Wednesday June 20 in Istanbul

The boys and I went for a walk down to Sultanamet. Our apartment is in Beyoglu, and we see Sultanamet from our balcony across the Golden Horn and the Galata Bridge. It is an unimaginable view. Sultanamet looks quite distant but can be easily reached in a walk of less than one half hour. It is the land of the sultans, holding the original palace of the sultans, called Topkani Palace. It is also the location of the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Sultanamet Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul University, the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar.
We went by Hodjapasha Cultural Center to buy tickets for the traditional Turkish dance show for the following night. After buying tickets, the boys and I had some tea and Fanta in the alley next to the cultural center and played some tavlah (backgammon). It was very relaxing and fun to watch the activities on the alley. We saw barbers meticulously shaving guys with straight razors. We saw guys closing their little stores where they sold a limited genre of items, like brooms and mops. We saw guys delivering tea to the various shops using the old style tea trays.
After playing tavlah for awhile, we walked to the spice bazaar to buy a couple of gifts. I saw some Muslim women with veils, eating ice cream by discreetly lifting their veils to get a taste.
Apparently the bazaar closes around 7 and the shop owners were eager to make sales at closing time. We were able to negotiate some fair deals on some gifts.
We then walked from the spice bazaar to an area where olives and cheese were being sold by the pound. The prices here were much less than the retail up in Beyoglu. We bought a pound of olives for the equivalent of $1.75. Needless to say, these were of the type olives we might pay $9.00 a pound for at home. We got baklava for 25 lira (about $14) a kilo (2.2 pounds). It was selling for 40 to 50 lira a kilo elsewhere in the city. The baklava comes in many forms and is chock full of pistachios. Excellent!
We walked across the Galata Bridge as the sun set, watching the fishermen fish and the kids try to hustle bottles of water. Troy bought 6 pairs of "izod" socks for 5 lira. We headed up the Tunel funicular to the eternal busyness of Istiklal.
We went to dinner at a little hole in the wall where we sat in the small street and were fed a feast of grilled chicken, chicken wings, lamb and the ground beef kebab, all cooked meticulously over a small charcoal grill until perfectly cooked and yet moist. The meat was served with an array of tomatoes (grilled and raw), onions (grilled and raw), small pickled peppers, flatbread and a spicy hand chopped relish of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. We enjoyed tea as we dodged the rear view mirrors of cars driving through the narrow alley.
On the walk back, Fariba had some of the famous trick ice cream. She played along although by now she was fully familiar with the tricks of the ice cream hustlers. Darius had a waffle filled with strawberries and other fruit, a real value at 7 lira. We made our way back to the apartment and slept good.

Sunday June 10 in Istanbul

On Sunday we slept until noon. We. Getup, moving slowly but aided by the strong Turkish coffee that I made on our little Italian Moka pot coffee maker. It is a simple little device that forces steam through the coffee and gives it a tremendous flavor. After some coffee, we headed to Ficcin, a neighborhood restaurant recommended by our landlord. The food was excellent. I had roasted sea bass that was superb. Price was about $12. Would probably pay about $23 at least in US. We had an excellent pudding dessert. From here, we walked to the Tunel, a funicular that goes to the Galatsaray Bridge. We charged up a computer chip that we are able to use to pay for transit. At the bottom we walked across the bridge and into Sultanamet. As we crossed the bridge, we saw a couple of hundred guys fishing. We noticed that they kept pulling up their bait and had 10 or so bait fish hooked up and down the line. After a few more minutes we realized these were not Baitfish but the actual fish they were catching. They were catching them 10 at a time and these are the fish we are seeing at streetside restaurants and where the fish are deep fried and you eat the fish whole. Underneath the top part of the bridge is a lower part upon which numerous fish restaurants are located. Upon reaching the other side, we saw the huge "new mosque" that was built in the 1700's. Our original goal was to go to Topkapi Palace but we realized it was too late as it closes at 4. Instead we walked to the Hoca Posa Cultural Center and bought tickets to see the whirling dervishes later on at 7:30. After buying the tickets we walked through a maze of streets, fending off the restaurant guys who wanted us to come to their restaurant. We eventually made it to the grounds in front of the Haghia Sofia, the world's most famous mosque. A helpful fellow approached us as Fariba bought a big chunk of watermelon. He told us that the Blue Mosque would close for prayer soon and we should go there now if we wanted to see it. He walked with us as we walked the plaza between the two massive mosques. We quickly learned that he is a rug salesman and he was trying to steer us to his rug shop after we saw the mosque. He told us he would wait outside. We decided we needed to shake him. At the mosque, we took off our shoes and put them into the plastic bags provided. We walked inside and placed our shoes on the rack. The inside of the mosque is astounding and I have attached pictures. After being at the mosque we slipped out another door but found the rug salesman waiting. He had outsmarted us. But Troy gave him a look that said "we are not buying anything" and the guy humbly walked away. We walked the plazas and the site of the hippodrome, a stadium that existed 2000 years ago and held 100,000 people. Only some columns remain. We then walked back down the busy street where the tram runs and found place to sit and for Fariba and Troy to have a beer. Fariba had spotted it earlier for its comfortable kilim covered seats. She made a great call on this one. There was live music and the band came over and played happy birthday to Darius as it was his 15th birthday. We enjoyed drinks and nargile (hookah) and left at the last minute for the dervish show. The dervish show is in an old hammani that has been converted to a performance space that holds about 200 people. The show starts with Turkish music and then the audience is urged no applause or noise as this is a religious ceremony. The Sufis begin to whirl and it is mesmerizing. No photos are allowed. Suffice it to say, it was an intense ceremony. From here, we caught the tram to the top of the hill where I had seen a rooftop Restaurant overlooking the Sea of Mamara and the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sofia. We found the hotel that was funnily named the Lady Diana Hotel. We went up the elevator and found an incredible space with an unbelievable view. The food was reasonably priced and excellent. On the tram home, we saw our waiter and our chef and Fariba conversed with the waiter in Spanish as he spoke better Spanish than English. We eventually got a cab as the Tunel was closed and we got to our apartment where we slept very good! For videos, see www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone