After our idyllic visit to Crete, we were looking forward to visiting Türkiye. We had a one-day stop in Istanbul scheduled before our ship moved on to another Greek island, Mykonos. Unfortunately, tragedy struck on route and for the first time we experienced what happens when someone goes overboard on a cruise ship. The Man Overboard signal was transmitted late at night and announced throughout the ship. The captain turned the ship around to where the person had gone over and sent out rescue boats and searchlights over the dark water. They asked passengers to notify crew if we saw or heard anything, and they even turned off the air conditioning and other non-essential electric functions to make it easier to hear if there were any cries for help. Send we were in Turkish waters, the Turkish coast guard joined the search.
The heartbreaking end to this story is the person was never found. After a whole night of searching, Turkish authorities boarded our ship and reviewed the CCTV footage. Later, the captain confirmed it was a crew member who went overboard. Authorities cleared the ship to proceed, and although they never said this explicitly it seems likely based on circumstances that the crew member may have died by suicide.* I learned from other stories online that this happens more than I realized, and it made me so sad to think about how many of the other people I interacted with on ship who might greet me with a smile while hurting deeply on the inside.
With heavy and somber hearts, we continued on our journey with a modified itinerary that removed a planned stop in Mykonos and gave us an afternoon and evening in Istanbul instead of just the daytime. We had no real plan, just a list of family-friendly tourist sites we thought we might visit.
My favorite stop by far (as you can tell from the photos) was the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, commonly known as the Blue Mosque. It's a working mosque that closes for prayer times but in between is open for visitors to admire the stunning blue tilework from which it draws its nickname. It was an architectural marvel, and I felt so peaceful inside.
I know the Hagia Sophia is even more famous, but from recent reviews I read online it sounds like most of the interior is closed off to tourists and the price was very steep, so instead we admired it from the outside. We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets and getting a feel for the city, taking a couple rides on the tram to explore. It was a little hot and crowded, so we ended up returning to the ship after a few hours.
In the end, I felt like we had only scratched the surface of this fascinating city and I hope we get the chance to visit again someday. Next time, I'll blog about the very last stop on our anniversary cruise: Athens, Greece. Until then, stay safe and hold your loved ones close.
*If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, you are not alone. Please seek help from a professional mental health care provider or at findahelpline.com.
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