| Saturday
February 10th
This
proved to be a most enjoyable day. I got up early and walked the three miles or
so to Galata Bridge. The sun was strong, as was the airborne pollution, smog the
like of which I have not experienced since the early 60’s in London. It did,
however, make for some dramatic pictures.
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Gate
with bright early morning sunlight,
with
additional Smog |
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Fishing for lunch. |
As usual there was the bizarre sight of hundreds of people fishing off
the Galata Bridge in the heart of the city. The only other city in the
world that I have seen fishing taking place in the centre was
Inverness.
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| There the
water was crystal clear and salmon was the target. In Istanbul, the
water was pretty murky and most un salmon like, but three hundred
fishermen can’t be wrong. My translator in Istanbul, Erhan, confirmed to
me what was pretty obvious; that the water is badly polluted |
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This
is the Galata Tower.
Very old, but in the 'new' part
of the city. |
Onward
through the narrow streets into the labyrinth of the Grand Bazaar. This is,
effectively, a small town completely roofed in and has to be seen to be
believed. Where else can you see a whole street of gold merchants, literally
next door to each other.
Turkish carpets, (that’s no surprise) spice stores,
antiques galore, even a shop selling nautical paraphernalia, including an
ancient diving suit. |
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You want to buy a plastic torso?
No
problem.
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Aladdin woz 'ere.
and he used to wear jeans
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I
sat to watch the action on a corner with a cup of chai (tea) for 25pence, then
walked out into the warm sunshine (first time!) and through the park to Aya
Sofya, which is a simply amazing relic of early Christianity which boasted the
largest dome in the world when it was built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th
Century.
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Unfortunately, it fell down 11 years later in an earthquake, but was
then rebuilt, and was the largest domed building in the world for a further 1000
years.
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Aya Sofya has to be seen to be believed. The scaffolding
is virtually permanent, restoration is on going.
The end of the famous Orient Express line is here in
Istanbul where Europe ends and Asia starts. To enter the station is to
escape the noisy hurly burly of a 20 million inhabitant city to what
seems like a voyage in Dr. Who’s Tardis to the
early part of the last century. |
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Truly. I had an excellent lunch in the
restaurant adjoining the platform for around 8 million Turkish Lira (£6). As it
is the restaurant that the Orient Express passengers glided into following their
transcontinental journey from Paris or London, it is rather atmospheric, with
memorabilia and stills from the film(s) based on this most romantic of rail
journeys. |
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A City railway station with grass, and plantpots?
No burgers in baps here. |
