Istanbul #1of2

Istanbul (named in 1930) began as a fishing village in about 1000 BC. It was first called Byzantium, then was named Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 330 AD.

The SS Odysseus arrived in Istanbul at about 8:30 PM, and since we were late leaving Míkonos, and other stops had to be canceled, they took anyone who cared, to a nightclub near the Hilton Hotel. Later the bus toured the city for awhile, then crossed the bridge over the Bosporus from Europe to Asia and back, then to the ship by about 1:00 AM. Our ship sailed under this bridge twice, and each time it was jammed with traffic.

Our ship was docked on the Golden Horn (a waterway). We could see domed mosques with many minarets, situated on the low hills on one side, high rise buildings on the other. The bridge, Galata Koprusu, over the Golden Horn is two-level, and we don’t believe even a small boat could get under it. There is traffic on the upper level, restaurants, one after the other, on the lower. Some are fancy with tablecloths, and others are not.

The streets of Old Istanbul, on the “other” side of the Golden Horn, were very busy, but there’s a pedestrian tunnel under the first big main street. One man was selling slices of watermelon, and from the looks of the trash pile, he had been very successful. The little shops and sidewalk vendors sell one product only, but they appear to have every size, shape, and color of whatever that product is — buttons, ribbons, zippers, and whatever. It’s still a little early for some of the stores to be open, but the street scenes were bustling. We walked through the edge of the 4,000 shop Grand Bazaar, on our way to see the Blue Mosque and the St. Sophia Mosque.

A nice young man stopped and talked with us. He said he had worked for NATO for 12 years, is now a tailor, and this is his day off. He asked if we were taking a tour of the city, and we thought he was about to try and sell his services. But not at all, he was just a friendly young man, happy to answer the questions of American tourists.

Emmy asked his help to buy a Coke to take a pill for her toothache, but instead, the young man got her a glass of water at a little restaurant. He understood her unasked question, and said, “Everyone can drink Istanbul water,” and she did, and it was fine.