Turkiye Day 8 - Spice Bazaar / Eyup Mosque / Pierreloti

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Fuh! Last entry was 2 months ago. Semangat menyeru hwaiting bagai; ke laut juga akhirnya. Oleh kerana suddenly rindu Turkiye, jadinya marilah seru mood R untuk sambung update. Lagi sikit mau habis Bibie oii.

Previous post (here).

Because this trip has been over a year ago; the excitement to share my experiences here has faded. Obviously (drama lebih!). Still excited to tell them live though. And also still very much agitated to do series of throwback pictures in instagram. Will definitely do that in one of these days. 

Hence I will only put captions on each pictures & try to scribble as much as I can. Taip 2 previous statements ni dengan harapan janganlah poyo semata; sekali ended up menceceh sampai beratusribu perkataan. Sebab benda tu selalu jadi everytime aku cakap cuma mau letak caption.

11 April 2015

Esenler Bus Terminal, Istanbul

Anyway, the Kamil Koc bus I took from Goreme dropped us at Esenler Bus Terminal. And mind u, this bus terminal (otogar) is super huge. I was half-asleep when the bus driver woke us up upon arriving. Imagine how blur I was when I got out the bus. Blur level paling maksimum! I can't access my memory box. Sia-sia save segala information dalam peti kepala. I stood at the side of the busy parking bay; simply trying to get a grip on the situation I was in at that time. After a few minutes I gained my 'sanity' back. Syukurlah nak, ndak blur sampai ke malam. 

Masa tengah 'muhasabah' diri, I noticed there were few of the passengers who took the same bus with me from Goreme; standing near me. Semua tunjuk ekspresi 'longkang'. Langsung ndak tau buat apa. Seriously; it's like we were just arrived from Mars. Sudahlah blur, keadaan hingar bingar manusia bercakap lagi menambah kusut. Tu belum campur bunyi enjin bas. And bunyi pujuk rayu attendants mini bus yang berebut-rebut pujuk kami untuk naik bas diorang. To Sultanahmet for TL 10 so the boy told us when being asked the fare. I was about to take the bait when suddenly macam ada bunyi loceng dalam kepala. Kringgg! Reminding me about the do's & don'ts list I've made prior the trip. Sikit lagi jadi mangsa tipu TL 10 nasiblah otak cepat bertindak. Baru teringat tips I came across while doing research about my Turkiye trip. That is to AVOID taking bus from Esenler Otogar to downtown Istanbul.

I read somewhere about the FREE shuttle bus to Findikzade Metro Station if I arrived Istanbul by Kamil Koc bus. Maka haruslah yang free itu kita tidak sia-siakan. I immediately shared the information with my fellow 'Kamil Koc members'. And kami pun gerak in group; masing-masing jadi ostrich panjangkan leher cari minibus yang ada logo Kamil Koc. We didn't search too long as the minibus parked just few metres away from where we're standing. Alhamdulillah selamat TL 10 aku. Just to be safe, before getting in the bus rajin-rajin kanlah bertanya attendant bus or the driver. Manalah tau minibus tu bukan pi downtown. After making sure we will be dropped at Findikzade, I got in the bus. Sebab traffic adalah sangat congested that morning, maka perlulah charge tenaga. Nasib baik sedar just before reaching the metro station. Phew!

Spice Market

I got off from the tram at Eminonu Station. Walked to Spice Bazaar & did some shopping. Paling haru perangai bila confident gila membeli itu ini sekali tengok Lira dalam dompet; terbelah jiwa. Nasiblah ada ATM machine near the market. Eh perlu lah ada kan, nama pun market. Logik lah ada ATM machine. Berlambak lagi. Sudah habis membeli terbelah, tumpang letak pelestik shopping & mini anak gajah di kedai aku shopping tu. Servis kenalah baik lepas aku melabur di kedai dia kan. Paksa-rela Abang Kedai angguk masa aku cakap mau tumpang letak bag. Masa ni memang tawakal habis; ndak larat aku mengangkut ke hulu hilir. Insha Allah selamat.

