Maze O: Istanbul Mosque

ISTANBUL MOSQUERADE: COME, ENJOY! THE MAGIC CARPET RIDE TO ISTANBUL, THAT'S CONSTANTINOPLE.  Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey (cap: Ankara) and situated in the shores of Bosphorus.  It is bordered to the north by the Black Sea, to the east by Marmara Sea.  96.5% is in Asia (Anatolia or Asia Minor) and 3.5%  is in Europe.  The modern Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.  Its population is 62 million - 98% Muslims,1.5% Christians and Jews.

Our tour bus arrived before 6 pm at the Port of Piraeus in Athens.  There we saw on the dock the much in the news cruise line Brilliance of the Seas where a guy (George Allen Smith) from the United States who's just newly-married and on his honeymoon just mysteriously disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea last July 5, 2005.  He was presumed lost at sea or had met foul play.  I said a little prayer for him as we cruised along the Mediterranean Sea.  May God bless him wherever he may be.  I thought of this even before when it was featured in one of my favorite shows - A Current Affair (FOX).  Everything was hush-hush until now.  It was really and truly a mystery.

I wonder what happened to this ship?  I heard it will be replenished at a dock in Germany.  All the boat crews, some Filipinos, were very nice and helpful.  The ship captain was friendly and very careful in navigating to all the Greek islands and in Turkey.  The entertainment was superb and fabulous.  I prefer small ships - I'm just overwhelmed by titanic ships and too many people. 

We arrived the next day at 6 pm after an overnight Hellenic cruise.  I enjoyed the short voyage very much.  After docking, we rushed to the Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar. 

The next day, we had an excellent guided tour by Ertan.  He told me while we were walking at the site of the Hippodrome that he was the guide of Charlton Heston when the actor was making the epic movie Ben-Hur.  Ertan also saved as the trouble of looking for Turkey's Delight candy called Istanbul Locum by buying (5 euros) for us while we're sightseeing.  So yum-yum and sweet!

Video:

Istanbul Mosquerade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv0rVoDScM8 00:59

Blue Mosque

 Aya Sofia - Both Christian church and Islamic mosque

Hagia Sofia (Sacred Wisdom) fresco of Madonna and Child.

Constantine Dynasty (307 - 361 A.D.)
Constantine the Great made two momentous decisions during his rule.  A vision before a battle, with victory the following day, convinced him to convert to Christianity among other reasons - he had to appease the christians in Rome.  Also he was influenced by his mother Saint Helena who found the real wooden cross of Jesus Christ.  But that's another story.  He and his sons Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans came to power during the waning years of the Roman Empire.  However, they changed  and impacted the course of western history.  He moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople (now Istanbul).  Because of this, he preserved Roman culture from destruction for another 1,000 years.  After the death of Constantine, his sons killed most of their male relatives and divided the empire among themselves.  Before that I've heard Constantine killed his father-in-law and his sons.  I'm so confused about my history.

Dolmabache Palace

I bought the most beautiful Turkish rug at Nakkas (Turkish word for Artisan). http://www.nakkasrug.com  The place is located in the Sultanahmet (Old City) district of Istanbul.  The store was built on top of the 6th century Byzantine cistern.  We went down underground to see the column-filled cistern after haggling with Genghis on the price of the carpet.  I was so delighted with my two magic carpets.  It's so soft to my feet.  I'm stepping on it right now.  You'll have a buyer's regret if you traveled all the way to Turkey and did not buy at least a small one.

Entrance or exit to Topkapi

We had a yummy lunch in Konyali Restaurant located at Topkapi Palace.  We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the so many golden,emerald, diamond treasures and relics.  Our guide Ertan showed as the skull and right arm of St. John the Baptist.  Immediately I prayed to him to baptize and bless me again with the Holy Spirit.

Gule-Gule!


Update  7/17/13  lib's labyrinth blogspot

Previous Publication  6/2/10  lib's labyrinth blogspot

Web Page: Maze

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Published 2005  ALT  MSN Group

Web Page: World Traveler

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