Hidden Beautiful Places

Tuesday Walker and I took the metro across the Golden Horn to Sultanahmet. After a bit of wandering, we found the entrance for Basilica Cistern. This is a definite must-see for Istanbul. It's a subterranean structure, so it could easily be overlooked. The cistern held water for the Topkapı palace, where the Sultan lived, and many other residents in the surrounding area during the Byzantine period. The lighting they have installed gives a great atmosphere.

Most of the columns' capitals were decorative corinthian order, but some were plain doric.

The water was very shallow, but there were still a good bit of fish.
Most looked like catfish.

This was the only column that was different. It was kind of eerie.
Towards the back of the cistern are two Medusa's heads, one upside-down and one sideways.

Next we went to Hagia Sophia. The mosque looks large from the outside, but its vastness isn't really understood until you are inside looking up to the large domed ceiling. The scale is something hard to capture in pictures.

On the grounds outside the entrance were lots of pieces that I figure used to belong to the church.

The entrance...

The main dome.

This is where the Sultan would sit.
The mirhab.

The minbar.
The upstairs level...



Looking down to the ground level.
You can see the part where the plaster has been chipped away to reveal the mosaics underneath.
This tiny cross was etched in the wall. There were others, but they had been filled in.
One of the large, partial mosaics.
Another, more complete, mosaic.
Trying to give an idea of the full specturm. Too bad the scaffolding was up.
The ceiling as you exit.

Last night, Walker's last night, we went to eat at Zencefil. I read about it on the NY Times website and found several other positive reviews. It is nearby, down one of the first side-streets off of Iştiklal. We never would have found it if we didn't know where to look. The interior is great. The are we sat in had a glass roof, like a green house. Everything on the menu looked good, some Turkish cuisine, but mostly not. I had quiche and pumpkin pie for dessert. Walker had chicken and leek casserole and cheesecake. The price was good, I thought. About 11 YTL for each of our entrees.

Walker got safely on the last shuttle to the airport at 1:00 am. His flight left at 5:35 am this morning (Istanbul time), and he'll arrive in Atlanta at 2:00 pm (ATL time, but 9:00 pm here). What a long day!

Time for me to get ready for the day. I slept in a bit late after being up to see Walker off.