As the song says, "IT'S ISTANBUL, NOT CONSTANTINOPLE"

SATURDAY, SEPT. 26TH, Day 4:
On Saturday, September 26th, we said "good-bye" to Greece for awhile & "hello" to Turkey. The process of getting from one country to the next took about two hours. We had to change buses twice & then we met our gujide, Omer. He was an immediate hit with our group. I think he knew something about every rock & stone & monument & building in Turkey & could make it funny & interesting.

Our first destination - after eating a nice Turkish meal shortly after meeting Omer - was Istanbul, originally named Byzantium & then Constantinople. It is a city of 15 million & is the only city in the world that sits on two continents: Asia & Europe. The Bosphorus River runs through Istanbul & separates the two continents.

Before going to our hotel, we stopped to visit the Blue Mosque which derives its name from the predominance of blue tiles decorating the inside. We had to remove our shoes to enter. We did not need to cover our heads, but our knees & shoulders had to be covered. The mosque has 260 windows, six minarets, huge pillars, & large chandeliers. The lack of furnishings emphasized the vast spaciousness. There were no statues, icons, or sculpture. The carpet looked ike red velvet with blue flowers. Its name is actually Sultan Ahmed Mosque after the sultan who had it built in the 17th century.

As we left we headed to the area nearby which was once a Hippodrome where chariot races took place. Of interest there were two Egyptians obelisks, a serpentine column from Delphi, & a German fountain.

We bused to our hotel, settled in, had a nice meal in the hotel, & called it a day.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 27TH, Day 5:
After a nice breakfast in the hotel, we walked a short distance to the Topkapi Palace complex...a total of 26 buildings. It was the residence of the Ottoman Sultans from the 16th century until the empire fell in 1921. It iws now a museum.

As could be expected, the gardens & grounds were beautiful. We did not visit all of the buildings. We did see a large exhibit of the Sultans' clothes - from Ottoman to European styles. The Treasury rooms were filled with many gems & ornate articles. Gold & jewels were on everything - from thrones to rings. One eye-catcher was the Spoonmaker's Diamond: 86 carats - the 5th largest in the world. The Sacred Trusts room contained relics - including some of the bones of Moses & John the Baptist, Abraham's saucepan, Joseph's turban, & the apostle John's arm & skull.....sure! As we walked thru the rooms, we were "serenaded" by live chanting. In the room where the chanter was seated was a screen with words of the Koran scrolling. Omer explained that Jews & Muslims believe that just hearing words are good for you even if they are not understood. The Portrait Gallery contained portraits of all the Sultans. There was also a room where Parliament met with special seating above for the Sultan to watch. Omer pointed out the building which housed the kitchen & another which was the harem. There was more, but this sufficiently illustrates the grandeur & luxury of the Ottomans.

We bused to worship with the International church & enjoyed meeting the friendly, energetic people there. The song service was lively & the message for the day was a good one. I think it's noeworthy to point out that the congregation was taking homemade sandwiches to distribute to the street children after the services.

We bused to eat at a well known restaurant called lthe "Pudding Shop" & then walked to the Aghia Sophia. This is a church built in the 6th century over earlier churches, converted into a mosque when the Ottomans came into power, & then made into a museum around 1930. Much of the marble in the building came from the Temple of Artemis (Diana) in Ephesus. The inside was huge. Although it is not being used as a church now, it is the 4th largest church in the world. The dome has fallen twice because of earthquakes. (Work on its restoration has been going on for 20 years.) The ceiling has lovely mosaics & stained glass windows.

We walked to the Archaelogical Museum. Of particular interest to me: the Alexander Sarcophagus believed to be prepared for Alexander the Great; the beautiful Sarcophagus of the Crying Women; The Kadesh Peace Treaty (1258 B.C.) - the oldest known peace treaty in the world - between Ramesses II of Egypt & Hattusili III of the Hittite Empire; a portion of the Hammurabi Code Tablet; portions of the Babylonian walls; & statues & busts from ancient times. These are only a few of the thousands of Turkish, Greek, & Roman items on display.

We finished our touring by having tea with the Brinleys in the garden outside the museum. Rain threatened so we went back to the hotel & stayed in for the evening.

MONDAY, SEPT. 28TH, Day 6:
We are blessed each day with the opportunity for a wonderful breakfast before we begin our adventures! We bused to the Kirye (Chora) Church which is now a museum & which is located in an area which was once rural. It is Byzantine & was built in the 14th century. Particularly notable were the beautiful mosaic ceilings & frescoes. Except for these, it was rather bare & colorless. Interestingly, though, it was buttressed outside to protect against earthquakes.

We rode to the Ottoman Cemetery, but stopped for tea at Pierre Loti's Cafe right next to the cemetery. This provided refreshment & a great panoramic view of the Golden Horn, the beauti-ful bay/short river which separates the old & new European Istanbul. It runs into the Bosphorous River which separates European Istanbul from Asian Istanbul.

The cemetery is terraced on a steep hill & we traversed on a cobbled stone walkway across the hill viewing old & new graves. The older markers were of stone & generally shaped like a fez on top for the men & engraved with flowers for the women. (The flowers were usually roses & designated the number of her children.) The newer graves had marble monuments. Green is considered to be a holy color so some part of the gate or wrought iron fence around some plots were painted green. Most of the family plots were bordered with low white stone walls. I learned that Muslims do not believe in cremation.

We boarded our bus & drove to the Spice Market. It was crowded & full of shops displaying & selling meat, fish, tiles, spices, candy, scarves, teas, jewelry, linens, & on & on. I sampled my first "Turkish Delight" candy & found it quite good & not syrupy sweet as I expected it to be. Also had some hot apple tea which was very good.

We enjoyed a late lunch in a neat restaurant constructed in part of the old city wall across from the Marmara Sea.

After fortification from a nice lunch, we bused to the Grand Bazaar & more shopping. Omer told us there were 40o0 stalls in a space of 66 blocks. We browsed until we were dizzy & actually made a few purchases.

Our last excursion for this day was a one & a half-hour cruise on the Bosphorous River. The wind was whistling "Dixie"! Omer kept a running commentary on the sights as we passed mosques, palaces, universities, restaurants, gardens, parks, luxurious apartment buildings, & a fortress built by Mehmet the Conquereor to control & protect the Bosphorus. It was a great outing!

We rode back to our hotel, freshened up, had a great dinner, & did a bit of souvenir shopping at a nearby shop before turning in for the day.

We found the people in Istanbul to be friendly & helpful. Though it is predominately Muslim, the women here mostly wear western clothing & only cover their heads - many with very colorful scarves. Omer said there is a movement afoot to change this & encourage the women to return to their black clothing with all covered but their eyes while in public. It will be interesting to see if this comes to pass.