Monday 11th October
After breakfast, went for a long long walk. Aya Sofia, the most famous mosque, is closed on Mondays so went straight to Sultan Ahmet mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles inside. It has 6 minarets, as opposed to the usual 4, and was built between 1606 and 1616. I had a walk around the courtyard, then joined the masses, put my shoes in a bag and headed inside.
For some reason i had not been expecting much so was quite taken aback as i entered and saw the beautiful inside of the mosque; a low square chandelier (probably not original), the stained glass windows, the decorated dome and the tiles, and the size were amazing. Half of the inside is set aside for the locals to pray so it was quite a close fit with so many visitors. I had a good look around, mostly looking up to the walls and ceiling. Very impressed.
I came back to the hostel to put my shorts on (had pants/trousers on for the mosque) then followed the LP walking tour for an hour or so which ended up near the impressive University entrance. Around the side of the Uni were some cobbled streets and I had a sweet deep-fried sugary stick thing that I dont know the name of.
Then I put the LP away and headed towards the water and found myself in the Russian / Central Asian quarter. Many shops signs were in Russian and there were international call centres with only Central Asian call charges listed. This area felt very local and i was glad i stumbled across it. Lots of washing hanging over the street; must be washing day now the sun has come out after 3 days of rain. This was in the districts of Kumkapi and Kadirga.
Got my bearings again with LP and went into a small shop selling kofte, which to me is normally meatballs. But this was different from what i had seen before. He has a big bowl of what looked like paste, and a sauce that looked spicy. He rolled it with some lettuce into a wrap (they call it a sandvich). Anyway, it was delicious. It actually had the taste, heat and texture of Pataks tandoori paste, which is not something you would normally eat out-of-the-jar with lettuce and bread.
Anyway, the kofte guy only spoke English so i got him to write down what is was so i could check later - cig kofte. I got back to the hostel and looked it up online, and in the LP, and it turns out to be raw ground lamb mixed with pounded bulgar (a form of wheat) onion, clove, cinammon, salt and hot black pepper. To be honest if i had known it was raw meat I probably wouldnt have eaten in case i got sick, but glad i did cos it was one of the best things i have eaten on the trip.
This afternoon i walked down to the water again; there were fewer fishermen today of course but still quite a few. I walked about 4kms, past Galata and Ataturk bridges up to Halic Bridge which is also a major highway. I wanted to stand on that bridge to get a view back to the city. When i got underneath the bridge there was a set of stone steps that snaked up to the bridge deck. The steps looked like the sort of steps where drug addicts might loiter, and had lots of graffiti and trash, and I might have turned around but for the police presence across the road at some kind of police station. There were maybe 70 steps up.
Once I got to the top I freaked out a bit because there was only a knee-high barrier between me and the rushing traffic on my left, and a a waist-high railing between me and a 50 metre drop into the water, and the impact of the traffic was making the bridge bounce. I knew I was being a bit irrational but felt pretty uncomfortable up there.
Anyway, got the view and pix I wanted (well they're not great, but nevermind) and descended on the other side. I headed back towards the city sights, not quite sure where I was going but following the water; not many tourists over there! After an hour or so, past all the hardware stores (Husquarva chainsaw, anyone?) I suddenly popped out in familiar territory, next to the Galata Bridge, exactly as planned!?
Had a look round the small fish market. The fish are so fresh, you can see people fishing all day, and some are still bobbing around in the plastic bowls. I headed back over the bridge towards the bazaar and Sultanahmet and the hostel, enjoying the early evening atmosphere again. The forecast is for rain for the next few days which is why i wanted to get out and see a lot today; it might be my last chance.
There are alot of stray cats in Istanbul. Not suprising given how popular fish is here and the amount of scraps they can find. And the locals seem to be friendly towards them. I saw a cat this morning with a damaged front paw, poor thing was limping quite badly. What can you do?
Tuesday
Chat over breakfast with Aussie guy, recommending Berlin, as did Aussie couple in the room. Popped out to get cig kofte again, otherwise just surfing, listening to Radio. Kebab sandwich for dinner and watched England 0 Montenegro 0 on the net. Same old nonsense.
Wednesday
Overslept so missed breakfast so stayed in bed. Burger King for afternoon tea. Skyped with Mum and Dad.
Thursday 14th October
Decided I should finally head to Aya Sofia. I have been leaving it as something to do during this long week. Only a short queue. As you walk through the entrance, the first thing you notice is the enormity of this 'museum', and the height and size of the main dome. It was originally built as a church in 537 by Emperor Justinian and was the greatest church until around 1450 when the Ottomans took over and converted it to a mosque. Ataturk then proclained it a museum in 1935.I don't know much about architecture but it was amazing to think that someone designed and built it so long ago. It looks old too, which is good, lots of the paint has come off and it has some dark spaces. You go up to the gallery to see some large christian mosaics from the 12th century. It wasnt too busy so i took my time and appreciated the vastness and grandeur of this old monument.
Went for another walk down to the Galata Bridge and back, probably for the last time. It started to rain again.
Friday 15th October
Rain again. Breakfast, listening to Chris Moyles, Cig kofte, listening to Radio5.
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