Living the Travel Channel

Posted by Kanga.

Brunch followed by rice pudding and tea, started our day.

Then off to the Blue Mosque to see it from the inside. (Kris, this will explain why it is called the Blue Mosque even though it looks mainly white from the outside.)

But, first, Mr. Affable (DaddyBird) got into a conversation with a stranger. This time not a carpet salesman, but a guy who asked to take a picture of DaddyBird’s beard. The beard continues to be a big attraction.

The Blue Mosque is so called due to the inside being covered in beautiful blue tiles.

It is supported by four massive columns.

For more pictures – click here.

Then we took a taxi up the Bosphorus to Istinye harbor.

We stopped in at Fish Var restaurant.

The waiter said the fish soup was good. He was seriously understating it. It was perfect.

Then came the fish, followed by dessert. We don’t know what this is, but it was delicious!

In the land of Turkish carpets, one hardly expects to see a masterpiece like this one. Today’s agenda, which was decided upon after we got up and were dressed, consisted of breakfast, walking through the Hippodrome area, walking down the hill along the tram tracks, and seeing the basilica cistern.

Breakfast, well lunch, but what’s in a name. This is at the Doy Doy Restaurant, just up the street from our hotel.

Then on to the Hippodrome area. There was once a hippodrome here, but now all that remains are three structures – Walled Column (above), Serpent Column (below) and Egyptian Obelisk (below that) all from the 4th century C.E.

Then we were off down the hill to get a closer look at things we’ve seen at higher speed from the tram.

Like this old growth tree.

This is the Parade Pavilion where sultans would view parades.

On to the Basilica Cistern…

…which is inhabited by fish.

See the rest of the photos at

http://picasaweb.google.com/kangayayaroo/HippodromeBasilicaCistern#

Posted by Kanga.

A lot of fuss is made about the impact of technology on children. There are definitely some negatives, but I was heartened to see a group of school children on a museum field trip NOT bored and distracted, but with their arms in the air taking cell phone photos.

Posted by Kanga.

After the Hagia Eirene Museum, we toured the Topkapi Palace.

I’m actually glad we came during the winter. In the spring, these trees would be covered with leaves, which would be lovely, but the bare trees have their own grandeur.

This is the library, which no longer has any books. How sad is that? A beautiful place to study.

We picked the right day in terms of sunshine and clear skies. This is the view from the terrace restaurant.

Here is one of our lunch companions.

The tiles on nearly everything are quite beautiful.

This is the view up the Golden Horn from the Topkapi. The bridge is the Galata Bridge where we had tea and coffee a few days ago.

To see the rest of the pictures, check out the album at
http://picasaweb.google.com/kangayayaroo/TopkapiPalace#

Unfortunately, taking pictures was not allowed in the treasury. I don’t think I’ve ever seen emeralds that large. It is an amazing collection. You’ll have to visit yourself to see them though.

Posted by Kanga.

Today’s adventure begins with Hagia Eirene Museum. This is a Byzantine church (originally built circa 330 C.E.). Unfortunately, people aren’t allowed to enter the sanctuary. I would have loved to get a view of the dome from directly below.

In the outer areas of the church was a museum exhibit of artifacts from early inhabitants – the Hittites. Which has led me to conclude that there are no new ideas.

Like pottery with animal heads and mouth spouts. (I’ve never felt at ease with liquids that come out of an animal’s orifice.)

Or palm sized document devices.

Or alimony contracts.

Cribbage anyone?

Or a built in strainer.

Or a collander.

Yep, no new ideas.

Posted by Kanga.

Today we went to the Mosaic Museum. This is Byzantine era mosaic flooring. It is a rather amazing artform. But, I’m always amazed by anything that is more than stick figures, since that is where my own artistic talent begins and ends. Here are some of my favorites.

This may be just a bush, but it is quite intricate.

The many subtle shades of grey of this elephant caught my eye.

And this one, just ’cause it’s weird. That monkey has a bird on his back. Isn’t that role reversal? The signage explained that this was a “bird catching monkey.” It is connected with an ancient fable.

To see the rest of my photos – http://picasaweb.google.com/kangayayaroo/MosaicMuseum#

Posted by Kanga.

We hopped on a very crowded tram and rode to the Eminonu stop. Nearby is the Galata Bridge that crosses the Golden Horn. Under the bridge is a string of restaurants. At the end of the bridge is more of the European Istanbul, but if you look directly out from the bridge, you see the Asian Istanbul.

We walked to the center of the bridge where the walkway ends to allow for the boats to pass under the bridge. After taking a good look in all directions we started back and chose a restaurant where we could sit in comfort for a while, have tea and hot chocolate and read our books.

Later we walked back to land on the other side of the bridge.

Near shore we could see some well decorated and lit boats that required closer investigation.

On close inspection, the boats were floating kitchens where fish were being fried up. The eating was being done on shore.

Since it is nearby, we then proceeded to the Eqyptian bazaar. We walked through without buying anything. I would like some slippers with the curly toes, though.

The bazaar and surrounding area were really quite crowded. I’m glad we came in the off season.

We walked back to where we could catch the tram and called it a day. A very nice day.