Findikzade Station ---> Eminonu Station via Metro Tram

# Rupa Spice Bazaar dari depan. Nampak jak kecil tapi sebenarnya luas yakmat. Sebelah kiri bazaar ni, siap ada benches & tables untuk melepak buat para suami yang setia tunggu sang isteri habis melabur duit.

# Fokus aku cuma beli rempah-ratus-teh-Turki-bajubajan.

# Al semangat beli segala macam rempah, sendiri ndak tau guna untuk apa.

# Apple tea the best. Itu sangat sangat dipersetujui.

Habis sesi membeli terbelah, aku ikut underground passage & went to the other side of the road where the Balik Ekmek ships are. Sebab masih awal, mood makan belum mari (padahal kejar masa; koh!). I walked to the left side & got into bus No. 99 bound for Eyup Sultan Camii (Eyup Mosque). Tapi sebelum tu sempat top up Istanbulkart di kiosk kecil depan bot Balik Ekmek. Balance dalam kad udah tinggal nyawa ikan. 

Tips: U can also take bus No. 99A to get to Eyup Sultan Camii. If u're unsure where the bus is heading, u can always ask the bus driver. Just mention Eyup Camii. 

Pierreloti / Piyerloti

Eminonu ---> Eyup via Bus No. 99 or 99A

# Taken from inside the bus. Yakin 100% bas yang aku naik tu memang lalu Eyup Camii.

Don't ask me which stop did I got off from the bus. All I remembered was I 'diligently' pressed the bell upon spotting the signage Pierreloti. Nasiblah driver bus ndak campak keluar. From the bus stop, I walked towards the mosque. Sila alert dengan signage. Pastu nampak Tourist Information booth. Masuk dalam & minta map; tanya direction as well. And siap-siap tanya which bus stop yang perlu aku tunggu bus untuk balik pi Eminonu. Berbekalkan map & direction given by the lady personnel; I started my Eyup exploration.

First thing first, mau naik Istanbul cable car or also known as Teleferik among the locals to the Pierreloti Hill. Niat asal mau mendaki Eyup Cemetery untuk sampai Pierreloti; but on second thought teleferik ride sounds great. Adakah penakut? Tettt.

#  Cemetery behind Eyup Mosque. Tapi meow demuk juga yang berjaya tarik perhatian aku.

# Jalan pi Teleferik station ni memang ala-tenang. Lalu few street stalls tapi sunyi kesepian sikit lah. Nama pun cemetery area kan. 

# Fare: TL 1.95 per way with Istanbulkart. Journey time will take approximately 2 minutes. 

# Eyup Mosque & Eyup Cemetery from afar

# Ndak sempat gayat, sudah sampai Pierreloti Hill.

# Behind me is the view of Golden Horn. 

# Gagah selca walau sebenarnya belum mandi. Tabah lah bukan selalu.

Ada cafe di atas bukit ni. Haritu sebelum sampai Istanbul, sikit punya semangat planning mau breakfast atas tu. Sambil layan view Golden Horn katanya. Sekali sudah di atas, sendiri pula rasa ndak selesa. So aku just ronda lebih kurang, sempat singgah toilet kejap. Sambil explore area cemetery, sambil berdolak-dalik lagi pasal plan asal. Konflik dalaman betul bab final decision tau. Aku sebenarnya mau turun pi masjid Eyup guna tangga di cemetery tu jak. Sekali bila nampak betapa curam tangga yang bakal aku guna; automatik plan cancelled. Sudahlah curam, saiz tiap anak tangga pula selebar alam. Sebelum kejadian jatuh tersungkur di kawasan kubur, baiklah turun guna teleferik jak. Selamat & jimat masa.

Seriau juga sebab aku ada baca at few sites that there were few crimes took place here. Worst, it is admitted by the prosecutor's office themselves that the cemetery has now become a place of prostitution & drug use by negligence. Astaghfirullah.

