Friday 10 July 2009

Istanbul - Turkey

FuFu World Tour

Turkiye 7th - 22nd May 2007
Istanbul, Day 1 & 2 - Part One


Dubai Duty Free, Dubai International Airport.

Stopped over at Dubai International Airport, i was able to see the Palm Jumeirah (in the shape of palm tree) from top, the world's largest man-made island and is touted as soon to be one of the world`s premier resorts. Dubai, the ultra modern city in the middle of the desert. Unbelievable transformation. I believe it would be an amazing place to visit few years later when all of the projects probably completed.


Jumeirah beach. The Palm Jumeirah.

Emirates was safely landed Artaturk International Airport at 5.30pm. Met up my online buddy, Necla, her youngest sister, Sevda and mother in front the arrival hall. Went back their house by taxi.


My VIP room.


Welcome dinner with Necla, Sevda and mother.


The next day, i woke up at 8.30. Breakfast was prepared by Necla.


My friend, Necla is real a pretty girl.


Yerebatan Sarayi.

After breakfast, Necla and i took train to historical sites, Sirkeci, Istanbul. We first went to visit the Basilica Cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul. Also known as Yerebatan Sarayi, it was an underground chamber built during the age of glory of Eastern Rome in the 6th century.


The Medusa head column. Teardrop design column.

There are two mystery columns in this cistern. First is the Medusa head sculptures were placed at the base of the two columns; one of the heads is upside down, while the other is tilted to one side. It is accepted by scientists that they were placed that way deliberately. Another is the teardrop design column which believed is the teardrop design in memory of the slaves who died while building the cistern.


The Hagia Sophia, former church then mosque, now museum.

Later on, we went to Hagia Sophia Museum which is next to the Basilica Cistern. Hagia Sophia is known as Aya Sofya in Greek, built during Emperor Theodosius time but then it was burnt down. Emperor Justinian later ordered to build a new basilica and it had become the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years before it turned to the principal mosque of Istanbul when Mehmet the conqueror converted it into a mosque in 1453.


The corridor of the Imperial gate.


The interior.


The decoration of the ceiling.


Mimbar(Mimber).

A mimbar in a mosque corresponds the function to the pulpit in a church. this is a line example of Ottoman period marble working craftsmanship. 16th Century.



Mosaic of Mary with Christ the child (mid), Emperor John Comnenus II (left) and Empress Eirene (right).



These mosaics are beautiful. Remember to look up or you might miss some of the mosaics. The mosaics were plastered over because the conqueror deemed them inappropriate for a mosque but which were restored later.



Dont forget to look around also when you are in the main hall as you will find four large medallions written in Arabic representing the names of Allah, Mohammed, caliphs Ali and Abu Bakar.


View of Blue Mosque(Sultan Ahmet Camii) from Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia is real huge. We spent couple of hours just looking at its great architectures. We had lunch at a very nice restaurant situated at Hippodrome (Sultan Ahmet square). Staff was funny and food was good.



We then walked towards the main entrance of the Blue Mosque or also known as the Sultan Ahmet Camii. The Blue Mosque faces the Hagia Sophia. Two excellent buildings within sight.


Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque).

The Blue Mosque is an active and historical mosque in Istanbul. It is one of the two mosques that has six minarets (beautiful in its proportions) and has become one of the greatest landmarks of Istanbul with its traditional Islamic architecture. Shoes must be taken off to visit the mosque and a proper attire is a must. However, if your clothes are deemed improper, you will be given a cloth to cover yourself, so no worries.


The courtyard.


The dome.


The wide view of the mosque.


Blue mosque is incredibly impressive.

Look what we had done in this whole day. Three major tourist destinations, we were real exhausted. Yet when we reached home, Necla`s mother invited me to stroll along the Sea of Marmara (right two blocks in front of the apartment) before dinner.


Necla, Sevda and mother.


Piraf, fasulye pilaki, bread and berries.

Dinner was cooked before we go out. We had Turkish pilafs and fasulye pilaki (bean cooked with garlic, tomato paste and olive oil).

33 comments:

iamlz said...

Wow..so many mosques!
Ok I wana put Turkey as my next-to-visit list!

GeOk kEE好きな♡ うち said...

Such a great trip!!! I like the design for the dome...I heard Dubai is very hot ...is it true?

毛毛 said...

早安,感觉他们的人很热情
那个房间真的好可爱耶 =p

ladyviral said...

Wow very beautiful places. My sister is there now... I would love to travel there one day to visit too. Your friend is sure pretty! Even her mom is! Gasps! Must of run in the family!~

Very lovely... I make sure I know where to make my sister bring me next time haha. :P

[SK] said...

oooh, i so envy on you, turkey is always one place i wanted to go.. but haiz, just don't have the money and time that you have to spend :(

Anonymous said...

I was in Turkey in 2007. Loved it. Such a beautiful place and uniquely situated on the continents of Europe and Asia.

My most memorable experience was up in the hot air balloon in Cappadocia!

