TP2: Turkish Breakfast - an energy Booster

Brief Turkish-Arabic breakfast had kept our energy at optimum. If in Egypt or other Arabic countries in the middle east, the round bread or 'aish' is quite common serve during breakfast and it is a staple food to most of them. But, in Turkey, the long soft locally made bread is the common thing. The soft texture allow you to blend with any types of dishes. It was indeed a healthy breakfast though however, we missed the Nek Bol's fried rice and 'sambal kecop', a shrimp paste mixed with red hot chilli, red onion and black soya sauce. Nek Bol or actually the late beloved my mother-in-law, Hjh Baidah who had left us in July 1999. That was 10 years 6 months ago. She was great in the kitchen and cooked us great foods. If Sarawak is famous for its layered cake or ‘kek lapis’, she was famous for its ‘Sarawak Dodol’, which she produced normally during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. The breakfast and our trip reminded us about her recipe and one of her hobby – travelling. She was very determined though, despite the arthritis that she had, she had been to many countries, such as, Switzerland, Paris, few other parts of France, Indonesia, Singapore, the Middle East countries, etc. We missed her so much.

Located on the top 5th floor of the hotel, the dining hall was relatively small. It was just having the breakfast back home. However, the staff – only two of them, were great, friendly and efficient. The brief menu was commendable, hence during the first serve, one quarter of the served foods were ‘cleaned’ and salvaged by seven of us! As mentioned earlier, we need energy to keep us energize to survive the compacted itinerary that we planned for Day 2.
The plan - 1st in the queue was continuing our sight seeing around Sultanahmet; Friday prayer at Sulaimaniye Masjid; Tomb of Sultan Sulayman; Ali Pasha Masjid; Kapilacarsi or Grand Bazaar; Eyub Sultan – the tomb of one of the Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) and the Masjid; Taksim; Sultan Ahmet Masjid or the Blue Mosque; Yerebatan Cistern; Topkapi Palace; Spice Bazaar and other Masjid.

TP3: A Prominent Person we Met at Kapalicarsi

While wandering inside the Grand Bazaar or Kapalicarsi, a ‘guy’ summoned me from behind; “Orang Malaysia?” he claimed. I looked to my left, where the summon came from and I could not believed with my eyes; speechless and stunned for a few seconds, I responded; “Datuk..! Apa khabar?” At that instance, honestly, I was not too sure whether I addressed him correctly or not. He continued, “Bercuti dengan keluarga?” (on vacation with your family?). I replied him politely, “Ye Datuk, kita baru sampai semalam” (Yes, indeed. We arrived last night). Datuk Seri Mustapa bin Mohamed, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry, is one of the prominent Malaysian politicians or ministers that I admired. Soft spoken and humble, are among of his characters that I counts and respects. He asked me what I do and spent times with my boys, Afi, M Afiq and M Asri on their education, etc. Well, the boys were a little bit shy talking with a Minister with such caliber. His wife and his wife’s friend – a Datin, were very friendly and so were their kids. There were no signs of arrogant, proud, and ‘high-nose’ from their faces and words. It was really an experience meeting them. Salute you Datuk Seri.

Muhammad Asri, 'Afi and Muhammad Afiq with Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

TP4: Exploring the Nostalgic Sultanahmet

Bismillah hi twakkal hu allallah….we made our first step out from the hotel at around 07:30 hours. The weather was nice and the sky was blue. The ambience was about 14 degrees centigrade and most of the people were still in deep sleep after the all-nightlong celebration of the new 2010. Few restaurants had already started serving the menu. Some groceries had commenced their operations.
Sultanahmet named after Sultan Ahmed I, is the heart of historic old Istanbul, what the 19th century travelers used to call it ‘Stambul’Besides the popular touristic prominent figures, there were many well-maintained old charm buildings with few modern cotemporary buildings. It is a very friendly district and neighborhood. All the local people that we met were very helpful and hospitable. However, to enjoy the sightseeing one must have certain kind of knowledge about it or otherwise, fork out your 70 Euro (per person per day), an excellent English speaking tour guide with vast knowledge will walk you around with all the information. As for us, we opted to explore the neighborhood ourselves. Akin to ‘Treasure Hunt’, it was thrilling thing and adventurous though. We had prepared ourselves with some kind of info and knowledge about the places listed in the agenda prior to the visit. The streets were quite tricky, but with the good signage, helpful fluent English speaking locals and road map that abundantly available from any travel & tour operators or stationary kiosks, and information centers, had made the tour more fun, interesting and memorable experience.
Sultanahmet has many wonderful things to offer. With the limited time that we had, we have to pick-and-choose those significant and relevant with our objectives. In this release, I share you some of the interesting photos that we took around the neighborhood. As the saying goes, ‘pictures paint thousands words’. Enjoy!

