Tom and Sarah decided to break out the map and become our navigators for the afternoon. They knew we were going to venture deep into the city and decided to actively plot our course. Which turned out great for Hailey and I because our only responsibility was to eat roasted chestnuts and take photos. Gotta love that!
Our first stop for roasted chestnuts.
Yeni Cami Square is similar to San Marco square in that they have loads of pigeons and various vendors selling bird feed. The girls loved feeding and chasing the pigeons around. I did find that these pigeons were not as aggressive as those in Venice. In fact they seemed a bit snobby and were not very interested in perching on anyone.
More Roasted Chestnuts! Yum!
Deep in the heart of Istanbul
The Rustem Pasa Mosque was by far my favorite Mosque in Istanbul and it was only by chance that we stumbled upon it. We had been walking down some small, but busy alley ways when I decided to pop in and take a look. It had the most beautiful blue tile interior that I'd ever seen. It has a one central dome and a single minaret that arose amidst the shops and storehouses near the Spice Bazaar. It lies deep within the busiest commercial center in the city, together with the Stileymaniye Mosque on the slope behind. I was truly amazed when I found out the mosque was built in 1561 for the Grand Vizier Riistem Pasa. I loved the spiraling staircases in which you had to climb to reach the main door which was set above a row of shops and the courtyard is actually a small terrace covered by five small domes. Looking down from the terrace you can see all sorts of haggling and small deals going on between the locals. The entrance and the small, but attractive interior are decorated with the finest examples of Iznik tiles in Turkey. The geometrical and leaf and flower motifs on the tiles give the interior a colorful flower garden appearance. I also found out that the embossed coral-red color was only used for a short time in the 16th century wich makes this mosque even more of a special find.
Look at all the Beautiful Blue Tiles!
Locals wheeling and dealing behind the scenes.
After checking out the mosque we decided to head down some small alleys and do a little shopping. It seemed as thought every Turk was out and about. The streets were full of people trying to haggle over various goods. They had loads of knock offs from various designers as well as sunglasses, purses, and perfume.
After that we landed upon the local food market which was full of beautiful fruits and vegetables, bread, olives, and various types of fresh fish. Then once again before you knew it we were back into the heart of clothing district again. It was a bit crazy how all the streets seemed to look alike and were intertwined among each other like a series of mazes. There were huge crowds of people and lots of stimuli. It was also very loud as each shop keeper yelled some sort of sales pitch to get you to look at their goods... It was defintely not the best situation for the fearful at heart, but we totally loved all the hustle and bustle and excitement. Just when our two navigators, Tom and Sarah, thought as though we might want to turn around and head back toward the square we noticed the maze of streets had landed us right on the door step of the Grand bazaar. What luck! and an amazing cultural experience too boot! We then decided to go back to our hotel, drop of our many great finds, and chill for a bit on the terrace until it was time to head out for some dinner.
More Turkish Delight!
People selling carpets off the street. Look at the cats... Turks love cats they were all over the place.
A woman weaving a silk carpet.
Very narrow streets.
Look at the huge crowds!
The condition of the streets were horrible. Just like Thailand!
The back door of the Grand bazaar... this is where the locals shop!
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