Penny @ Faye_777 said...

wao~~ so beautiful the view~

hope can go there~~~

>Have @ Nice DaY~~~

said...

u went to turkey b4? envy la~

and the palm jumeraih~ so damn awesome

I AM A BLOGGER said...

The Medusa head is very interesting..
The Blue Mosque is so nice!!!

I am planning my trip liao~~~~~~haha

佐瑟琳 said...

哟~
好可爱的房间叻~

杰胜 said...

好特别的建筑物哦!

七仔 CJ said...

我觉得全世界都有你的脚印了吧~~
哈!

Ken said...

Jaw-dropping view from Dubai International Airport! Wish to go to Palm Jumeirah.

That is so cool to have online friend to treat u so well! Envy~

What an interesting place u've visited!

Nick尼克仔 said...

大佬富啊~
你连中东都有朋友~
哇靠~
世界走透透啦~
羡慕到啊~
而且对方还是美女啊~
不过话说回来
虽然那间VIP房真的很漂亮
但是看起来就很奇怪
很不适合你的风格。
整个就怪腔怪调
可爱真的不适合你诶~
哈哈,不要打我~
很多照片中的建筑物
很有那种中东的味道
突然就好像飞进了天方夜谭的世界
坐在魔毯上
自由自在的飘荡~
超级幸运的啦~
我下次也要认识多多朋友
这样就可以到处走
又不用钱了~
八月中
还有整整一个月啊~
一个月后的你
一定要来个最新的更新呢~

Somewhere in Singapore said...

There's a year in which i wanted to visit Turkey, but due to some problem there, in the end, didn't visit...

幸福王子 said...

oh my god !!!!
so amazing !!!


the decorations are totally pretty nice ~
the mosque very erogant and nice also ~

cant believe there got so many nice views~

and the dubai, the view rili rili very nice ~


thanks for sharing ~

Joel,约珥 said...

i like the Palm Jumeirah .
The central of island is dubai? so small oh?
i think now the project is completed.

sock peng said...

谢谢你的分享
很详细
你还记得详细

Yih Yann said...

Oooo...the art of mosques are very unique

CHAO YU said...

一个我很少会想去的国家,不过现在看了照片,看来我错了。。哈哈

shloke said...

fufu, you should have apply for an engineer position in Dubai. The pay is REAL GOOD - bosses in Dubai pay in US DOLLAR!!

Dubai got oil, Malaysia also got oil....dunno why we are still lacking behind. Dubai have so many record breaking achievements that include real estate, financial and tourism. Malaysia....I think KLCC is da only social investment by Petronas.

WOW! Necla is one HOT GIRL!! She kind of reminds me of hip sexy Shakira :)

Lovely explanation for da Medusa and teardrop columns. The jade green medusa's head is BEAUTIFUL & PRICELESS.

Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque are really IMPRESSIVE. The wall, pillars and ceilings has artistic Islamic design and imprints. Look very similar to Vatican.

Turkey is one of the MOST MODERATE Islamic country in the world. The Turkish gov. even legalized prostitution. A few 'bumpy' issue to iron out before the country is fully accede into EU. The latest Chapter on Taxation is opened for discussion (30 June 2009).

By the way, did you see any Turkish belly dancing?

One of the best post from fufu!

Cheers!
mylo

猪公主 said...

WOW....ENVY FUFU CAN GO DUBAI.
TIS IS 1 OF MY FAVOURITE COUNTRY BSIDE KOREA. =) RICH COUNTRY OF DUBAI

HOPE I CAN GET THERE WHEN I HAV $$.=P

WISH U HAV A NICE JOURNEY ON UR NEXT TRIP =)

发白日梦^^ said...

turkey是天主教的还是回教呢??

小雪 said...

對他們的文化不是很感興趣....

Vin vin said...

turkey is a place which quite mistery for me~
but the food thr i watch in tv, quite delicious~ wish to try it...

summer said...

房间的布置很简单但是我很喜欢~呵呵

我原本看到的时候我还在好奇哪个酒店会布置这么可爱的房间阿~:)

wow~dream bedroom for me although the design is simlpe but so sweet~;)

renaye said...

i love turkish food!! ever sinc i started working in a turkish restaurant.

云之站 said...

VIP Room 很可爱叻。。。

AliVe said...

hoho
很久没来了
因为太忙
一进来看
还是和以前一样
有种在看电影的感觉

toto said...

杜拜的经济和金融发展都很逢勃,那人工棕榈岛真是一大奇观。
Necla有双勾魂媚眼,一家子对你的款待可算是尽了地主之谊,让客感觉宾至如归,要感恩哦。
伊斯坦堡的大教堂和清真寺等文化古迹也的确让人动容。。。
睡房布置简单但很是温馨一下喔,不知可否多容纳一个我呢?这样我们就可以“同居”了喔,哇塞!

-KeO- said...

Ah~!!!!! so envy....
never really thought of going there until see ur post...>.<

小闷瓜 said...

那些建筑物~ mosques
好多样花,和这儿的相比起来
感觉比较沉闷些。呵呵...

Ayie said...

actually the pretty girls stole more of my attention....you had a good "tour guide" right there