India/Istanbul Trip Day 12: Rain rain go away so I can go out to a Turkish Bath (3/8)

Woke up and skipped hostel breakfast as we are meeting one of Steph's friends for a Turkish breakfast. We start to leave and realize it is drizzling and has been for a little bit (first rain I think I have seen this trip). My rain jacket doesnt have a hood on it (not good planning) and we have to walk for 15-20 minutes to get to the rail station (Marmaray - where the black "pen" graffiti is) to get to the eastern side (where her friend lives). Get off at Ayrilik Cesmesi and go to the Kuff Kafe to meet Gonca. We are waiting for some time and eventually use the place's phone and call her and turns out she went to a different Kuff Kafe but is now on her way to where we are as we are limited in our ability to get around. She gets there and we get the Turkish breakfast as planned; huge spread of all kinds of delicious eats. Even with Steph and I sharing and Gonca eating a little, we barely finished it. Hang out for a bit more and decide to alter our day's plan due to the weather.

Turkish breakfast. So big we had to combine tables :)

Head back to the old town taking metro, get out of there in a different place than we had expected so walk until we get our bearings and then make our way to the cistern to get out of the rain. Spend some time walking around down there seeing the pillars and the coy swimming around in some of the pools. The space is huge (they had maybe half of it blocked off for renovations and what not and it still seemed to just keep going. After leaving there, we decide to stay inside places so we go across the street to the Hagia Sofia (Blue mosque was closed for renovations until a month or so later).

Time to check out some local landmarks.

The people to the left are dressing up in sultan attire for pictures they have down there. Odd place to do that if you ask me.

A little bit of information on the cistern.

Now a bunch of pictures that will probably look very similar but the cistern is really cool so you have to deal with it.

Long corridor of pillars. 

Roof of the cistern.

Pillar preservation

Some of the pillars had decorations/carvings in them.

Fish in the cistern.

Some had medusa heads at the base in different directions.

Side view.

Another cool infinity pic in the cistern.

It is a beautiful building, inside and out. Walk in and you are met with high ceilings with gorgeous artwork and marble floors and as you step into the main area, you see these gigantic, intriguing chandeliers and the massive dome above you. We walk around there just amazed at the size and beauty of what we are observing (even though there was a wall of scaffolding and renovations happening on one complete side of the building). Walk around there and just check out every nook and cranny before heading up to the second level (up some odd ramps) where we got to get a different view of the central space and out some of the windows. Wrap up there and check out the tomb buildings around the grounds which are these small, ornate, beautiful rooms with tombs dedicated to certain sultans and their families.

Time to explore this massive complex.

One of the odd yet cool chandeliers hanging in this place.

One of the frescos in the entryway foyer. 

The second floor had these humongous wooden emblems at each corner.

Many many chandeliers and a sense of how big it is inside.

Chandelier hanging from the middle dome. Long cord indeed.

Love these things.

The big dome with some scaffolding jumping in the picture.

Steph is nice and dry. I am still wet due to no hood. Things I should have learned by now.

One of the corners.

Saw these in a few of the mosques, but also seen similar looking structures in churches so maybe all faiths use them. Either way, thought it looked great.

Close up of one of the windows.

Another one. :)

The main alter I assume.

Mosque cat coming up to its visitors.

Love stained glass windows.

That same structure from a different view.

Looking back into the main hall as we make our way to the upper level.

Pic from the second level.

Thats the kind of day it is. That is the blue mosque across the way.

Another fresco of Jesus.

Closer view of the top dome from the second floor.

Looking across at the wooden emblems.

Pretty little window.

Inside of one of the mausoleums. Beautiful patterns and colors all around.

Very ornate and intricate doors too.

Can you identify the sultan's tomb? Building is just remarkable.

Dome inside. Apparently one section is newer than others.

Another example of the impressive doorways.

Look at the door on this one. 

Another one of the intricate domes.

Tranquility meets beauty.

Cool  ceiling outside one of the mausoleums.

This one is a little bit more well lit.

By now it has stopped raining and we are done inside so we go back to hostel and have some tea and hang out for a little bit before walking around and grabbing some snacks from the street vendors (ear of corn, sesame bread, etc.) as we have to be back soon to get picked up for a turkish bath. Picked up and we go to a few other hotels and pick their people up (out of the 10 or so of us, I am the only guy) before going to Gedikpasa. Get there and the girls go back into their area and I get put in a stall attached to the main area where I change into my waist towel and slippers and then go into the guys area. First room is a shower, massage table, bathroom area which is room temperature, but once you leave there it is all hot all the time. Instructions say to go into the steam room and wait to be gotten by one of the guys that work there. I am waiting for ~20 mins and nothing. I probably lose 10lbs of water weight in the amount of sweat that is on my towel and start  getting a little light headed so I leave looking for water and there is none to be found. Slightly cooler in the main area so I hang out there for a little bit but one of the guys then tells me to go into the sauna. I go in and after about 5 mins I cant be in there anymore. I start dousing myself at the personal wash stations that line the main room that has the huge marble slab in the middle where some guys are being massaged. I go into the pool area which is cooler where I start to feel better and then go back into the marble slab area where one of the guys finally gets me and sits me down at one of the wash stations (definitely hurt not speaking the local language as we communicated to each other with a series of points, hand gestures, and grunts) where the guy lathers me up and starts scrubbing me with some course stuff on a wash cloth mitt. Rinses me off and then guides me to the marble slab where he soaps me up and as he is massaging me, I constantly am slipping off the slab which made for a very interesting experience as I had to use my arms to stay on the slab. Takes me back to the wash area to finish the soap and massage and starts messing with my neck and shoulders being incredibly rough (I am sure this is normal but having the experience I had in Thailand a few years ago, I was cautious) and at one point a little too rough for my liking (pulled a muscle in my shoulder or something of the like). He then rinses me off and I go cool off in the pool as it is nice and cool and allows me to regain my composure. Swim around naked and eventually have some other guys come in and we are just chatting. I get out and put my towel on and go back towards the front and change back into my clothes and they bring me a turkish tea as I sit and wait.

Lets see how this goes.

The girls take a good 20 mins longer so I just chill and relax after my massage in the main area until they come out and everyone chills for a bit. We get the van to come get us and head back to the hostel. Go for a walk around the hostel and decide to eat at Cafe Rumist as it was one of a few places that werent pushy about coming into their establishment. We have a seat and get a few things to eat (their hummus looked and tasted way different than anything I have had before - not bad just different). Talk to the owner a little bit who actually used to live in Houston and has traveled quite a bit through the USA before going back to Istanbul to be near his family. Got tired so we go back to the hostel to get some sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night with the most intense headache/pain I have ever had (think it was from the extreme dehydration earlier). Try and find remedies and drink water and anything to make it stop and get to bed. Eventually the pain subsides a little and I am able to get back to sleep.