This morning started out with a tour detailing the various Jewish Synagogues in Istanbul. There are three synagogues total and they have the highest security of any religious building I have ever seen. Firstly, I needed my passport to get in and the tour guide had to send in a list of all the people who were going and everyone had a background check run on them. Once we got to the first synagogue all bags were checked and everyone had to show their passport and be cleared. This tight security was set up in 2004 after Al-Qaida bombed the synagogue and killed 23 people. The synagogue itself was pretty cool to look at. It was much smaller and less elaborate than any of the big Catholic or Islamic religious places I had seen.
Today I saw two different synagogues with very different styles. The first one was a very orthodox synagogue meaning that it was very traditional. For instance, when the men say their prayers (twice a day) they wrap prayer bands around their right arm, have prayer boxes on their left hands, and wearing traditional headdresses (a constant reminder to pray.) There is also gender segregation in this synagogue. The women have a specific spot they have to sit (on the second balcony) whereas the men get to sit on the ground floor. The second synagogue that I saw had a bit of gender separation too but was slightly less orthodox. The women sat in the back of the synagogue whereas the men got to sit in the front closest to the Torah and the Rabbi who is reading the prayers. Overall, it was very interesting to learn about the Jewish culture, especially since they have managed to keep their culture alive even though they had been persecuted for so long.
Then it was time for some lunch. By lunch I mean delicious Turkish Pizza. It was incredible pizza because there was no sauce on it and the bread was more a pita bread then dough. The young man that was waiting on the table I was at couldn’t have been more than 16 years old which was pretty interesting to see.
Topkapi Palace was the next place I went to see today. It was… breathtaking! I don’t really have many pictures because in all of the rooms there were security men to make sure that no one took pictures. Some of the pies of art that were on display were insane. For instance, there was this diamond necklace (a very large diamond necklace) that was 86 carrots! There was also old coaches, many swords (including Sulliman the Magnificent and Selim the Grim,) and gorgeous clothing from the ancient eras. Quite frankly, the amount of wealth that was contained in this palace was quite breath taking.
One of the other most breath taking thing about the Palace was the views. There were multiple balconies that had wonderful views across the bay and to the Asia side of Turkey. There were many boats in the bay and the entire setting was so picturesque that I sat and stared out at the water for awhile just taking in the beauty.
I stopped by the Grand Bazaar on the way home to get a bag. (I need a bag because I have gotten so many souvenirs that I don’t have enough room in my suitcase to bring it all home J ) I got this really pretty bag, made in Turkey, and is a small overnight bag. Also, the man who sold it to me was very nice and he had both of his teenage boys working in his shop; family businesses are always fun to see.
I was looking at this one guy’s shop and saw a pair of pretty cool hippy-like pants and when I asked him how much they were he said 65 TL. I told him that was way too much but thank you and went to leave. As I was leading he kept knocking the price down and asked me what my maximum price was. I told him 25 TL (I thought that it was so low he would never take it) and it took him about 1 minute of following me before he said “fine 25 TL.” So, now I have these really odd looking pants (I swear mom, they are the only non neutral clothing items I have gotten on this trip J )
Then, it was back to the ship for an early evening because I am absolutely exhausted.
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