Istanbul, Turkey

Asssalamualaikum

To be honest, malasnya nak update blog.!!! Tidur, masak, makan, tengok movie, baca novel pastu nangis sorang-sorang bukanlah aktiviti-aktiviti yang bagus untuk otak. I took lots of courage to write this post. Ok, how should I start..??? Sambil korek-korek memori.

I finished my final exams on 8th June and I went for a trip to turkey for 7D 6N. We bought the tickets very early when there was Easyjet promotion around last December. The ticket just cost me about GBP 80 return instead of GBP 150. Hewhew. Such a great deal. Tiba-tiba Turkey bergolak pulak dengan riot bagai. Waktu ni lah, korang nak riot. Ibu memang selalu call dan suruh cancel the trip. But me, being very stubborn, just pack my bag and go. Bajet gangsta tak padan dengan kecik.! 

Flight from London Stansted, UK to Sabiha-Gocken Airport took about 2.5 hours. The best part travelling to a Muslim country is that you can eat whatever you want. No more maggi. Hari-hari makan luar and dijamin halal. Since Turkey is very famous with it tourism, communication is not a problem because they are very fluent in English and Malay too.! "Selamat datang, sayang. Selamat makan. Cantik-cantik. Murah-murah". 

If you are planning to visit Istanbul, I suggest to stay at Sultanahmet area because it is a walking distance to all tourist main attractions. You don't have to pay for any tour. Simply ask for map from your hostel/hotel and explore the city by yourself. We stayed at Green House Ist apartment about GBP10/night. Very comfortable and the staff is friendly. Dapat free turkish apple tea. Turkey is very famous with turkish apple tea. You must try. As a tea lover, aku tibai minum apple tea hari-hari. 

This is what you should expect for breakfast. Sebakul roti dengan beraneka spread, vegetables and fruits.

Blue Mosque

Sultan Ahmet Camii is also known as Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. Alhamdulillah, dapat solat jemaah dekat Blue Mosque. Interior design of this mosque is Subhanallah. Very pretty and you can feel tranquility. Staying in UK, make me longing for azan and Imam. Iktiqaf, solat sunat tahiyatul masjid dan solat berjemaah really made my day. I got this goosebumps everytime I heard azan. Such a lovely feeling. 

Kubah biru.

Hagia Sophia

Pada zaman Byzantine, Istanbul dikenali sebagai Kota Konstantinopel. Kisah Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh dan kota Konstantinople memang tidak boleh dipisahkan. 

"Konstantinople akan ditakluki tentera Islam. Rajanya adalah sebaik-baik raja, dan tenteranya adalah sebaik-baik tentera" (Hadis riwayat Imam Ahmad)

Sebelum Konstantinople ditawan Islam, Aya Sophia ialah sebuah gereja. Selepas Sultan Al-Fatih menawan Konstantinople, Aya Sophia ditukar menjadi masjid dan kini Aya Sophia hanyalah sebuah muzium. Ada sumber mengatakan bahawa jika Aya Sophia kembali menjadi masjid, itu merupakan tanda-tanda kemenangan Islam. Deep inside my heart, I keep on praying to Allah that I'll be the one who contribute to the glorious moment of Islam, one day, Insyaallah. I can't tell you the whole story of Sultan Al-Fatih but it is really worth it to do some research about him.  Selami sejarah Islam, pasti trip anda ke Istanbul adalah sesuatu yang sangat berharga. 

Topkapi Palace

Ini adalah istana yang dibina oleh Sultan Al-Fatih. Entrance fee around 15 TL. Cantik sangat istana ni. The best memorable part because this is the place where you can see janggut dan pedang Rasulullah. The goosebump that I got, to feel that Rasulullah is very near to me is indescribable. Allahu Allah. "Allahumma solli 'ala Muhammad, wa Ali Muhammad". Terdapat jugak pedang-pedang para sahabat dan segala barang-barang kepunyaan Sultan Al-Fatih. Sebab ni muzium, jadi tak boleh nak amek banyak gamba sangat. Topkapi palace wajib pegi, tahu.!

Kalimah syahadah at the entrance.

Sultan Al-Fatih suka bunga ros.

Bunga ros merata-rata. 

"Katakanlah: Berjalanlah kamu di muka bumi, lalu perhatikanlah bagaimana akibat orang-orang yang berdosa" (An-Naml, 69)

I would say that Istanbul adalah tempat muhasabah diri. I didn't have the feeling to take pictures sebab 'zassss' sangat dalam hati. Sobs..

Grand Bazaar

Lepas tu, rasa bersalah pulak pergi shopping. Boleh pergi ke Grand Bazaar untuk beli souvenir. Macam-macam ada. Shawl, tea, turkish delight, lampu and more. Aku ingat tu je sebab tu je yang aku beli. Grand Bazaar ni lebih kurang macam Pasar Siti Khadijah dan pasar payang, cuma ground floor je, tak bertingkat-tingkat. Ni pun dah semput jalan. Besar sangat.

Taktik mengorat abang kacak untuk dapatkan harga shawl yang murah itu wajib.

Abang tu siap tanya, "Ada facebook tak.?" :p

Gadis-gadis di atas separuh gila pilih shawl. 

Aku hanya duduk, enjoy minum free apple tea dan shopping.

Eh, sempat posing pulak abang ni. T_T

Lovely lamps.!!! Wajib beli. Cantik sangat.

I bought this. 25 TL je. 

Bosphorus

Kalau sempat, pegi la Bosphorus that forms the boundary between Europe and Asia. You can enjoy river cruise ride but we did not have enough time as we just spent 2 days in Istanbul. 

Pastu, kene try ice cream Turki. Biasa je rasa ice-cream tu. Yang best sebab trick dia. Unfortunately, takde pulak gamba tu dalam fon or camera. Huaaaa. Takpe la, ada dalam memori. Ni je la tempat-tempat yang kitorang pegi kat Istanbul. Istanbul, aku rindu.. :')


Conclusions, Istanbul best sangat kalau kita betul-betul faham sejarah Islam. Rugi sangat kalau pegi Istanbul, tapi tak buat homework pasal sejarah Islam. Haa, kitorang lah tu. T_T

p/s: so many things to share.. stay tune..