My flight to Istanbul was from Queen Alia Airport (just south of Amman) at 3:30 AM via Turkish Airlines. The flight went smoothly enough, though it did not compare to the almost luxurious feeling of the Royal Jordanian flight the previous week. I did not sleep because I needed to read up a bit on Turkey. I was slightly nervous flying into Turkey, only because I had not bothered to learn any Turkish and my Arabic wouldn't be much help there.
After arriving in the airport, I purchased a visa for $10 USD and then waited in the immigration line. Unlike Queen Alia Airport, this one was slow and inefficient, though the large number of flights arriving at the same time accounted for much of this. I waited in line for around two hours while lots of people held up the line with their passport issues. As I looked around me in line, I was amazed at how many different types of people I saw. I had never seen so many different ethnicities in large numbers in one place before. When it was my turn to be checked, it took less than thirty seconds for me to get my stamp.
The advantage of having to wait in line for so long was that by the time I was ready to leave the airport, it was past 7AM and the metro was running. I could have taken a taxi or shuttle, but I wanted to do things the long but cheap way. I bought two metro Jetons, though it took me more than a second to realize which was a Jeton and which was my change. The metro has its final stop at Ataturk airport, which is very convenient. I hopped on the metro and took it to the Zeytinburnu stop, where the metro transfers into a tram. The tram is basically like a metro, but it runs above ground, and very slowly. Conveniently enough, the tram makes a stop in Sultanahmet, which is where I wanted to stay.
I got off in Sultanahmet and walked around for awhile, trying to find the hostel I had been looking for. I was almost there when a man offered me a room in a place called the Ocean's 7 Hotel. It was impeccably clean and was even comfortable, and it would cost 10 euros ($13 USD) per night. I had no reason to refuse. The arrival stage in Turkey was over, and I did it without getting ripped off, lost, confused, or frustrated. In fact, it was easier than I thought it would be.
I walked around a bit and then got breakfast at a restaurant called the Pudding Shop. It was pretty easy to find a place to eat in this part of the city, as there were restaurants everywhere.
The skyline of Sultanahmet is dominated by the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, both of which were only a few blocks away from my hotel. I first made a visit to the Hagia Sofia. The tickets were an expensive 21 YTL (around $13 USD). It's one of the most famous ancient buildings in existence, so I can't really add anything insightful on the Hagia Sofia that can't be found elsewhere, other than to say it is as impressive in person as it looks in pictures.
Interior of Hagia Sofia, ground level.
Interior of Hagia Sofia, balcony level.
Next I walked over to the Blue Mosque, which is only a five minute walk from the Hagia Sofia. It doesn't get nearly the fanfare as the latter, but it's almost as big and its architecture is just as impressive, at least in my opinion. Since it's still in daily use as a mosque, there was no charge to visit.
Exterior of the Blue Mosque.
Inside the Blue Mosque.
The Egyptian obelisk at the site of the former Hippodrome.
A few minutes walk from the Blue Mosque is the entrance to the Ottoman palace complex. I saved the visit to the palace for the next day, but located on the grounds of the palace are several museums, including the Istanbul Archeology Museum. The museum was well-labeled and there was an overwhelming collection of artifacts from the Stone Age to the Islamic Age.
Near the palace in Sultanahmet.
Shots from the archeological museum.
I returned to my hotel for a nap, as I hadn't slept since the previous night. When I awoke I made a quick trip to the Covered Bazaar, which is the largest non-open market in the world. It was neat to see all the things for sale, but nothing really caught my interest. After that I had a meal at one of the nice outdoor restaurants in Sultanahmet. The food was excellent Ottoman-style cuisine, though it seemed like all the restaurants served small portions at relatively expensive prices. I spent the rest of the night walking around the district and going to a few cafes.
Initially, I was a bit disappointed with the part of the city that I'd seen. The monuments I visited were great, but the Sultanahmet district was really just a haven for tourists. I was expecting to experience a sort of "culture shock" being in a country with its own language and culture, though it never really came like it did in Egypt.
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