TP5: Mahmud Pasha Masjid

This was the second Masjid that we visited that morning – the Mahmud Pasha Masjid.
Mahmud Pahsa of Serbia origin was the grand-vizier of Mehmed II between 1453-66 and 1472-74 and is known as a poet and a patron of the arts. Actually, the Masjid is part of the complex built by him inside the city walls following the fall of Constantinople. Other than the Masjid, it consists of a ‘madrasa’ or school, a han, ‘hammam’ or public baths and his mausoleum.
The Masjid was completed in 1464 (869 A.H.) and thoroughly renovated during the rule of Osman III in 1753 (1169 A.H.) It has since been restored twice, in 1828 and 1936. Unfortunately, there were nobody there during that time and the main door was closed, we did not visit the interior of the Masjid. Nevertheless, through my reading, I have learned that the prayer hall consists of two domed units separated by a grand arch. Its interior of the prayer hall, including the mihrab and minbar, was renovated in the 19th century.
Ayman looked confused with what he saw! ‘Afi, M Afiq and M Asri were amazed with surrounding and the architecture of the Masjid. The Masjid has a single minaret on the northwest corner, which is accessed from the room to the west of the vestibule.

There were few rows of shops inside the complex selling Muslims’ clothing, attire and accessories. We spent around 15 minutes here before we continued our morning adventure at the neighborhood of Sultanahmet.

TP6: The Biggest covered Bazaar in the World

One of the main features of Istanbul and popular among the foreigner and the locals alike is the Grand Bazaar or Kapalicarsi in the local dialect, literally means the Covered Bazaar. The Covered Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.
We heard a lot about the bazaar from our friends who had visited Istanbul. It is a place a must to visit. After spending around one hour wandering at the neighborhood, we asked people on the street the direction to the Bazaar. Most of the friendly people that we met and asked kindly showed us the way but frankly said the Bazaar is closed for one main reason; it was a Public Holiday – 1.1.2010. Despite the advice, however, I looked at Nana and made up our mind – GO – we decided to visit the Bazaar. Fortunate enough, the main gates were opened, most of the shops had commenced their operations, and people started entering the gates. It was then around 09:40 hours we entered the Bazaar through Gate 1 or Nuruosmaniye Gate of Kalpakcilar Caddesi or Street passing through the Nuruosmaniye Masjid, which was still under major restoration. Right after the gate, was the Sandal bedestens where most of the jewelleries shops located.

Opened in 1461, it is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by the type of goods, with special areas for leather coats, gold jewelry and the like. The bazaar contains two bedestens (domed masonry structures built for storage and safe keeping), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and in 1894 underwent a major restoration following an earthquake.

The Sandal Bedesten was built later to house the fine fabric trade and is also known as the New or Small Bedesten. Located to the southeast of the Old Bedesten the Sandal Bedesten is a simple walled enclosure measuring 38.8 by 32 meters, covered by twenty small domes in four rows that rest on twelve piers. Entered from gates at the center of each façade, the bedesten is surrounded by an irregular fabric of masonry stores on all sides. Both the Old and Sandal Bedesten have rubble stone-walls, brick domes, stone piers and brick arches tied by juniper beams. Their heavy iron doors are embellished with nails. . It was on this street at one of its junctions; we met and had a brief chat with the humble but visionary Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of MITI with his wife Datin Seri and his friends.

A little bit about the Old Bedesten; known as Jewelers' Bedesten, Inner Bedesten or Big Bedesten, is located at the center of the covered bazaar, oriented slightly off the east-west axis. It consists of forty-four masonry cells around a rectangular courtyard measuring 45.3 by 29.4 meters, enclosed with fifteen domes in three rows. The two rows of eight piers supporting the roof are crowned by small cupolas on the exterior. An outer envelope of 56 shops covers its walls. What amazed me, the interior is lit solely from windows at the upper section of the walls, linked by a wooden catwalk.

