After that we headed out to explore some of the sights in the area around the hotel. We walked past the Hagia Sophia and through the grounds of the Topkapi Palace (the heavily armed soldiers standing around there were a little off-putting) before heading to the Blue Mosque.
It was closed for midday prayers so we didn't get to see the inside of it, but we did get to take pictures of all the hilarious cats in the vicinity which was nice.
On a whim, we also wandered into the Basilica Cistern, built in the 6th Century by Justinian I, and apparently the largest of several such cisterns under old Constantinople. The area has been very well restored, and it felt strange to be in such a quiet, dark place compared to the bustle and light above ground.
We ventured up and down one of the main streets nearby in search of somewhere to have lunch. This became more complex and the hawkers and spruikers out the front of the various restaurants noticed us going in a continual loop and amped up the pressure on us. We persisted and ate at some small and cheap place, which was nice enough but nothing special.
Lunch having concluded, we walked up to the Grand Bazaar. We didn't get very far into the sprawling, crowded proto-mall before turning back, but it laid the foundation for subsequent visits.
On the way out we had a particularly frightening encounter with one of the many (hundreds? thousands?) of carpet dealers. Despite his assurances that he "no push us, [he] no eat us," we were keen to get out of there.
We recouped at the hotel before setting back out for the evening. We stopped in at a nearby bar, named 'Cheers', for some drinks. It was a little on the expensive side, but the bar staff were friendly and the drinks were good. Zarah became particularly attached to some strange mix of beer, brandy and various fruit juices. After that we (I) were (was) getting very hungry, so we went in search of a restaurant. One of the guys out the front of a restaurant remembered us from the previous night and talked us into looking at the menu. Happy (and hungry) enough, we sat down and had a great meal.
We spoke for a while with a German man one table over. He joined us for some time and we had a great conversation.
We finished the evening with a nargile (Turkish water pipe) before heading back to the hotel around midnight.
We got up a little late today and had to head out into the street for breakfast, free food at the hotel having been taken off the table. We had omlettes at a place across the road, along with tea and coffee. The day slipping away, we headed back to the Blue Mosque to see the interior, which was suitably spectacular, before heading back to the Grand Bazaar.
Zarah went on a bit of a shopping spree (women, am I right?), cutting deals with stall-owners left, right and centre for a deal on this or that.
How all of these rather large items will make the journey from here to Southeast Asia and beyond is not something I fully understand, but I'm willing to be shown the way.
Dinner tonight was close by - we went back to the restaurant we visited on the first night, and they seemed happy to see us once again.
(Zarah: to prove that I was not exaggerating about the gigantic Turkish bread, here is a photo)
The food was great (as before) and we're back at the hotel with full stomachs planning our next move.
So that's us up to date. We're in Turkey for a few more days, which (as usual) isn't nearly enough time before we're on to Thailand and a familiar time zone.
And therefore you have sailed the seas and come
ReplyDeleteTo the holy city of Byzantium?