Where in the World are the Varvels Today?: Turkiye

We arrived at the Spice Bazaar early.
More pictures of this place will
come later. It provides income to the
mosque next door.

Outside the Spice Bazaar.

Oh, yes, many sparkly things that smell
soooo good at the Spice Market. Built in
the 1660s.

While having tea in an old Islamic school, now a tea/hooka setting, we spoke with a man who moved to Istanbul at the age of 5. Thirty years later he has many stories about how the city has changed. He remembers standing by the school and overlooking the Blue Mosque and seeing the sea. He says the fields were empty, the roads stopped, and there were few cars. Now there are 20 million in the city (research says 17 million, with about 2 million undocumented workers, but who knows for sure), highrises, trams, cars, buses. The Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia, both hundreds of years old, have stood overlooking the sea, overtaken by armies, cities, and the movement of time.

When I was shopping for locks at the Grand Bazaar, I spoke to a shop keeper. We drank hot tea, and sat and talked for a bit. His family moved to Turkey ten years ago, fleeing Afghanistan, with only a single change of clothing and no money. Now, younger than me, he own 23 shops in the Bazaar, his grandfather owns 53. I asked if he makes good money. His reply was wisdom: "When business is good, then good. No selling, no money." And then the bargining started and we both got serious. "This one is old, look here. Very rare, so 70 Lira. And this one is like an original that others patterned off of. 80 Lira. 150 total." "Twenty." Long silent stare, then, "You insult me. It must be more. Look here...." And thirty minutes later I paid 50 Lira. Still more than they are probably worth. Give me a few years and I'll have them paying ME to take them.

So we signed up for a walking tour, and ended
up on a boat tour. Adventure being our middle
names, we certainly did not freak out. Instead,
we took pictures.

We never would have seen this palace
on the Asian side of the water if not for the
boat tour. As an odd fact,
The Sea of Marmara is so named for the Marble quaries.

One of the forts keeping an eye on the opposing shore.

Note the change in shape of the towers from the above
picture. The shape denotes the eras that the various
structures were built.

Most of the streets in
Old Town have cobbled
roads. Honey is waiting
for a camera crazy husband.

The feel of Istanbul, or Anatolia, or Constanople, is one
of age and new strength. Old buildings sit next to
reconstructed or brand new structures.

Aya Sophia through the Blue Mosque's arch.

In the Blue Mosque courtyard.

So while it seems like the lights are
low, they are actually at a ten or twelve
foot height. It is the height of the building
that dwarfs everything else.

The Blue Mosque earned it's nickname because of
the millions of blue ceramic tiles that decorate
the walls and ceilings.

Blue Mosque

We get to go underground!

This cistern was built around 600ad to
provide water for the nearby palace,
and to water the gardens. It is awesome big!

In the back corner of the cistern are two
Medusa heads used as
bases for columns. The stories go that
Medusa heads are to ward off bad luck.

The stories also say that the heads came from ancient
temples. By the way, now they keep carp in the
water to help keep it all clean. Genius and cool.

We bought a magic rug. No, really,
we spent two hours negotiating
a sale.

Tripping the light fantastic in the
Palace Gardens.

Riding the lion!

We never found the entrance
to the palace. But I did find... yikes!
Who is that scary person in my photo?

Aya Sophia. Once an ancient Christian church, then a
mosque. Oh, yeah, did we mention the Ottoman
history? In a simple statement, they took over, well,
many countries, killed lots of people, absorbed
science, literature, enslaved other people, invented
many things, traveled, philosophised, killed people,
and was a shiny example for both positive and negative
ruling techniques.

Aya Sophia (Sancta Sophia)- seems a lot like a fortress,
built in 537.

We needed a boot polishing.

The Galata Tower was built in 1348.
It stands on the opposite side from old Istanbul.

This column was transported
during a time when moving
such things was difficult from a
place I can't find mentioned in the
guidbooks. It has a name I can't find. It is
really tall and I can't find how tall,
and it dominates the neighborhood.

Don't know much about it. But it is
really cool.

That is the Bosphorus, a modern light house,
an old wooden building overhangning the
steeet, and modern buildings on
a cobbled street. And a pretty woman.

Only a literary geek would get his picture
taken in front of Hotel Zeugma and be
really happy about it.

This is the entrance to a great art gallery. Who
are those crazy people? Do they want our money?

The Spice Bazaar.

No really, you can buy it by the shovel-full.

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This the Grand Bazaar. It is miles and miles and miles
of shops. Never, ever, accept a first price.
For example, we bought a stained glass lamp.
The original price was 70 Lira. I started my price at
5 Lira. We got it down to 30 Lira (about $23).
I think we could have gotten it down to 15 Lira.
At any rate, this little shop was a good land mark.
We found cool shops once, and never found them
again. The place is a rabbit warren.

Grand Bazaar. The ceiling was once canvas, then wood, and later, brick.
There are cameras everywhere, even if you can't see them. It is an
odd mix of old style and cutting edge tech.

Obelisk of Theodosius; carved during the
reign of Thutmose III in Egypt and erected
at the Amon-Re temple at Karnak. We took
pictures of the temple and the place where
the obelisk once stood, when we were there
a few years ago. Theodosis brought it to
Constantinople in AD 390.

Rough Stone Obelisk, built in the 300s and
covered in bronze plates. The plates were
ripped off during the Fourth Crusade, but
the holes for the plating remain.