Kapaliçarsi or the Covered Bazaar is the collective name given to two bedestens and the series of vaulted commercial streets that surround them, located between the Nuruosmaniye and Bayezid Masjid north of Divanyolu, the main road traversing the historic peninsula heading towards Edirne (Adrinople). It is located at the northern edge of a larger market neighborhood that occupies the southern hillside of the Golden Horn where commercial ships arrived with their loads. From here, the merchandise was distributed to the hans and wholesale markets for distribution throughout the city. Some of these raw goods made their way up the hill to the artisan workshops of the covered bazaar whose streets are named after its artisans: slipper-makers, shoe-makers, mirror-makers, wash-cloth makers, fez-makers, comforter-makers, silk-thread makers, polishers, fur-makers, just to name a few.

The covered bazaar has gone through many fires and earthquakes, following which it was rebuilt and expanded in an ad hoc fashion. Markets surroundings the bedestens were destroyed by fire in 1546, 1589 and 1618. A fire in 1652 originated in the Old Bedesten and a conflagration destroyed the entire city including the markets in 1660. In 1695 and 1701 fires originated again in the Old Bedesten; the wooden vaults of the surrounding streets were converted to masonry in the following restoration. The fire of 1750 damaged the market and was followed by janissaries looting the site.

Repairs were conducted after the 1766 earthquake and fires of 1791 and 1826. Mahmud Celaleddin Pasa (1839-1899), the Minister of Public Works under Abdülhamid II, re-organized the covered market after the 1894 earthquake damaged its structure and vaults. Its size was reduced through removing vaults and detaching hans and new gates were installed on major routes. The structure was reinforced with iron and the vaults were decorated with arabesques. Repairs were conducted in the five years following an earthquake in 1954 and the interior was repainted in 1980. Today, the bazaar retains its 1894 boundaries enclosing 61 streets in an area of 30.7 hectares.

At one glance from the distance or even from the Google Earth, Kapalicarsi comes across as any tourist`s nightmare, with its confusing maze of streets lanes and alleys, teeming with shops, structures and people. However, once you have had a walk around the Bazaar, you will find the layout very easy and tourist-friendly.

The covered bazaar is entered from four main gates located at the end of its two main streets, the north-south Yaglikçilar (oil lamp makers) Street and the east-west Kalpakçilar (fur hat makers) Street, which intersect near the southwest corner of the bazaar. Kalpakçilar Street connects the Bayezid Masjid and Bayezid Square to the west with Nuruosmaniye Masjid to the east; the gates at these locations were added during the 1894 renovation and bear the royal monogram of Abdülhamid II. Through my reading, there are other 20 gates to enter the Bazaar from various points.

Like other souks or bazaars in the Middle East, Egypt or other parts of the world, one must exercise their rights well as a customer. There were no price tags for most of the items displayed, thus, bargaining skill is essential to get the best deal. The Kapalicarsi, however, is much better in many aspects than the famous Khan Khalili, Egypt. The vendors spoke fluent English, the ambience was very pleasant, more organized, and items were properly displayed. Other facilities, such as the wet or water closets were very clean and well maintained; user-friendly signages are everywhere to assist and guide the visitors. The covered bazaar has a number of small Masjid, all built above ground level; post office; banks and moneychangers; Police station; the historic sabils and fountains; and tourist information kiosks.

The Bazaar offers convenience in the sense that whatever you would ever want to buy is available under the same roof and at reasonable quotes too. Another aspect that sets apart the Grand Bazaar or the Covered Bazaar from other souks, in my opinion, is the milieu, which thrives here. It incorporates a slice of Turkish life and walking down its Caddesi or the covered streets or alleys is a cultural experience in itself. The ever-bustling and colorful Kapalicarsi with its diverse ambience can any day give the swank over-priced city malls, a run for their money.

As I have mentioned in the earlier release, Turkey is famed for its hospitality and tourists swear by the warmth of the Turkish. This is no more evident than in the Grand Bazaar itself. Most of the shops you visit, you will receive a courteous welcome. Accompanying it will be a warm smile and a twinkle in the eye.

Although the structure of the covered bazaar has been largely maintained, its function and administration, as well as the nature of its goods and the interior architecture have been transformed beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the 1960's, changes in Turkish industry and economy and in the urban demographics of Istanbul had effectively replaced the traditional craft workshops with western-style boutiques and tourist shops, which constitute the bulk of the trade in the bazaar today.

Most shops are now permanently enclosed with illuminated glass storefronts; while posting signage in alleyways was outlawed after the 1980 restoration. The important role of the medieval guild organizations in the administration, maintenance and protection the bazaar is now inadequately performed by a weak multitude of bazaar associations.

