On our second day in Istanbul, we decided to visit the Grand Bazaar  a huge warren of arch ceilinged passages  with a vast variety of jewellery,textiels and carpets ceramics   a few teas and spices  Much of it expensive, some intersting and some not very good  and some of it excellent  The alleys we followed behind the bazaar were full of wholesalers selling textiles and clothing … …  small “hole in the wall” places for a take out lunch we could see rice, chickpeas, and chicken  Lynne (an ex jeweller) was fascinated to find this man breaking up old broken bits. She bought two interesting pieces for 15 TLira.  Turkish variety of “Car” seats for children  Down the steep hill in the scarf & textile area  Some incredible old buildings with modern shops beneath  Here you could buy underwear: 4 vests for 4 TL, or a wedding gown, or baby clothes
Or dress your children as Pashas  We loved the Hil FIGER  blue jeans Three billy goats gruff  Lynne was taken by these beautiful bejewelled fabrics which you sew onto an evening dress to turn it into something spectacular and couture. We did not ask the price The New Mosque and the unpleasant restaurant where we had an indifferent lunch.  When we checked our map we were amazed how far we had walked  The food was ordinary, the service appalling  We asked for chicken doner kebabs, we got the expensive ‘undone’ version. The chicken and the chips were dried out and tasteless. We called for yoghurt and chilli to add some moisture and flavour and made up our own. They sneakily added (and took) service to the bill which we did not want to pay. If only we had the right change… The Istanbul Commodity Exchange in a very old building  We found the dock side and a view of the ferries and the bridge  The Galata Tower from our afternoon Bosphorous ferry trip. We were on a ferry very similar to this one. Beware of ticket touts who charge 50 TL pp to go on a small rickety ferry.  The official ferry cost just 12TL pp for a 2½ hr trip The Bosphorus is extremely busy with ferries and barges and huge ships   Boarding the ferry Lots of international tourists on board  Old and modern are mixed in Istanbul  The ferry made one stop at the Bosphorus Bridge which is right in front of a mosque  We thought this huge ship was going to collide with us but she turned fast  The Maidens Tower  Sleeping on the way back  We went quite a long way up the Bosphorus and saw the smaller expensive ferries alongside us We next took the trolley up the hill to the Blue Mosque Magnificent minarettes Waiting till prayers are over at 5.30 in the central courtyard The main Dome The blue stained glass windows and the huge ‘elephants feet’ support pillars   A detail shot of some of the beautiful blue tiles. More details. This was built in  It is very dark inside the mosque at 5.30 but John’s camera does capture the blue light, and two young local lasses  The magnificent stained glass windows  And Lynne being respectful  Haghia Sophia, built as   a church by Justinian in 532-537, it was the most important church in Christianity for 1000 years, then became a mosque, now is a museum. It closed as we got there; we have to return.   A local crow, we think   Local stray dogs are tagged and left to fend for themselves, as are the many cats. It broke our hearts, some of these are pedigree dogs Afternoon nap  They are everywhere  Into the Cisterns, built by Emperor Justinian 527-565   Magnificent domed roof and a selection of different columns to support it, with the water for the city below The water is full of koi and other fish, coins thrown by visitors and is very clear  The lighting is superb but John’s camera adds light, it is actually much darker than this  Justinian obviously reused older statues and columns. This is one of 2 medusa heads he used as a column suppprt   Being ambushed into a carpet sellers dungeon, we were not the only customers  The psychology used is clever and persuasive, unless you have experienced it before, as Lynne has. She enjoyed the apple tea and the sit down very much and resisted all temptation  The tram is modern, fast and quiet  Walking from the tram back to our apartment area, lots of street life   We could not resist this local baker selling interesting local savoury and sweet pastries. We bought some meat stuffed borek and the cheesy pasta on the right which we thought was a cheese pie. Neither were great, sadly Small roadside restaurant seating, not at all tempting. We had a take away chicken at home, quite exhausted from the huge range we covered   Â© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

[Author: John, Lynne Ford]