Turkey Part 1

Turkey was listed as one of those countries that I should visit before I turn 30 and on 22^nd of March 2012, my dream came true when the bright red orange Easyjet plane landed on the smooth surface of the Istanbul’s airport. The journey took about five exhausting hours exacerbated with my previous continuous long nights of working on an assignment with pure concentration of getting rid of workloads and a hopeful face for a thrilling Easter’s break travelling. With the littlest amount of Turkish Liras (I exchanged my £250 for ± TL650), I embarked on an unforgettable journey to the land of Sultan Mehmet Al-Fateh, the man who managed to conquer Constantinople and rose as the man in the hadith:

"Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will he be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!"

Day 1 Istanbul (22/03)

There’s not much had been done on our first day here in Istanbul except for the six of us went for a stroll in a place called ‘Sultan Ahmet’ in which, its vicinity was rich with remnants from the great Ottoman. Far beyond our hostel that occupied the two unlikely settings: a nearby railroad to a small local bazaar, Ayahsofya and Sultan Ahmet Camii (The Blue Mosque) stood tall facing each other like two great Titans.

Our first stop was the bazaar of course! Dazzled by the new surroundings and that our stomachs were left empty for quiet sometimes, a dinner was our main concern and our eyes couldn’t help but stay spellbinded at any nearby place that spelled food. At long last, we chose a stall or I could say a restaurant in the middle of the bazaar with a waiter who introduced himself as ‘Mr. Al Pacino’. He was indeed looked like the person who played ‘Scarface’ in the ‘Godfather’ movie.

We were impressed and maybe a little bit awkward with the hospitality. I drew a conclusion from my reading of the novel ‘the Tiger’s Wife’ by Tea Obreht that Turkish people are proud of their hospitality. Do not be surprised if you are given a cup of Turkish tea or Apple tea when you’re done feasting your food and that your food will come with a bucket of slices of local bread.

Turkish apple tea that's indeed refreshing

Little that we knew that Malaysians are rather popular in Istanbul, I bet the words travelled and the whole place knew that there was a group of Malaysian girls staying at a hostel.

Day 2 Istanbul (23/03)

The first place to be visited early on this second day was the Dolmabahce Palace that required us to take a tram ride from Sultan Ahmet. The tram ride was not a new experience since I had couple of times riding trams in the UK. A a congested traffic in places like my hometown might be addressed through an efficient public transport like tram. Though it is costly, it has a long-term effect. Despite that, I am still doubtful that such transport can work in my place where vandalism is a serious case.

Dolmabahce Palace was the last place for Kamal Ataturk to reside before he drew his last breath. The place was ostentatiously laden with gold with crafty busts, heavy chandeliers, glass floors and rooms and more lavish rooms for concubines, and even rooms for pianos and a small place, which was modestly decorated was a library. The caliph who was responsible to renovate the place into an antique gem of radical possessed European or Renaissance architecture was a spendthrift; he literally had his food served on silver platters and dined with silver chalices. I was glad that he was expelled from the palace. I could not imagine how more exquisite the place could be if he were to continue to renovate the place.

the majestic palace. appears like one of those buildings in Oxford

The six of us could not help but to think what a waste the place was. Poor and hungry people could be fed with nutritious food if all these gold and silvers could be traded for food and maybe there would not even exist the term ‘Hunger Games’.

Ataturk was repeatedly announced as the Hero of Turkey and this really kept us wondering throughout the day. Despite the constant story of how bad his reputation was for overthrowing the last caliph, he was revered regardless of his ambition to have a secular Turkey. His portraits were everywhere and more Turkish people know about Ataturk than Sultan Mehmet Alfateh. In addition to this, one unique trivia about this Dolmabahce Palace was that all the clocks in the place stopped at 9.05 a.m. – it was the time when this late leader passed away.

Three hours passed and when we were done having a good time playing with the cats in the palace and few times eavesdropping to several Japanese tourists chin wagging, we carried on with today’s plan and that was to the Topkapi Palace.

Topkapi Palace was not that far, it was just walking distance from our hostel. I could not remember much about this place but I was filled with sentimental feeling that filled until the brim of my heart container. Like any palace, it was amazing, beautiful, and breathe taking. However, what stroked me the most was that there was an exhibition of Prophet Muhammad pbuh. and his companions’ belongings at one of the show rooms. I tried my best to hold back my tears. To see Khaled bin al-Walid, Saidina Ali and Abu Bakr swords shone in front of me and Saidatina Fatima Az-Zahra garb preserved behind the thick glasses, I could feel their presences yet so far. Just imagine yourself those great people are in front of you. How tiny I am if to compare myself to them? What have I done that is equalized to their contribution to Islam?