We have to cut our Kapalicarsi visit shot for Friday prayer at around 11:50 hours. 2 hours in the bazaar was surely insufficient to really experience the cultural part of it. Well, as a backpackers and going back to the main intention of our trip, alhamdullillah, thanks to the almighty Allah swt for giving us the opportunity to visit a place where determination, and perseverance had made it existence recognized by the whole world.

TP7: ...from Kapalicarsi to Suleyminye Masjid

It was about 11:30 hours, we exited the Grand Bazaar through Gate 14 heading toward Suleymaniye Masjid through Oruculer Caddesi. On the way, we stopped at the Beyezit Square. Unfortunately, the square was closed but we managed taking few shots of the square and its famous Beyazit Tower through one of its gates.

Beyazıt Tower, which was oredered by the Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839), is an 85 metre tall fire-watch tower located in the courtyard of Istanbul University's main campus on Beyazıt Square (known as the Forum Tauri in the Roman period), on top of one of the "seven hills" which Constantine the Great had built the city, following the model of Rome. It was designed by Senekerim Balyan who built it of stone in 1828 on the place of the original wooden Beyazıt Tower which was destroyed in a fire and was constructed earlier by the architect's brother, Krikor Balyan. Some of the buildings around the tower as we saw it are still under restoration.

10 minutes after that, we visited the small masjid called Ali Pasha Camii or Masjid adjacent to the square. This was not actually the Kilic Ali Pasa Masjid designed and built by the famous Mimar Sinan in 1957.

Subsequently, we continued our walk along the Fuat Pasa street and had another pit stop quenching our thirst at the fresh fruit juice vendor outside the wall of the Suleymaniye the Magnificent Masjid. The owner, I assumed, was very hospitable but not able to converse fluently in English. Not a big deals though, with a mix of Arabic and sign language, we ordered the banana and milk juice, pomegranate juices and fresh oranges. And, he delivered it excellently.

TP8: Suleymaniye the Magnificient Masjid

We arrived at the main gate of the Suleymaniye Masjid 10 minutes before the Azan (Prayer call). I asked a nice old man for the ablution area and the entrance of the Masjid. He explained to me in Turkish with sign language; he pointed me the ablution area, which was just 5 meters from where we stood and the prayer hall, was just behind it (around 10 meter from the ablution area). I asked him back in broken Arabic plus the sign language; can I go in to the Masjid?. He responded back, which I interpreted as; “No, the Masjid is still under major restoration work” unfortunately!
The Süleymaniye Masjid was built on the order of Sultan Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and was completed in 1557, opening on 16th August of that year. The Masjid was ravaged by a fire in 1660 and was restored by Sultan Mehmed IV. Part of the dome collapsed again during the earthquake of 1766. During World War I the courtyard was used as a weapons depot and when some of the ammunition ignited the mosque suffered another fire. Not until 1956, it was fully restored again.
At the four corners of the courtyard are the four minarets, a number only allowable to masjid endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets have 10 galleries, which by tradition indicates that Suleiman I was the 10th Ottoman sultan.
The main dome is 53 meters high and has a diameter of 26.5 meters. At the time it was built, the dome was the highest in the Ottoman Empire, when measured from sea level, but still lower from its base and smaller in diameter than that of Hagia Sophia.

While Afi, M Afiq, M Asri and I performed our Friday prayer, Nana, M Aiman and Afiqah waited around the complex playing with cute fat Turkish stray cat and meeting people of other nationalities.
The Friday prayer was brief, but we could hardly understand a word except for few Arabic words when the Khatib recited few verses from the Holy Qur’an el Kareem and el Hadiths. What good thing that I observed was, the Masjid provided plastic bag for people to keep the shoes or slippers before their enter the prayer hall.

The time was almost 1:00 pm, our biological engines grumbled again due to insufficient combustion. To avoid further discomfort amid the chilly weather and to boost up our energy, we decided to take our lunch around the Suleymaniye Masjid’s complex. Outside the western side of the Masjid, there were rows of shops selling the typical Turkishs’ souvenirs and Muslims’ clothing and few restaurants serving Turkish’s cuisine. As I walked, a guy at late 40’s invited me to his restaurants. He pointed at his promotion banner stated that, a set of rice, salad and another dish cost 5 Turkish Lira (TL). Its cheap! Without waiting much time, I called Nana and the kids who were enjoying the pleasant atmosphere of the Masjid. Prior to that, I’ve asked the guy,”do you have chicken?” He answered excitingly, ”Yes..yes, we have chicken, beef, everything…you see ..(he pointed at the banner)”. He asked me,”How many your family?” I replied him straight,”Seven (7)”. He ushered us to the restaurant and asked us whether we want to eat inside or outside along the walkway. We preferred eating our lunch under the open clear sky naturally conditioned by the Marmara breeze. After he has prepared the table and asked his father to serve us the Turkish bread and salad, he stood near our table and asked for our order. “We would like to have the set with 5 chickens and 2 lambs”, I politely informed him. He looked confused and repeated back, “4 chickens and 3 beefs?” I asked back, “Do you have beef or lamb?” He asked, “do you want lamb?. Puzzled and a little bit annoyed, I informed him again, “I need 5 chickens and 2 lambs”. Finally, he said “ok”.

