our plan on this vacation
was wander, eat, wander...eat some more -
was wander, eat, wander...eat some more -
with one or two "destinations" each day
at the end (or middle) of a wander.
with the hills, this proved to be quite a workout!
but look at the eats! yum!
this (below) was not, really, a "Turkish" breakfast -
it was more continental than that -
but it did come with Turkish tea (in a glass cup),
which you hold at the rim and sip until it cools down,
then you hold around the middle with your entire hand
(at least, this is what i observed Turkish folks doing)
(this spot was about a block from our airbnb)
- Papadopoulous Cafe' -
and the two young women at the table next to us were
(of all things) american!
(we really rarely encountered
any other americans in Istanbul)
they had their suitcases and backpacks with them -
i supposed they were returning to home? college? america?
after one last breakfast in Turkey,
perhaps after a semester abroad.
i enjoyed my cute little silver creamer cup,
with perfect little finger divets,
hooked to the edge of my coffee cup!
but that was the last time i ordered an "american" coffee
on the entire trip...smaller & stronger was the ticket!
this (below) is the view back down the street...
our airbnb was on the street going up to the left,
with a shell of a building on the corner
(under renovation)
& a parking garage* next door
(surprisingly not too noisy).
[*garage apparently meaning, we will park your car
wherever we can in this general vicinity]
much like other big cities,
there's a bit of a smash-up with businesses & residences
all mish-mashy and overlapping.
they do a nice job controlling traffic
in these narrow, old, cobbled, & hilly streets.
you can see the orange strip in the photo above -
which is full of raised spikes that seriously discourage
going the wrong direction down the street!
lots of people get around on mopeds and the like.
it's possible these tiles were demonstrations
of what was available in a nearby business.
they made a colorful patchwork on a wall near our place.
really, all your senses are ALIVE in this amazing city!
we passed this steep, cobbled street frequently
on our walk from our airbnb down to the Galata Bridge.
it seemed a favorite for photographers - a destination, i think.
oh the life of a city on the water!
we crossed the water on foot & metro (via the bridges)
and a few times by ferry
(the metro card covers that, too)!
our first crossing, heading to Uskudar and Kadikoy
on the eastern bank of the Bospherus
the first of many mosques!
i was not yet keeping track of their names,
so i am not sure which one this was...
it's possible it was the Atik Valide Mosque, though
it really never got old, no matter how many mosques we visited.
they are beautiful and the call to prayer is, too.
those stools are for sitting on while you (if you're a man)
wash your feet in the courtyard of the mosque.
many of the larger mosques had (free & clean) public restrooms,
and there was typically an area for women to wash their feet
inside the restroom.
of note, we rarely encountered western-style toilets :)
luckily, i had some experience with this long ago in Morocco
& perfected my technique on this trip (tmi, i'm sure)
you can see two women in head-to-toe covering
entering the mosque below.
there was quite a varied dress in Istanbul for everyone,
but especially for women.
some women were in western clothing;
others were in headscarves; and yet others
were in what looked much like a burka to me
(though only a very few actually had their nose/mouth covered)
since it was winter and somewhat cold (mostly highs in the 50's),
i always had on my coat & a scarf,
which i could readily put over my hair
when we went into mosques.
i had prepared for the shoeless mosque entry
with easy slip on/off shoes, too.
we wandered through the large Karacaahmet Cemetery
on our walk to Kadikoy from where the ferry dropped us off near Uskudar
(remember, we wander & eat, then wander some more)
and it took me a bit to realize these are their "usual" tombstones, not special ones!
aren't they beautiful?
our destination was an evening concert
at an old theatre in Kadikoy
(so we wandered, wandered, wandered on our way there)
and we stumbled upon
the most amazing market in the streets nearby!
no photos could really capture it, but i tried!
not exactly dinner, but...
(we actually had fish soup at a little 'mom&pop' restaurant
earlier on our wander, i think...
but i didn't take a photo, so it's possible that was a different day)
every now & then, you'd see a western food chain...
this one (below) was a bit of a surprise, though!
(they also had a crossroads in the market
that was festooned in Christmas lights, reindeer, Santa...
& many folks were taking selfies there)
this is not it, but it is a selfie!
our destination: Sureyya Opera House
not particularly for the concert
(which, funnily, was italian opera...)
but for the beautiful space
there were some italian-loving audience members,
for sure - but it was kind of funny
that we had traveled all the way to Turkey
& were hearing a bunch of familiar italian opera songs!
(we remedied that later in the trip)
the opera house was lovely, though -
and we took a selfie in the big front mirrors,
just like all the other teenagers were doing
***
after which i had a panic moment
regarding catching the ferry back across
before we were stranded (!!!)
[which, it turns out, was unlikely
until much later in the night]
we often intended to get back to our place
earlier than we ever did...
there was just so much to see!
