We returned to Istanbul today, our final stop. We started of at the Hagia Sophia a museum that once was a basilica then a mosque and now a museum. The name means Holy Wisdom and the current building is the third one with this name to exist at this location. A huge building, it is a feast for the eyes. Lunch was up next and our guide took us to Lale Restaurant or “Pudding Shop” which is near Hagia Sophia. A former stop on the ‘hippie trail’ in the 60s and 70s, this was an exchange place of sorts where travelers from the west heading to India and other locations in the east would hang out, leave messages for friends and travelers returning home to the west would sell items they no longer needed to to travelers heading east. Now a more ordinary food shop, our guide Aşkin said it had the best Turkish Gyros in the city, I have no other locations to compare them with but it was quite good. The owner took a liking to Sydney and asked her if she wanted to work there saying she had strength in her, in a few years was her response.
Next up was the Basilica Cistern, largest of many ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. The walls are ~15 feet thick and the materials used to make the structure were recycled from older buildings, etc., so some of the columns were decorated although some decay had occurred due to contact with water over the years. Interestingly two blocks with medusa heads were used as bases, these are tucked in the back of the structure, hidden from site for many years while the cistern was in operation until the place was open to us tourists.
The final stop for the day was the Grand Bazar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. Fifty+ streets laid out like a large maze, people selling everything one would want it seems. These old markets are always fun to walk through.
The next few days we are staying at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski located on the Bosphorus. There is a big wedding on tonight with many guests and even fireworks. ‘Celebrate!’ by Kool & the Gang was also played, I guess it is a standard at weddings around the world….
The Hippodrome in Istanbul
Hagia Sophia
At the Pudding House
The Pudding House owner offering Sydney a job
The Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
The Grand Bazaar
The Bosphorus