What Is It?

Hey Grade 2's (and all other readers) You did a great job brainstorming ideas about what that big black blob was in London, so I have another challenge for you...what do you think this building in Istanbul was used for about 300 years ago?

Can't wait to hear all your ideas.

The Blue Mosque

A mosque is a religious building for Muslims.  It has a central dome and then one, or more, minarets attached to the main building.  The minarets are not just decorative towers, they actually serve a purpose.  Before electricity an Imam would climb the stairs all the way to the balcony of one of the minarets and from up high he would loudly chant the call to prayer.  Following Muslim tradition the Imam would do this five times a day.  The call to prayer is meant to act as a reminder to Muslims that it is time to stop what they are doing and pray.

One of the Blue Mosque's minarets.  Can you imagine climbing that minaret five times a day?

Lucky for the Imam things are a little different today.  Technology has taken over and now there are loud speakers attached to the minarets so the Imam can recite the call to prayer from inside the mosque and the speakers carry his voice across the city.

Inside the Blue Mosque.  The designs on the ceiling are made by patterning lots of different tiles.

Even though the mosque is open to the public as a tourist attraction, it is still active and at certain times of the day you can see rows of Muslims praying under the beautiful blue-tiled ceiling.   Hmm, I wonder why they call it the Blue Mosque?

Archaeological Museum of Istanbul

One of the beautiful museum buildings.

With over one million objects at the Archaeological Museum, you can spend an entire day wandering the halls without ever getting bored. 
One of the most interesting items, and probably my favourite, is the oldest peace treaty known to man.  It was written over three thousand years ago between Ramses II and Hattusilli III.  It is nice to know that leaders have always wanted peace for their kingdoms.  I also enjoyed seeing this letter written on a clay tablet from a son to his mom.  A lot has sure changed with how we communicate.  I don't use clay tablets anymore instead I use my computer to Skype with my mom, getting to talk to her face to face, while I am travelling around the world.

A letter that is almost 4000 years old.

Also on display are 2000 year old tiles from the Ishtar Gate, the archway that led into the ancient city of Babylon.  The museum has lions, dragons and bulls made from the tiles for visitors to see.  Luckily you don't need to fly all the way to Istanbul to see part of the Ishtar Gate.  The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has a lion from this gate as part of its collection.

Part of the Ishtar Gate.

Unfortunately when statues and artefacts are found they aren't usually in perfect condition.  A lot of the statues are found headless or armless.  Sometimes the statues were damaged before being buried in the rubble of lost cities.  Other times they have been damaged by the weather, or by being underground for so long.  Here are a few of the statues from the Archaeological Museum, can you add back the missing pieces?  To do this you can print out the pictures and use pencil or marker, or right-click on the images and open them with a paint program to complete them on your computer.  I can't wait to see how your finished statues look.

I have just started to finish my statue.  Should I make it a silly statue?

Hagia Sophia

Dear Boys and Girls,

The Hagia Sophia (which means "divine wisdom") is an amazing building.  It was completed in the year 360 and was used as a church for over 1000 years!  In 1453, when Istanbul was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, Sultan Mehmed II ordered the Hagia Sophia be converted into a mosque.  To do this several minarets were added to the building and all the mosaics in the church were plastered over because no pictures or statues are allowed in a mosque.  These mosaics were then forgotten and were only found again in 1930 when the building was being converted from a mosque into a museum.  It is nice to see how the people of Istanbul have recycled their buildings and used them in several different ways over the years.

Looking up at the dome in the Hagia Sophia.

 

The dome which has a diameter of 31m.

One of the mosaics that has been rediscovered.

Legend has it that Emperor Justinian II placed his forehead on a pillar in the Hagia Sophia and he was cured of all his illnesses.  To this day people believe that if they put their thumb in that same pillar and turn their hand around in a complete circle, they too will be cured of any illnesses they might have.  Do you believe this is true?

Call me superstitious, I just had to try it!

Hope you are all well,
Mr. Pimentel

Opposites in Istanbul

Istanbul is a city full of opposites.  There is the "new" city and then the "old" city.  There are "noisy" streets and "quiet" streets.  There are a lot of "big" mosques and a lot of "small" mosques.  Can you think of some opposites that describe your city?

Old tram going to Tunel station.

New tram taking us to Kabatas station.

Taking Your Advice - Princes' Islands

View from the ferry as we approach one of the islands.

Reading over "A Kid's Guide to Istanbul" I saw that Princes' Islands was listed as being a green, quiet, car-less place.  After a few days in the hustle and bustle of Istanbul I was definitely ready for some relaxing.  The hour and a half ferry ride out onto the Marmara Sea was beautiful.  Making a stop at some of the islands along the way the ferry eventually got to my destination, the largest island of the nine, Büyükada.  It is true what they say about the islands, they are really car-free zones.  There are only three ways of getting around.  You can take a horse and buggy, ride a bike or you can always just walk.  I  decided to rent a bike and pedaled my way around the island in the warm sunshine until I found a tiny hidden beach to relax on.  So after swimming in the Marmara Sea, looking at some beautiful old buildings and eating a great "pide" (aka. Turkish pizza), I was ready to catch the ferry home.  All in time to see the sun setting over the "Old City" of Istanbul.  What a perfect car-free day!  Thank you for making my day extra special by suggesting I try visiting the Princes' Islands.

