Dave's Travel Blog

Police stationed on the walls of Topkapi Palace

Because I missed an opportunity to visit the Archaeological Museum yesterday, I decided to visit this morning before I went to the airport.  My alarm did not go off and I woke up 40 minutes late.  I also had little Turkish Lira left so I had to visit a money exchange before heading over to the museum.  As I was walking towards the museum, a fleet of police and ambulance went streaming by.  As I walked past the Hagia Sophia to turn up Bab-I Hamayun street towards the Topkapi Palace (the Archaeological Museum is next to the Palace), I saw a medium sized crowd gathered and no one was proceeding up the street.  The large gate to the Topkapi grounds was closed.  Police cars and ambulances lined the street.  After a few minutes, I heard rifle fire followed by a brief machine gun round.

Initially the police seemed a bit disorganized and allowed me and others to proceed up the street towards Topkapi and I got as close as 200 yards away.  Don’t ask me why I wanted to get closer but I think I was just dumbfounded that something like this was happening.  I shot some photos and videos as I walked toward Topkapi.  Soon the police were pushing everyone back toward the corner of Ayasofya and Bab-I Hamayun streets.

I stationed myself on the corner as I watched waves of police, ambulances and armored cars go by.  Gunfire continued the entire hour I stood on the corner.

About 40 minutes into the incident, the media started arriving with local media on the scene first followed by CNN Turkey and CNBC.

I finally decided to head back to the hotel after an hour or so as gunfire still rang out.  The walk back to the hotel took about 20 minutes and when I arrived, the receptionist told me that they had apprehended the gunman and that he had wounded two people.  I later learned on an Internet news story that the gunmen was shot dead.

I guess I have my alarm issues and lack of money to thank otherwise I could have been right in the middle of the mess.

And I though my last day would be uneventful.  More photos from the scene:

Dome of Ayasofya

At this point in the trip, I am suffering from a serious case of Stendahl’s syndrome and my senses are overloaded.   I visited the Hagia Sophia today and the Islamic Art Museum.  The Hagia Sophia is a place I have been wanting to see for over 20 years; even since taking an Intro to Art class at the University of Pittsburgh.  I guess I have prof. David Wilkins to thank for all of this traveling–he let me into his over-booked intro class (even though I was an Econ major) and I was hooked.  The next semester I took his Italian Renaissance class and I have since traveled to see most of the things he taught me about in both of those classes.

I followed that up with some serious shopping; so much that I am not sure they are going to let me on the plane tomorrow.  I have seen some amazing carpets and iznik pottery–I would be dangerous if I actually had money to burn.

Now that I have bored you to tears, I will share what might be my last set of photos.  Not my best, for sure, but my concentration and what little creativity I have are beginning to wan.

Blue Mosque

Well, I have recovered a bit from my travel-related malaise and Italy seems like a distant memory.  I received an Istanbul 101 course today courtesy of my tour guide, Serhat.  We had a small tour group consisting of me, a couple from Scotland–Dundee, I believe and a gentleman from San Francisco.  We started off at 9am and visited the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the underground Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar (the classic Istanbul tour).   We also visited a carpet shop and had a very good lunch on a terrace overlooking the Hagia Sophia.  The Islamic museum and the Hagia Sophia are on the agenda for tomorrow morning and then I will improvise the remainder of the day.

Visited a very nice ceramic shop tonight and bought one tiny bowl–so the Istanbul shops only have $25 from me so far….but there is certainly a lot of nice things temping me.

I was relieved to learn that my nephew and my friends made it safely home without experiencing any major delays; I am hoping for the same in a few days.

Before I head to the restaurant across the street, I’ll share some more photos from today:

Tea Man

It was very tough leaving everyone behind and heading to Istanbul myself.  It was especially difficult leaving my nephew at the Rome airport–he had never traveled overseas before and I didn’t want him to encounter any unforeseen issues.  Honestly, I think I was ready to head back also but I am pressing on to experience new places.

First evening here and I think I am going to use it for some down time.  I am not even hungry after eating like a king for over a week.  I did manage to walk up the steep hill from my hotel to view a couple of Istanbul’s mosques and have a cup of freshly squeezed pomegrante juice.

I think I will stay in this evening and try to find some NFL games to listen to over the Internet….may head out for a late bite.

A few photos from tonight: