TURKEY 2026: ISTANBUL PART III -- FOOD TOUR

 June 24, 2026

One of the things we love to do when we travel is a food tour. Even if you think you know a lot about a country's cuisine, nothing beats walking around with a local and visiting some of their favorite places. 

We booked a food tour with an Istanbul native named Alp who works with a group called WithLocals. He was the perfect guide as he had a culinary arts background and a deep love for his hometown.  You can find him here. 

Our two remaining sisters and spouses were taking a day to recover from travel, so it was just Dave and Bonnie, Chris and Stan, and Bob and I again. Alp suggested we meet in Taksim Square, which was about a mile from our ship, and when we ventured out in the morning, we decided it was the perfect day for a walk. We located Taksim Square on our phones, set the GPS, and started out.

We'd walked a few blocks away from the docks and came upon an area full of fancy shops. This zebra outfit is especially lovely, don't you think? I wonder if the mask comes with the dress?

We enjoyed the walk and sea breeze for a few more blocks, but then our GPA led us away from the waterfront, and suddenly the terrain changed.

The ensuing route was full of steep flights of as many as 40 to 50 stairs, and since our group included our sister-in-law in a wheelchair, we looked for ways to bypass the stairs. We soon understood why there were stairs when the streets we took instead seemed to be going straight up. In a few places, Bonnie got out of the chair and managed a flight of stairs, but it was difficult for her, and so the  men banded together to help with the challenging ascent.

After about an hour of strenuous climbing, we finally reached Taksim Square--the highest point in Instanbul, which we had accessed from sea level. We were a little bit late, but Alp was waiting patiently for us.

TURKEY 2026: WALKING AROUND ISTANBUL PART II -- HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE AND THEODOSIUS CISTERN

 June 23, 2026

The Hagia Sophia (Greek for "holy wisdom") was built between 532 and 537 by order of Justinian the Great as the cathedral of Constantinople. For more than 500 years, it was the largest church in the world. It was rebuilt after an earthquake in 994 and used as an Eastern Orthodox or a Catholic cathedral until 1453. In 1453 after the Ottoman's conquered Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed turned Hagia Sophia into a mosque and added minarets. It became known as the Aya Sofya. 

The secularist government led by Kemal Ataturk turned the mosque into a museum in 1935. During World War II, the minarets housed machine guns. Over the succeeding decades, the building fell into serious disrepair, but preservationists worked to restore it from 1997 to 2006

This is my photo of the Hagia Sophia taken when we visited Istanbul in 2010 when it was still a museum. I think there were still minarets, but they are outside the boundaries of this photo.

By 2010 they had uncovered many of the early Christian mosaics on the wall that had been stuccoed over during the years the structure was a mosque. We were very excited to see them.

In 2020, Turkish President Erdogan announced that the museum would once again revert to being a mosque. This controversial decision brought on global criticism. Even UNESCO was upset. However, the government dcreed that it would be a "working mosque," open to anyone, and the Christian icons and mosaics on the walls would be protected.

In 2025, an extensive restoration project began, and a year later, we showed up in Istanbul. Here is what the Hagia Sophia looked like:

Not quite the gorgeous structure we had seen 16 years before, but I'm sure all this renovation will be worth it in the end.

The interior is cavernous and lacks the elegance of the Blue Mosque, which was built much later and basically replaced this one for centuries.

TURKEY 2026: WALKING AROUND ISTANBUL, PART I -- THE OBELISK OF THEODOSIUS AND THE BLUE MOSQUE

 June 22-23, 2026

We had a full day before we had to board our ship, so the Joneses, Kenisons, and I (Bob was away for the day on a birding trip with a guide) planned a walking tour of Istanbul. Bob and I had previously visited Istanbul  in 2010 (those blog posts begin here), and 16 years is a long time. The city felt different--in some ways more modernized, in other ways more restored to its ancient past.

We walked from our hotel to Topkapi Palace, built in 1459, six years after the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. In its heyday, the Sultan's harem lived here, along with state officials. However, it was basically abaondoned as a residence in the 17th century, although it did retain government-related uses. In the mid-19th century, the sultan moved the court out as well, but the palace continued to serve as a treasury, library, and mint. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, Topkapi Palace became a museum, which it has continued to be to the present day.

Unfortunately, the palace itself is NOT wheelchair friendly. (Hooray for the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires ramps and elevators in public places. I really notice the lack of equal access in foreign countries.) We enjoyed a walk around the grounds anyway.

This is the Hagia Irine, originally built in the 4th century during the riegn of Emperor Constantine, making it one of the earliest Christian churches in Constantinople/Istanbul. It was one of only two churches never converted into a mosque. These days it is a museum and concert hall.

The Imperial Gate, one of three ceremonial gates at Topkapi Palace, was commissioned in 1478 and reconstructed in 1867.

TURKEY AND GREECE 2026: A MIRACULOUS TRIP

 June 2026

In 2025, after our trip to Uganda with our granddaughter, we planned a return trip to Uganda in July 2026 with one of Bob's law partners and his wife with the specific purpose of going gorilla trekking. We set up our tours, purchased our flights, and were ready to go.

My brother and his wife and my sister and her husband had planned a trip together--a Viking ocean cruise from Instanbul to Athens in late June 2026. One day in spring during a family chat my sister-in-law shared their travel plans and said, "Anyone who wants to come along is welcome to join us." Within days my other two sisters and their spouses had joined the cruise. At that time our Uganda plans were set and we could not afford the time nor the money to do two large trips in one summer. I was feeling really sad to be the only sibling left out of all the family fun.

HOWEVER . . . 

The ebola virus hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo early in the year, the country bordering the area of Uganda we had planned to visit, and a few cases spread into Uganda. We watched and waited, and even though the risk to us would be low, we were pretty sure the outbreak would affect our trip.

Map of Ebola outbreak. The Democratic Republic of the
Congo, where most of the ebola outbreaks have
occurred, is the large country to the west of Uganda.

BLACK SEA PART 12A: MERYEMANA: HOUSE OF MARY

After our morning in Ephesus, we spent some time at what many believe is the house that Mary the mother of Jesus lived in during her final days before being taken into heaven. The story is that John the Beloved, to whom Jesus had entrusted the care of his mother, came to Ephesus to preach the gospel, bringing Mary with him. He built a little house for her several miles away from Ephesus and the corrupt, Artemis-worshipping masses. The tomb of John is supposed to be in Ephesus, giving some support to the theory. Additionally, the first basilica in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary is in Ephesus. Apparently, in early Christianity, churches were only dedicated to "locals," or people who had lived or died in the area.

There is a difference of opinion about the authenticity of this site.
Catholics: Yes, Mary lived here. Pope John Paul declared this to be the spot, and it has become a pilgrimage place.
Orthodox: No, Mary stayed in Jerusalem.
Muslims: Agree with the Catholics and also worship here. (They too believe Mary was a virgin and the mother of a prophet.)

Statue of Mary at the side of the road between Ephesus and Meryemana:

Beautiful farmland, much like Utah Valley:

Stone wall lining walk up to house:

There was a long line waiting to walk through what was essentially a two-room house, and no pictures were allowed inside:
Standing guard:
The only Catholic nun we saw in Turkey:
Many were buying and lighting a candle on their way out. They were very thin, fast-burning candles:
A picture of the shrine/altar that is inside the house:
Just below the house was a natural spring, the water of which is said to have miraculous healing power. Many stood in line to take a drink.
I loved this Wall of Wishes. Originally, pilgrims would write a wish or a request for a blessing on a piece of cloth and tie it to a tree around the house. However, so many people did it that the trees began to die. The caretakers erected a wire wall to be used for the cloth ties. Somehow it has evolved into a Wall of Toilet Paper Wishes, the main "cloth" now being used. I wonder if they clean it up and start over after it rains? Not-so-fearsome looking government guards:

After leaving Meryemana, we went to a museum that houses some of the treasures found in Ephesus. There was a wonderful storks' nest on the telephone pole just outside the museum:

Guess who?
The museum housed some amazing artifacts. We loved this snake:
And this statue of Artemis (aka Diana), goddess of fertility:
This must have been one colossal statue when it was whole. Notice how it actually looks like someone rather than being an idealized version of the human form so common in Greek statuary:
After the museum we had a wonderful buffet lunch. From the restuarant window we had this view of a private cove below:
Quite the spread:
We ended the day (and our time in Turkey) at a Turkish carpet demonstration. Imagine sitting at one of these looms all day and keeping track of thousands of threads and colors and patterns. Pretty mind-blowing.

