Istanbul Adventures-Part 2

"Hello beautıful lady where are you from? Why you walk away you break my heart...
You lıke carpets?"

I ıgnore the young teenager who is posted on the side of the road and continue uphill.
I have been here two full days now-so I know the drill. I dont take it personally.
I just cant see myself carting a carpet home-even if I did have the money.

**Note-You may notice some missing punctuation as I am attempting to use a Turkish keyboard**

After I got up the nerve to venture out I have found Turkey to be very enjoyable-even a bit magical at times.

Yesterday (Friday) I went on a tour of the Aya Sofya, a Christian church truned Mosque turned museum built by Emperor Justinian in around 527 AD. It was on the sight of two previous, much older churches going as far back as the 300s!


When I got to the ticket line a tour guide wanted me to hire him at only 40 Lira. I told him I couldn't afford it but if he could find some more people to share I would do it. He found a couple from Ireland(lots of Irish people here-dont ask me) and we set off. The tour was worth it. He was officially liscensed by the museum and had a masters degree in religion. He also spoke Turkish, English and Russian!

The Aya Sofya was one of the most beautiful and unusual churches I have ever seen. It was a fascinating mix of both Christian and Muslim architecture and art. Our guide told us that the Ottomans did not destroy the golden Christian mosaics when they conquered Istanbul-they just covered them with plaster. In the 1970s a group of students from the US spent almost a year painstakingly uncovering the works of art.


I have also seen the Basilica Cistern. It is an atmospheric underground well that was used in ancient times to provide fresh water for the Sultan and the palaces. I wandered around in the cool depths for at least an hour, trying to perfect my low-light picture taking techniques and getting dripped on. Pretty cool.


This afternoon I went to the Topkapi Palace. Me and about 6 million other people.
It was a huge complex consisting of four courtyards starting with the sultans publics areas where he received other kings and potentates and moving further and further into the private places where only the royal family and the Eunichs were allowed. The gardens were shady and cool. Manicured beds of flowers lined the paths and fountains were everywhere. At the end, where the Sultan had his private apartments, the gardens end in a sweeping view of the Bosporus.

The food here has been mediocre with the exception of one delicious meal that I had yesterday. It was at a small cafe about two block up from the Blue Mosque called the Rumeli Cafe. The dish was called Islim Kabapi and it was marinated lamb chunks wrapped in grilled eggplant with a wonderful spicy tomato sauce. Incredible!


The city is really magical at night. As in most of Europe entire families are out walking and visiting until around midnight. Little kids play soccer, women talk and men smoke these huge water pipes with apple flavored tobacco. They tried to talk me into trying the pipe but I declined.


Overall I have found Istanbul to be a great experience. The people are an intriguing mix of conservative religious people and modern Europeans. One night I saw, through the window at a restaurant, two sets of women waiting at a tram stop: Three dressed in full black Burkahs with the veil over their faces and three young women in miniskirts and jewelry going to the disco. Thats Turkey for you!