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Published: October 7th 2013
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Well today was an interesting day....
Started out pretty normal... Sunny and hot today - good change from yesterday 😊 we started off at the Blue Mosque, although we just stayed on the grounds.. We are going to go back later when we are dressed more appropriately... in order to enter a mosque, arms and legs must be completely covered, and women must wear a headscarf. The headscarves were available at the entrance, however we were both wearing shorts, so we decided we would come back later. Quite a spectacular building - can't wait to see it inside!
Over across the street to Aya Sophia - built in 537 AD by Justinian I as a Christian Basilica - the forth largest in the world I might add... the building has seen several additions, conversions and restorations but still preserving the original grandeur. The Church became a Mosque probably in the 1500's sometime, and in 1934 it became a museum. The building itself is absolutely incredible! It was most certainly an awe inspiring experience for myself... a 1500 year old building that has survived earthquakes, conquests and the test of time. The interior artwork tells the story of the Aya
Sophia, as remnants of the Christian Mosaics are uncovered and juxtaposed against Islamic symbollogy... all I can say is wow!
After Aya Sophia, we took the metro to the Spice Bazar again - this time I wasn't dying from an allergy attack! We strolled through the fragrant marketplace - wishing to God that we didn't have our bikes and I could have done some shopping.... A huge bag of Saffron for $7.50! How can you beat that?
After the spice Bazaar, Barry was or course hungry, and wanting to eat some fish from a restaurant under the bridge. Yes you heard right - restaurant under the bridge. Ok it wasn’t as rustic as I thought it would be... we actually ate a fairly decent meal - fresh fish, and free beer! How can you go wrong?
After lunch, here's where the fun starts... Apparently the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is having some sort of summit in Istanbul this week and attracting a lot of protesters. Well the area they are meeting in happens to be quite close to a well-known tourist shopping strip. We were walking along, walked by a water cannon, police in riot gear, and
a police helicopter, but didn't see anything happening so we carried on... WE walked by some banks that had their windows smashed and then saw some reporters carrying gas masks... that’s when we started getting a bit concerned. A few minutes later, our eyes teared up and it was hard to breathe... apparently the protesters had moved into the vicinity where we were and the police had used tear gas on them. We took refuge in a bookstore, where a young Turkish girl was nice enough to explain what was going on... We went back to the hotel shortly after 😊
On our way back, we stopped at the Roman Cisterns - built in around the same time as the basilica by Justinian I, they date back to the mid 500's... Just incredible - I've tried to attach some pictures - I hope they work.
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