LAST STOP: GREECE

BLACK SEA PART 12: EPHESUS

Our last stop in Turkey was the western seaport of Kusadasi, gateway to the famous New Testament city of Ephesus. It was to the Christian population of this ancient city that Paul wrote letters from his prison cell in Rome that became the book of Ephesians, including: "Now ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." Paul stresses that theme of appropriate leadership and a strong foundation several times in Ephesians.

It's no wonder Paul was worried about the Ephesians. During his time, Ephesus was a huge Roman city of 400,000 or 500,000 inhabitants, second only to Rome in importance in the Empire. Paul lived there from 52 to 54 A.D., and he had experienced first-hand the struggles of the Christian Ephesians as they dealt with the multitude of Roman gods and goddesses.

What is left of Ephesus (or at least what has been uncovered, as according to our guide only 10-15% of the city has been excavated) is all Roman. I would have never guessed there was a thriving Christian colony here.

A small amphitheater:
Evidence of ongoing restoration/reconstruction:

The Temple of Domitian:

Looking back towards the entrance. You can see how crowded it was the day we were there:

And looking down towards the bottom of the Grand Promenade:

The Fountain of Emperor Trajan, constructed around 102 A.D. (and currently undergoing reconstruction/restoration):

An exquisite mosaic walkway, one of the few things tourists weren't allowed to climb all over:

The spectacular Temple of Hadrian:

Public toilets that are (thankfully) not currently in use:

Whether in Greek or German, it's ALL Greek to me! There were a lot of signs in German.

And finally, the imposing, magnificent Library of Celsus, to which the main road leads. Completed in 135 AD, it was built to hold 12,000 scrolls, and also as a tomb for Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus (quite the mouthful), the Roman governor of the province of Asia:
This was the third richest library in ancient times. The library was restored between 1970 and 1978 with the help of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, which explains why there are so many signs written in German.
A system of double walls protected the scrolls from the humid air rolling in off the Aegean Sea.
Here is the interior, which has not been restored. It measures 55 x 36 feet (1980 square feet):

Below this beautiful arch once lay Celsus's tomb. I'm not sure where the poor guy is now:

Lots of reconstruction seems to be going on, although while we were there, the equipment was all silent.

We love all the cats in Turkey. Like the cats in Rome, they are everywhere:

The walkway leading out, perpendicular to the Grand Promenade:

Looking back at the Library of Celsus. The surrounding hills look a lot like the area where I grew up:

The other massive, iconic structure of Ephesus is this amphitheater near the exit from the ruins. It is in amazingly good shape, and like the other ruins, you can climb all over it. In its day it seated 25,000 guests and was used for concerts and plays, religious and philosophical lectures, and gladiator and animal fights. It is the setting for Acts 19:27-41, in which Paul denounces the Ephesian worship of Diana. His companions are captured and taken to the amphitheater to be put on trial in front of masses who, for two hours, roar, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Somehow, Paul himself escapes capture. However, the two men are defended by Alexander, himself a Jew, who reminds the mob that they must follow the rules of law, and it appears that Paul's friends were released.

The column cemetery, once the agora (marketplace):

On our way out, there was a "living history" re-enactment going on. I think it was being done by one of the other cruise lines. It was a bit kitschy (okay, a LOT kitschy), but fun nevertheless. This guy made me think of Paul's admonition to the Ephesians to "put on the whole armor of God." However, this poor soldier doesn't have the most important piece, "the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

Of course, there was the usual tourist shopping area before we hit the buses. Turkey is known for its fabrics, and, following Paul's counsel not to purchase vain idols (being manufactured en masse in Paul's Ephesus), instead I bought a tablerunner/scarf from this guy:

We had one more stop in the Kusadasi region before leaving Turkey for good. Up next: Mary's house. (Yes, THE Mary.)