the entrance to the Topkapi Palace

Late that evening before heading back to our hostel, we leave for Panorama 1453, which was told by the two people who were in charge of Istanbul for this excursion was a place that will promise us with great 3D view. Honestly, what I had in mind was a 3D show or movie like the one you see in the cinema and you have to wear a pair of 3D glasses with blue and red painted glasses to see the 3D effect. I was disappointed, it was not. Not even the nearest. For all the nonsense, I agreed this place should be visited if you are looking for a little history or background of the Conquering of Constantinople. Maybe it was too early to judge the place only for the ‘shenanigan’ or ‘hoax’. It was not a bad place at all. At the pinnacle of the hemisphere building, you will find a divinely painted scenario of the historical moment. The masterpiece, a fresco was painted meticulously and it looked as if it came alive. For an entrance fee less than TL10, this worth the money.

totally 3D XD

Day 3 Istanbul (24/3)

Though there had been slight changes to our itinerary, today marked the most momentous moment to most of us. Yup, that’s right. The next place that we would be visiting was the Al-Fateh Mosque and tomb. Contrary to what most of us believe, Sultan Mehmet Alfateh was not a well celebrated hero here, in fact his contribution was not well acknowledged as much as the credits given to Kamal Ataturk. What I could infer was that perhaps he was just a small figure if to compare to what Kamal Ataturk had done to Turkey through his revolution and rapid development that changed Turkey entirely from the basic political structure to the living styles of Turkish people.

The place was not that easy to reach since not many of the Turkish people when asked knew where the place was and the funniest part was that a security at a nearby tram station did not have the slightest idea where the place or whether such place existed. Despite this persistent hassle, there was a huge signboard hanging just next to the tram station telling the direction of the mosque. I was not sure if all the troubles we had was a sign of innocence or some people were trying to play ignorant.

It took about 15 minutes to reach the place. We had to cross a crossroad (real busy road >_____<), passed through shops (I did not know how us girls could refrain ourselves from shopping =P), and finally reached a small road that led into a kind of secluded small town. There were rows of shops that sold domestic things. Butcher shops, kebab shops, shops that sold dried food like figs and nuts. The mosque was situated right in the middle of the town. There were many cats in our view field. I think Turkish people love cat and those cats were well taken care of. Healthy and so fluffy but what made me wonder the most was the place did not smell of cats which was so unlikely.

a bread shop

a shop selling baklavas (i think)

Sultan Mehmet AlFateh's tomb

There was a moment of silent when we stepped into the place. I did not know how to contain the unexpressed sadness. There was nothing like pride. The mausoleum was simple, not exaggeratedly adorned with gold but modestly built. Several people were seen inside of it with their mouth busy reciting Yasseen and some said their prayers. I kept forcing myself to resist the temptation to shed a tear. Here laid in front of me a great man who was mentioned in the hadith. We spent about one hour in the mausoleum.


We performed our prayer in the mosque. While we were waiting for the athan, an old woman in her late 50s came and hugged me with tears running down her cheeks. She wore a long black veil and she spoke to me in Turkish (trust me, I know all the important phrases in Turkish - NO!). I just cracked a smile and then she pelted few kisses on my cheeks. Awww I felt homesick. Somehow what she did touched me and I couldn't hold back my tears (I was weeping a little bit behind my shades).


Then another thing happened. While we were trying to answer the hunger call from our stomachs, we stopped by at a kebab stall that sold cheap kebabs. A man was standing next to it studying us in a friendly way while his mouth was articulating dzikr and his right hand was running against the beads of the rosary. He then asked the kebab man to ask us where we're from and whether we're students. As soon as he knew that we're students, he immediately said that he'll foot the bills. We were speechless for his sincerity and he just walked away. Once again...and you can guess what comes next. Yup the beads of tears keep 'rolling down the cheek~~'

Later on, we continued with our shopping agenda at the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar (nothing like the Ramadan Bazaar). A haven for shoppers but I’m warning you these places are extremely pricey. You could get cheaper price for the same things sold at the bazaars. Another thing that these two places share in common? Crowded and ‘crampy’. But just for the sake of fulfilling your curiosity, it worth the trouble to squeeze in between the crowds. Just make sure you are with someone who’s good at bargaining.  

an array of teas but i still love apple tea

What was interesting that I had observed in here amidst the annoying pestering asking whether we're Malaysians and abusive usage of 'Apa khabar?' and 'Selamat datang' (come on! I'm not buying all those persistent display of patronising recognition of Malaysia. I swore from that moment onwards, I'd decided to change my nationality. I was an Indonesian and even a Moroccan. Okay maybe I'd gone overboard when I said I was a Moroccan =P), my eyes were temporarily transfixed to a guy who was trying to push a cart in the market with his friend. What was special with that scenario? Well actually the man who was pushing the cart knew zero English. So this friend of him taught him a word 'excuse me'. And the man used the word, continuously repeating it like a chant. Here's an example of how a language is learnt on the street. No grammar lesson but learn them according to situation and in fact, it's the most effective way to learn a language. As a linguist, I was totally amazed by what I just saw.

>>>to be continued.