Sharing the road with horses, you have to watch out for horse poop!

Relaxing on the beach.



The sun setting over Istanbul.



The Markets of Istanbul

Founded in 1461, the Grand Bazaar is the oldest covered market in the world.  Now, what is a covered market?  Is it like a supermarket?  Well not really.  The market is divided into thousands of small stalls, and each stall sells a specific item.  If you want a carpet, you go to a carpet stall.  If you want some jewelry, you go to a jewelry stall.  To make things easier stalls are usually grouped together by what they are selling so you will find a whole bunch of carpet stalls in one area of the market and a whole bunch of jewelry stalls in another.  It is also one of the world's largets buildings so it is pretty easy to get confused while walking around.  On an average day, about 400,000 visitors shop in the Grand Bazaar, that is more than the entire population of Iceland!

Entering the Grand Bazaar



The stalls inside the Grand Bazaar



Another market in Istanbul is the Egyptian Bazaar, which is also known as the Spice Bazaar. Not as old as the Grand Bazaar, it was built in 1660.  Like the name says you can buy spices here, but you can also find belly dancing costumes and Turkish Delight for sale too.  Smaller than the Grand Bazaar, this market is easier to navigate.  The smell of freshly ground spices fill your nose as you walk along the indoor streets.  Visiting a market in Istanbul is definitely a good way to overwhelm your senses.  Look at the pictures on this page and think about how you might use your five senses while visiting a Bazaar.  Is there a sense you wouldn't use? 

Entering the Spice Bazaar.  Look at all those dried spices hanging by the entrance.



One of the vendors at the Spice Bazaar with rows and rows of frying pans and Turkish tea sets.



Sez: Turkish Guitars

Dear Boys and Girls,

I really miss playing my guitar.  Unfortunately I couldn't bring it with me around the world, so to help me feel better I went walking along Galip Dede Caddesi which is a street lined with shops that sell traditional Turkish instruments.  I went into one of the shops and asked about these interesting looking guitars.

The nice man at the store told me that they are called "cura" and they belong to the sez family.  Sez are traditional Turkish guitars.  They have more strings than my guitar back home, are hard to play, but boy oh boy they really do sound beautiful.

The man at the instrument shop putting on a little concert for me.

Looking forward to hearing more instruments as I travel,

Mr. Pimentel

Stuffed Like a Turkey in Turkey!

Wow!  I feel like I have been eating non-stop since arriving in Istanbul.  All the food here is amazing and except for the Aryan, a salty/sour yogurt drink, I have enjoyed everything I have tried so far, and boy have I tried a lot!

I went to a restaurant called Kofteci Huseyin that makes the best kofte in Istanbul.  Kofte are delicious meatballs that are served with salad and a spicy sauce.  It is almost like eating mini burgers.

Lunch is served!  Kofte and salad.

After my kofte lunch I stopped in at Sakarya Tatlicisi for dessert.  Here you can get a special dessert called Ayva Tathsi, which means quince dessert in Turkish.  A quince is kind of like a big apple.  To make the dessert the quinces are baked so they get gooey and sticky, just like the inside of an apple pie.  They are then topped with thick Turkish cream known as kaymakli.  It is just like vanilla ice cream, except not frozen.

Ayva Tathsi with a large serving of kaymakli.

I have also had meze in Istanbul at a restaurant called Giritli.  Meze is when you eat a whole bunch of appetizers as a meal.  At Giritli they gave me a huge amount of food, I could hardly finish it all.  I started with meze, then warm meze which was an octopus leg and fried calamari.  Then I was given grilled sea bass, and finally dessert which was a paste of walnuts and molasses mixed with apple.  I was stuffed after all that yummy food, but wait, there is always room for ice cream!

This was just the start of an amazing lunch at Giritli.

No visit to Istanbul would be complete without "dondurma".  Dondurma is an ice cream that is made with orchid tubers so it is kind of like eating ice cream that is really chewy, almost like frozen gum.  The best part of buying dondurma is the show the seller puts on for you before he hands the cone over to you to enjoy.

I will have to go back for more dondurma before I leave Istanbul.

I wonder what will be on the menu tomorrow in Istanbul?

Galata Tower

Istanbul is a city in the country of Turkey that has a population of 12.5 million people (12 500 000 people!) making it the fifth largest city in the world.  How can I possibly see all that Istanbul has to offer in a week?  Well, Galata Tower is one of the best places to start.  Standing at 62m tall, the tower gives you panoramic views of Istanbul and helps you understand just how huge Istanbul is.  In the distance you can see mosques, castles and row upon row of buildings.  Going up the tower has gotten me really excited about exploring the rest of Istanbul.



The Galata Tower which was built in 1348.



The view from the top of Galata Tower.

Me enjoying the sunshine and the stunning view!

A Kid's Guide to Istanbul

Here are some things that I am going to try to do while I am here in Istanbul.  I am excited about visiting Sultanahmet today.  Do you have any other suggestions for me?

I Am Here - Istanbul, Turkey

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