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25th September
Today was all about - out the door before 8am
· We took a taxi and went to Hagis Soferia - the Dome was just so impressive, check out the photos. We were both concerned that the Christian history was not covered nor mentioned- which it's the actual origin of this amazing landmark. The cost was only approx. £7.50 each Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Built in 537 AD at the beginning of the Middle Ages, it was famous in particular for its massive dome. We met up with 4 Kiwis- they are everywhere lol. They also happened to be related - I wasn't meaning to be rude when we met the first woman and her daughter- they heard my accent and came over, but I was just in awe with our surroundings and wanted to stay focused- I did ask the couple whom we later met with to pass on my apologises (they came from Auckland)
· Then we went to Sultan Ahmet's tombs of the sultans-the turbans on top of the blue covered tombs caught our eyes, some tombs were little and some very big according to the occupier. More information on public toilets-some places plumbing is not up for reams of toilet paper- so there are bins for you to put the toilet paper into. All I could think about was menstruating women and horror, but one would wash first then wipe- that would be a HAVE TO. Now some may think this crass - but come on people -its human biology and health and safety.
· Sultanahmet Blue Mosque-carpet and orientation towards Mecca- this was a free entry however you had to cover up. I have to say that I was a little disappointed with this mosque compared to Hagia Soferia. The carpets were lovely and lush- Peter remembers then being blue last time he was here. Long queue for people hiring leg covers and head covers - but we came prepared. They were well known for feeding the poor- which of course should still happen in every place of worship. I know the poor are will us always, but as a community of believers we should do our bit- locally and the church should run it. It broke our hearts to see children getting bags out of the bin for the food inside, one woman had her baby under a tree in a pram and was going through discarded bags of rubbish. (You know there have been documentaries where you see/ hear of people- professional beggars who have lovely homes and cars etc- and that leaves one jaded- I strongly believe in a hand up- not a hand out).
· Yerebatan Underground Basilica Cistern- Size, and Medusa heads approx. £2each. Can you believe 336 columns-9 metres high. Two Medusa heads used as plinths in the southwestern part of the Cistern are masterpieces of the sculpture in the Roman Period- it is not known where the heads came from.- there are some myths about the heads. According to 1 myth Medusa is one of the 3 Gorgones who are female monsters of the underground world. Of the 3 sisters Medusa had the power to turn people who looked at her, into stone. This was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-565). This place was amazing. It wasn't smelly at all- can you believe it used to hold 100,000 tons of water storage. Lots of renovations taking place everywhere, and under here is no acceptation.
· Walked around the outer walls of the Topkapi palace- short cut - which ended up being a VERY LONG walk indeed and we walked for miles. Fisherman lined the rocks- they had made little windbreaks with rocks- which reminded me of being a kid, damning up pools in the creek. They had little forms of basic accommodation- rubbish everywhere sadly. There were also divers getting (from what I saw Mussels), and the had generators and long lines- at a guess I think it's for oxygen for the drivers? Peter has found a brand of shoe that is perfect for his feet- but my poor things are still working it out. I washed my sneakers in the washing machine after they nearly knocked me out from the smell, and then popped then in the drier, so they look like they come from Turkey with curled up toes lol- I crack my ownself up- so now I have curled up toes to match lol.
· Walked along the shore to Serseri harbour- where we had lunch wraps and salad
· We walked across the Galata bridge- bumped into a con-artist who dropped his broom, he thanked us and then proceeded to shine Peter's leather shoes that were wet- lots of restaurants and fisherman along the bridge. Fish everywhere which is good for the locals.
· We caught the tram back to our Kabatas end of the line- the helpful man with our ticket- a little elderly woman that was with him, gave me big kisses as she reached up to my huge 5.3ft (she was tiny) then proceeded to talk to me so quickly even if I understood her, I wouldn't have been able to help up- but you know how you get a feeling? Well I think she may have been saying something about not being able to read or speak the language- but that could just have been me thinking- I wish we could read or speak the language lol- the ticket machines did not have an English option at this stop. The man that helped us was a darling and made sure we had everything we needed to catch the tram- bless him. We walked to Besiktas where we went to the Naval Museum-Not impressed cost just over £1- maybe it's because we had seen so many amazing things already in the day- but we just thought it was too narrow in focus towards the heyday of the Ottoman empire- ie a huge display of their ornamental barges .
· Back to Hotel- Long Island tea which nearly put me on my ear. Dressed for dinner here in the Hotel with a nice bottle of wine- views of Istanbul from the floor which is on a raised hill-
Good night everyone- this is why I am publishing this 1 day late
- comments
Rita Smith Thanks again Deb for bringing back memories for me. I love hearing the names of all these places again. Are you up for a real Turkish bath?