On my second day in Istanbul I went directly to Aya Sofya, not even stopping for pastries on the way. I had eaten cheese for breakfast again, and I was eager to get down to Sultanahmet early to make the most of my day. Aya Sofya was incredible; an immense monument built 1,400 years ago and consecrated as a cathedral before being converted to a mosque, and finally it was opened as a museum in the 1930s. The Blue Mosque with its six signature minarets was even more moving for me: inside was a great light and airy space with its beautiful ceiling and walls around the central prayer space covered with thousands upon thousands of coloured İznik tiles. Even the carpets were beautifully rich and deep, never touched by shoes.
I visited the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, which houses calligraphy, illuminated books, carpets, and other artefacts from as early as the 13th century. Next was the peculiar Basilica Cistern, whose endless columns descending from the blackness down into the silent waters below reminded me of the Chamber of Secrets. Between the Medusa head statues and my worries that a Basilisk might come gliding out from the murky depths, I wasn’t entirely sure that keeping my eyes wide open in the darkness was such a good idea.
After exploring my local neighbourhood, I walked slowly over the Galata Bridge at sunset, watching the fishermen catching mackerels. I did feel sorry for the little fishes trapped in their warm water buckets waiting to die, but they also looked delicious and I was aware that I had only had one lunch earlier. There was only one place to go: the fish docks of Eminönü. I sat with the locals eating my balık ekmek, freshly grilled fish with salad squashed into soft white bread, and drinking pickle juice with floating cornichons and cabbage.
After dinner I planned to take the ferry across to Galata instead of walking over the bridge, and I boarded one that I thought the captain had said was going to Karakoy; my end of town. I watched as Istanbul slowly drifted away into the distance, and I realised that he had said “Kadıköy”, the district on the Asian side. It was a predictable mistake to make, but not a grave one, as it meant that I had unintentionally visited three continents in two days. I stood at the stern and felt a leaping happy feeling in my chest, possibly linked to the fact that my belly was full of the delicious fishes that had recently been swimming in the deep waters below me, and I was sailing on the Bosphorus surrounded on four sides by the beautiful Istanbul skyline.
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More on Istanbul posts (chronological order):
A goddamn flight on a goddamn plane - karma strikes a rude man as I head to Istanbul
A sexual proposition and a dinner invitation in Istanbul, one of which I accepted - I eat menemen
The Third Continent - I accidentally go to Asia after dinner
The cats of Istanbul - exploring Istanbul
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| The Blue Mosque, by The Marathon Snail |
After exploring my local neighbourhood, I walked slowly over the Galata Bridge at sunset, watching the fishermen catching mackerels. I did feel sorry for the little fishes trapped in their warm water buckets waiting to die, but they also looked delicious and I was aware that I had only had one lunch earlier. There was only one place to go: the fish docks of Eminönü. I sat with the locals eating my balık ekmek, freshly grilled fish with salad squashed into soft white bread, and drinking pickle juice with floating cornichons and cabbage.
After dinner I planned to take the ferry across to Galata instead of walking over the bridge, and I boarded one that I thought the captain had said was going to Karakoy; my end of town. I watched as Istanbul slowly drifted away into the distance, and I realised that he had said “Kadıköy”, the district on the Asian side. It was a predictable mistake to make, but not a grave one, as it meant that I had unintentionally visited three continents in two days. I stood at the stern and felt a leaping happy feeling in my chest, possibly linked to the fact that my belly was full of the delicious fishes that had recently been swimming in the deep waters below me, and I was sailing on the Bosphorus surrounded on four sides by the beautiful Istanbul skyline.
______
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More on Istanbul posts (chronological order):
A goddamn flight on a goddamn plane - karma strikes a rude man as I head to Istanbul
A sexual proposition and a dinner invitation in Istanbul, one of which I accepted - I eat menemen
The Third Continent - I accidentally go to Asia after dinner
The cats of Istanbul - exploring Istanbul
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