Eyup Cemetery 

"The Eyüp Cemetery or Eyüp Sultan Cemetery, is a historic burial ground located in the Eyüp district, on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the General Directorate of Foundations.^[ One of the oldest and largest Muslim cemeteries in Istanbul, it hosts graves of Ottoman sultans and court members, grand viziers, high-ranked religious authorities, civil servants and military commanders as well as intellectuals, scientists, artists and poets." -wiki-

# One of the many graves at the cemetery. Semuanya memang bersimen macam ni. 'Decoration' jak yang berbeza.

After the Conquest of Constantinople, tomb was constructed above Abu Ayyup's grave & Eyup Mosque was built in his honor. Because he was known as one of the close companion of Prophet Muhamad PBUH, Eyup became sacred & many prominent Ottoman people requested burial in proximity of Abu Ayyup.

# Tapi memang tenang area ni. Bunyi burung jak yang memeriahkan suasana. Or sebab aku sampai super early hence the silence.

# Strictly accepting visit from family members only.

Aku turun pi masjid lepas layan blues seround-dua di observation deck. Tiba masa untuk layan perut pula. Baru terasa lapar bila nampak orang mencekik di Pierreloti Cafe. 

Sampai jak Eyup termini, laju aku atur langkah pi arah masjid. Masa ni memang rugi sebab keadaan ndak mengizinkan jadi ndak dapatlah aku solat sunat di sana. Rugi!

# Historic headstones from Ottoman era; different head coverings denoting the burial's profession or social status.

Eyup Camii / Eyup Mosque

"The mosque was the traditional site for the coronation ceremony of the Ottoman Sultans, where the new sultan was girded with the sword of Osman."

# Ablution fountain situated in the center, just outside the entrance to the mosque. 

# Beautiful water fountain in front of the mosque complex.

# Perut buat seruan alam. Mula tu mau pujuk sama cotton candy jak, tapi haruslah ndak jalan pujukan tu. 

# Mainly because mata sudah locked sama kedai Simit Sarayi. I miss their buns & breads.

# Sambil breakfast, sambil layan view. Memang sepanjang di sana, kerja aku cuci mata layan view jaklah. 

Settled makan, lepak lagi di fountain depan masjid (sambil extra aware sama masa). Lebih kurang puas hati, I headed to the bus stop to take the bus back to Eminonu. Ada misi mau terjah Taksim pula. Small shops selling varieties of chocolates started flashing in my head. Lagipun memang mau mengutip anak gajah di luggage storage. And from there I will take the limousine bus to the airport.

# I took the bus No. 99A back to Eminonu.  

Al-malang sebab bas adalah half penuh when it arrived. Maka pasrahlah berdiri terhumbang hambing. Lagi sadis bila jalan pi downtown sangat jammed. Boleh lah tahan men-sardinkan diri for nearly an hour walhal pagi tu ndak sampai 10 minutes aku sudah sampai Eyup dari Eminonu. Kuasa weekend. Semua pun keluar berlibur gitu.

Masa dalam bas aku sudah rimas sama diri sendiri. Dengan bersempit, dengan ndak selesa sebab belum mandi, dengan lapar padahal baru jak melantak bun bagak 2 biji, and segala macam dengan lagi. Paling aku risau sebenarnya; masa. Takut kelam kabut di Taksim nanti ndak tersempat laksana misi borong cokelat. Dari Eminonu kena naik tram pi Kabatas, then naik funiculer pi Taksim pula. Nasiblah dua mode of transportation ni ndak guna jalan raya. Else merana lah aku menangis belakang bas sebab ndak sempat buat apa-apa sebelum balik Malaysia. 

Sempat sebenarnya buat semua yang aku rancang. Singgah beli pesanan orang pun sempat. So cerita Taksim aku sambung next entry. Gigih warning diri sendiri untuk kasi habis entry Turkiye ni sebelum 2017 menjelma. Hopefully termakbul lah impian. 

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