After our long visit to Topkapi Palace we need some refreshments before tackling the next attraction on our list, the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. We explore the area between the palace and the museum and find a small cafe in a courtyard which offers both coffee and sweets. We spend some time relaxing and sitting on the ground while enjoying the good coffee and then refreshed are ready to go.
Next we wanted to visit the Basilica Cistern that was made famous by Dan Brown’s book, Inferno, however it is closed today unfortunately and difficult to access either way So we continue on to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, our last major stop for the day.
In the morning there was a long queue to the museum but it is much easier to enter in the afternoon. In fact there are few tourists late in the afternoon and it allows us to enjoy the museum in relative solitude.
It is quite an interesting museum in our opinion with a few Muslim tombstones and many special objects both Islamic and Turkish in origin.
There is a large section related to calligraphy, a major art for the Muslim world that cannot represent animals or birds or humans in paintings or other art.
However it is not an absolute really, there are some representations of birds as seen here on a potteruy object but for certain it is not something common as far as we have seen.
There is a separate section showing how the society was modernized that we enjoy especially seeing how the clothes and shoes were changing over time.
One of the highlights of the museum is the collection of famous Anatolian rugs, we really enjoy them especially the ones that are representing the Istanbul of the past. They are almost painting like and quite interesting and there is a series of them.
We continue exploring the museum enjoying the many exhibits for a while longer before deciding it is time to exit, we are getting quite hungry.
As we descend from the top floor we discover a section where the old Byzantine walls and canals were excavated, it is interesting to see before we finally exit the museum proper.
We had a restaurant already in mind and we sit on a balcony overlooking the street while being served food heated in an actual fire near our table. Impressive and exciting. Full we return to our hotel, the next day we have to leave so our Covid tests don’t expire, they are valid three days only.
As when we arrived the hotel arranges the transfer to the airport, it is a bit more expensive but it is in front of the hotel when we need it and we don’t have to pay anything extra.
The flight back is uneventful with no issues with our test results neither in Istanbul nor in the US. Which is good as we have seen quite a few of people having trouble, luckily we are not them and we enjoy the flight back after our first intercontinental trip since what seems forever.
