder..did it really happen?well, I can say, having visited Turkey, yes, it did!For the sake of brevity and not to overwhelm you too much I will mention a few things.The different gates where people were allowed to enter ,selectively, and the its different courtyards where the ceremonies took place .The gate of Salutation which opens on the Divine square where ceremonies for the Sultan's accession to the Throne took place.

One is so overwhelmed when you stand there that you just want to saty and put 'real people' dressed up like then..and just watch them!

The one which I found most interesting (and amusing)though very strategic is the fact that only deaf and dumb people were appointed in the sultans Private Chambers.This makes a lot of business sense!I will remember next time I get a High job:-)

The Treasury room, is indeed a treasure:-) You must see it!!!Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in that section.The most interesting , and I guess most important piece in the collection is a diamond called "the Spoonmaker's diamond".It is 86 carats!!!it is huge..apparently a spoonmaker found the diamant and did not know what is was...he sold it for THREE Spoons:-)Yes apparently he did.But it is good that he did , otherwise I would never had the privilege to see such beauty:-)I cannot explain to you how beautiful this piece is ..it is breathtaking...!

The final most important moment on that visit was when I could stand on Europe and take a picture of Asia...that was ...wow...I have stood on the border of two countries many many times...but never was I so privileged !I had to capture the moment ..so that you can see I was there:-) with Asia behind me..and the Bosphorus Strait separating the East from the West!

I hope you enjoy this journey with me so far..and the only thing that I so wished when I was here, was that I could share this with my loved ones.This is a must visit for any person , most importantly I wish our children , when they make pots of money,will find time to visit Turkey.

I finally sat down and wrote:-)

Since I started my job at the Commonwealth of Learning in January 2007, I was adament that I will keep a diary of my travels so that my family and close friends can follow me wherever I travelled and for my own sake , to have a record of my life as a global citizen.Easier said than done! I always had an excuse for not writing:-)I started Face Book a year ago and Twitter a few months ago, but still could not sit down and write!Needless to say, this commitment to myself, haunted me.
When I planned my travels to Istanbul , I promised myself that I will make time to start my Blog which I will use to update my family and closed friends of my experiences.Istanbul is a true inspiration and I was left with one choice:Start the Travelling ..and here it is.
I arrived in Istandbul very late on Saturday , June 12th and was brought to the hotel by taxi.Since it was dark I could not see much, but I did see many people at the waterfront having picnics, at a very late hour.
On Sunday I made my way to the Bogazici University where the WCCES 14th meeting wa sheduled to start the next day.

How do I get there?A very pleasant young man working for the Meet Travel showed me the way.I took a Tram to Kabatas(15 minutes) and from there I took the Vernicular(speed train) to Taksim.I waited for a bus for at least 20 minutes and finally arrived at the University!