01 November - Thursday
Free tour today. So we’re up at 8am to get breakfast and catch the bus. First stop was the Hippodrome where the Romans had their chariot races. Only monuments left standing are the ruined roman obelisk whose brass plates were ripped off by crusaders thinking the plates were gold, the ruined serpentine column whose serpents heads were broken off by drunks in the 1700’s, and the Egyptian obelisk which is in good condition despite two thousand years and losing its original base.
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| Pigeons roosting in the old Roman obelisk |
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| Base of Egyptian Obelisk showing the Installation |
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| Closeup of Heiroglyphs |
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| Part of the tour group |
Next was the Blue Mosque -- so named for the use of blue tile throughout. It’s famous for its six minarets. When the sultan built it he came under fire for wanting six minarets when the only mosque with six minarets was found in Mecca. So the sultan fixed the problem by paying for a seventh minaret for the Meccan mosque.
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| Donation Requested |
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Aya Sophia Museum is right across from the Blue Mosque and was an architectural Byzantine wonder when it was built for Emperor Justinian back in 532 in only five years. Its soaring dome of over 182 feet has been damaged over the years by earthquakes. We heard the legend of the Angel that promised to stay and guard the church and eventually turned into a pillar which is now rubbed for good luck. Our guide was very dismissive of the superstition. We watched tourists lining up to get a chance to rub the section of the pillar that isn’t protected from being touched.
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| Remains of the older church |
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| Moslem and Christian symbols side by side |
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| Mosaic of Emperor Justinian and the Architect offering the church to the Virgin Mary and Child - 532 |
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| Part of the scaffolding work for the dome repair, couldn't fit it all in the frame. |
The guide tells us that the average Turkish man lives to 65. Living in Istanbul lowers the lifespan by 5 years, smoking another 5 years, driving in Istanbul another 5 years and having a wife another 5. Therefore the average lifespan in 45. I guess Turkish men avoid getting married rather than give up driving and smoking.
The obligatory trip to the Grand Bazaar. We watch a friend buy a couple of scarves for his daughter and have Turkish coffee.
It’s 3pm before we stop for lunch along the Bosphorus. Lunch consists of meze appetizers, fried calamari, salad, grilled chicken with mushroom sauce, pilaf, shredded carrots and squash and a 3 dessert tray -- quite a pretty presentation.
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| Local wildlife |
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Folks tell me these are Turkish dogs |
This looks like a Turkish "kedi" to me |
Earl’s quite content to skip dinner but we get a call from his friend, Bob, so we’re went off for tea and rice pudding. Earl still ended up getting tripe soup.