It is that time again...time for our 6 month teeth cleaning. Last year we had our teeth cleaned in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and this year we are having it done in Istanbul, Turkey. I found this dentist about 1 month ago by searching for dentists walking distance to our AirBnB. I picked this one because it seemed to have good reviews written Euopeans and I was able to make the appointment over WhatsApp.
We left the AirBnB at 9:30 AM and arrived at Orient Dental Clinic 15 minutes later. We left the clinic about 25 minutes later with a cleaner and brighter smile for the cost of $128 for both of us. By the way, they used the ultrasonic cleaning technique to clean our teeth...oh, and the actual dentist did it. They do not use dental hygienists here in Turkey.
We left the AirBnB at 9:30 AM and arrived at Orient Dental Clinic 15 minutes later. We left the clinic about 25 minutes later with a cleaner and brighter smile for the cost of $128 for both of us. By the way, they used the ultrasonic cleaning technique to clean our teeth...oh, and the actual dentist did it. They do not use dental hygienists here in Turkey.
With that done, it was now time to explore the area around our AirBnB known as Sultanahmet, the center of the Old Town. The good news about traveling in Europe this year instead of Asia as we did last year is we can use Rick Steves' guidebook that includes self-guided walking tours. Here I am reading to Tim all about the history of Istanbul as well as all the sights around us.
Studying Rick Steves guide book with Hurrem Sultan Hammam (ancient bathhouse) in the background
Speaking of history, here is a summary of Istanbul's history:
From a park bench in Sultan Ahmet Park we are surrounded by 3 major sites. The first is Hurrem Sultan Hammam (bathhouse) seen in the above picture in the background as I read from the guide book. This bathhouse was constructed in 1556 during the Ottoman period. The second, also the most famous and most visited site in all of Turkey is Hagia Sophia (seen below). The original building was a Christian cathedral in the 530s (Byzantine). In 1453 it was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans when they removed all the Christian images and added the four minarets. You can go inside Hagia Sophia, but it was way too crowded when we got there. We plan to visit it and go inside on Wednesday.
- 700 BCE - 1: Greek Years, city called Byzantium
- 1 -500: Roman Empire, city called Constantinople
- 500 - 1453: Byzantine Christendom
- 1453 - 1920: Ottoman Empire (Muslim)
- 1920 - Today: Modern metropolis of Istanbul
From a park bench in Sultan Ahmet Park we are surrounded by 3 major sites. The first is Hurrem Sultan Hammam (bathhouse) seen in the above picture in the background as I read from the guide book. This bathhouse was constructed in 1556 during the Ottoman period. The second, also the most famous and most visited site in all of Turkey is Hagia Sophia (seen below). The original building was a Christian cathedral in the 530s (Byzantine). In 1453 it was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans when they removed all the Christian images and added the four minarets. You can go inside Hagia Sophia, but it was way too crowded when we got there. We plan to visit it and go inside on Wednesday.
Hagia Sophia
The third site is the Blue Mosque which we will be exploring later.
After oohing and ahhing and people watching, we walked over the site of the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople. This is where chariot races were held around year 500. during Greek rule. One of the more interesting features of this hippodrome is the Obelisk of Theodosius originally, the Egyptian Obelisk of Thutmose III. Unbelievable, Theodosius the Great brought the obelisk from Egypt to Constantinople and raised it inside the racing track. This obelisk was created in 1479 BCE making it 3,500 years old! By the way, the other obelisk behind the Egyptian one is the Walled Obelisk and was originally covered with gilded bronze plaques, but was pillaged by Crusaders around 1200.
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The base of the Egyptian obelisk has reliefs on all side with the most interesting being this one that shows the transportation of the obelisk and the workers pulling ropes getting it to stand up in the hippodrome.
There, just over the trees, is the minarets of the Blue Mosque...our next stop in this tour.
Knowing that we are going to be visiting many mosques, we stopped at a local vendor to buy a scarf ($2 USD) for me to cover my hair....pictures to follow soon.
This is the inside of the very impressive Blue Mosque, constructed between 1609 - 1617 (only 8 years to build). The architect was Mehmet Aga and is one of the most iconic building of the Ottoman Empire. This was the first round dome upon a square building making it a model for mosques all over the Islamic world.
This is the inside of the very impressive Blue Mosque, constructed between 1609 - 1617 (only 8 years to build). The architect was Mehmet Aga and is one of the most iconic building of the Ottoman Empire. This was the first round dome upon a square building making it a model for mosques all over the Islamic world.
The dome is 140 feet high and 110 feet across.
  Aha...first photo with new headscarf. |   |
Back outside we got a good photo of the facade.
The last site for today's walking tour is the Basilica Cistern. This is a large underground reservoir built 1,500 years ago by Emperor Justinian (and 7,000 slaves), the same guy that build Hagia Sophia. The cistern is lined with 336 Greek and Roman columns that was recycled from earlier ruins and brought to Constantinople. This place is amazing...what an engineering marvel built around year 500.
Oh...this may be a good time to tell you that I have upgraded my phone to the iPhone 15 Pro so I can take these amazing photos in low light. The cistern is much darker than the photos show. The lights are subtle and change color from white to blue to green as we walked around.
Oh...this may be a good time to tell you that I have upgraded my phone to the iPhone 15 Pro so I can take these amazing photos in low light. The cistern is much darker than the photos show. The lights are subtle and change color from white to blue to green as we walked around.
This is two of the cooler columns with Medusa's head on its side and upside down? Why? Maybe they were just the right size that was needed at the time to make the columns the proper height.
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Here is another cool column down here:
More cool photos down below:
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This photo better shows the lighting down here:
OK...we are famished. I found a highly recommended restaurant so we headed there. Check out this restaurant that I found. It is called Roof Mezze 360 Restaurant and lives up to its name since it is located on the roof of a hotel and has a 360 degree view of the Bosporus Strait that separates the European and Asian sides of Turkey.
Mezzo, which is in the name of the restaurant, is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers. Lucky for me, the are all vegetarian, so I just had to order it. Look at this amazing tray filled with amazingly delicious and so very tasteful dips.
We didn't know how much food was going to be in the mezzo platter, so Tim ordered a kabab plate. As it wound up, the kabab was definitely not needed as we brought home leftovers from the mezzo platter.
We are full and happy.
On the way home, my head wasn't buried in the guidebook, so I was able to look up and notice some beautiful buildings around us.
We arrived back to the AirBnB around 5 PM. I got some laundry done while working on this blog. Wow...it is nice to have a washing machine after after to rely on the cruise staff to do our laundry for us for the past month.
Tomorrow we have a food tour that is going to be amazing, so keep in touch. Until then...
Tomorrow we have a food tour that is going to be amazing, so keep in touch. Until then...
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