The cleanliness of the restaurant was excellent. Once a while, his father came to us with his past stories. Three (3) young men came and sat next to our table. Around 10 minutes later, our order, 3 plates of rice with chicken arrived; in one small plate, there were only three (3) slices or pieces of grilled chicken and a small bowl or handful of rice! Minutes after that, 2 more order arrived – two (2) plates of rice with 2 pieces of lamb meat!! I have completed mine and while waiting for the remaining food, I saw the man brought two (2) plates of rice with chicken and served the three young men next to us. I was a little bit agitated with that scene, but not to spoil my mood and our holiday, I suppressed my anger and kept my temperature low. I called him and said, “Where is the food that we ordered?” Without feeling guilty, he replied, “ What did you ordered?” I answered him directly, “Chicken…” pergh..gh….h. Minutes later, he brought us the same plate of rice with few pieces of lamb! I raised my voice and told him, “We ordered for chicken not lamb!?” He smiled at me and when he was just about to bring back the food, M Asri said, “Its ok… I take the lamb”. One more order to go. Few minutes later, I asked again the man, where is the remaining order – the chicken? He went in, came back to us, and said, “There is no more chicken and I only have lamb”. At this juncture, I still managed controlling my temperament. Upon Nana’s call, we finally cancelled the order.

To cut the long boring story short, the whole meal cost us 75 TL. Feeling cheated, I confronted him for other people sake and pointed at him that this was not good. While defending himself that he was right, he took my 100 TL and went to another shop for the 25 TL change. To avoid further commotion, we immediately left restaurant for our next item in the queue – the Al Ayub Al Ansary mausoleum or famously known among tourists, the Eyub Sultan complex.

TP9: The 4th Stop of our 'Journey'...

In the garden behind the Suleymaniye Masjid there are two mausoleums including the tombs of sultan Suleiman I, his wife Roxelana, his daughter Mihrimah, his mother Dilaşub Saliha and his sister Asiye. The sultans Suleiman II, Ahmed II and Safiye (died in 1777), the daughter of Mustafa II, are also buried here. After the Friday prayer, I paid a visit to these tombs. As I entered the garden gate, I was quite surprised that I was actually in the cemetery garden. Not like in Malaysia, Egypt or any other parts of the Muslim world, the gravestones of the cemeteries here were relatively very tall, that is, around 3 – 4 feet. In the great graveyard of Baqi’ near An Nabawi Masjid, Madinah and also the cemeteries of Saidina Hamzah ra (may Allah swt pleased with him) and other companions at Uhud, people uses around 4 inches radius pebble as the gravestone or rather as a marker. In Egypt, however, most of the cemeteries are in the form of terraces of small buildings made from brick cement. Well, the point that I really want to make is; from what I have learnt and read, building any kind of building on top of someone’s graveyard is prohibited in Islam. Allah hu ‘Alam.
On the other side of it, paying visit to graveyards is encouraged in Islam, especially the tomb of the great wise pious people, such as the Prophets, the Sahabah, great leaders who had sacrificed their wealth, time and efforts for Islam, etc.
On the other side of it, paying visit to graveyards is encouraged in Islam, especially the tomb of the great wise pious people, such as the Prophets, the Sahabah, great leaders who had sacrificed their wealth, time and efforts for Islam, etc.

There were many tourists of different nationalities curious and eagerly to find out what are inside the huge mausoleums. As for me, I joint the queue, went in and recited chapter 1-Al Fatihah of the holy Qur’an, a form of ‘present’ to the great Sultan and his family members. I circled around the building and saw few men raised their hands supplicating before Allah swt in a very determined manner. I must say, the interior was amazing and the area is well maintained and secured. There were few securities reminding people on the dos and the dons while inside the mausoleums. Al Fatihah…aamiin.