Grand Bazaar and Grand Tower: 2,7,8 and the subway

 Shopping Is a Process

 Especially if you are in a place with 4,000 shops.  The place is wild, chaotic and an absolute must-see.  I could not begin to tell you all the things that are there. 
Doesn't matter:  it is there.

Buying a rug is a process.  Pretend disinterest, then, well, maybe I could look at some kinds of carpets.  Well, OK, I will have a glass of apple tea.

The doorbell is pushed and sooner than you think a young man shows up with a tray and glasses of tea.  Look at some more rugs.  Count the knots per square cm. Express disinterest.  Hesitate to ask a price.  Signal dismay at the price.  And, if you are serious, start the process of bargaining.  Remember, it is impossible to cheat one of these merchants. 

Forrest and I enjoyed finding an open courtyard.  In the courtyard you can find water to splash and things to climb.  That, too, is a process.
It was a great deal of fun to look at treasures and decide what someone back home might like as a remembrance of this exotic place.

Galata from between the buildings

 

Tram to Galata Bridge.

This was a day of intriguing wandering.  Our goal was the Galata Tower and to see what we could of the Galata and Koroköy.

This Pera section used to be where the foreigners lived.  There were large communities from the various Italian City-States.  The Galata Kulesi (Tower) has been a fortress, a prison, a fire tower and now a museum.  It was built by the Genoese long before the fall of Constantinople when Genoa controlled the north shore of the Golden Horn.  While Kathy, Gretchen and Sean enjoyed the tower, Forrest and I enjoyed the courtyard.  There was more water to splash, a fountain to play in and a vendor selling really good karpus (watermelon).  I was even interviewed on Turkish television with the question:  Is it better for you to live alone or with someone? 

street scenes

The narrow winding streets around the tower house many small hotels, pensions and upscale shops.  This proved to be the place to find the mother-of-the-groom dress. Perfect.

Then it got interesting.  We were heading toward the water with the intention of catching a ferry back to the other side of the Horn.  We were in real neighborhoods.  One section was where all the electrical supply houses were.  Another section was like an open air Home Depot.  The looks we got certainly indicated that we were an unusual sight for that area.  There were blind alleys and obstructing highways.  Nothing dangerous but we did not know where we were and had no useful map.  Just a general sense of direction:  there is the sun, there is the water, that is west, that is south.

Sean from the top of the Tower

Now we are walking along an ancient wall and see that it is part of the aqueduct system. 

Subway.  And Cab.

Istanbul has the beginnings of a subway system.  Just beyond the aqueduct was the station.  On top of a huge bridge.  We did not know where we would end up except on the other side of the Horn.  We got on board and ended up quite near the Istanbul University.  We were really deep in the ground and took several long escalators to get to the surface.  Forrest was happy.  It was late afternoon. it was hot and we were a long way from our hotel.  We hailed a cab and gave an address.  We lumbered into the late afternoon traffic on the only ring road that circles the old city.  We sat.  After twenty minutes of not moving very far, we thanked our driver, paid and climbed out.  Foot was going to be quicker than the cab.  AND, you can see things. 

We worked our way around to the Galata Bridge where we knew we could catch our tram.  We ate sweet corn that was grilled over coals.  Glad I tried it; don't need to do that again.

The day ended with an effort to see the Blue Mosque but the kiosk was closed as I wrote previously. So we celebrated by picking a sidewalk cafe and enjoying a hookah along with a delicious meal of fish and vegetables. 

That night, of course, we packed.  We also enjoyed finishing off some bottles of port that Gretchen and Kathy had brought from the Vienna segment of their trip. 

The next day, we traveled.  Our taxis were perfectly on time to get us to the airport.  And the ten hour flight was not too horrible.  Thank you Turkish Airlines.

Me sucking on the pipe

Things for Next Time.

The Egyptian and Spice Bazaar

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

Bosporus Boat Tour 

Revisit the Archaeological Museum near Topkapı

Spend a day on the Asian Side to wander the streets, see the Florence Nightingale Museum and Hospital

 Take in the crafts fair in Ortaköy

Konya to be in the land of Rumi and the mevlanâ

I have had a great pleasure in writing this out.  I hope that you have enjoyed it.