"Big Trouble"

I had several things I wanted to accomplish on Saturday.  I stopped in for a cup of tea (everyone offers you tea) with Imit.  He showed me some very beautiful rugs, but they are not on the itinerary for this trip.  However, I will say this, the prices here are far below US prices and that includes shipping to the US.  There was no pressure here either.  I like that.  It was mostly just looking at beautiful pieces of art and talking.  If you are looking for a rug, I know where to go (and I'm not on commission)!  After this,     I decided to tour the museum of Islamic Art which featured a beautiful collection of things from early Islam.  Everything was here from stone carvings and road markers, to pottery and raku, calligraphy and fantastic carpets that were intact after hundreds of years: testament to their durability.  The museum also featured presentations on traditional vegetable dyes and where particular colors in rugs come from.O Other sections featured designs associated with various tribes.  It's hard for us to think this way, but these amazing rugs are a not only a form of artistic expression for these illiterate peoples, but a way of telling stories.  The ethnographic section described the various tribes and their traditional, nomadic practices.  This provided a great perspective on the peoples in this part of the world.  

After this, I went to an underground cistern that my friend Bill Crane had told me about.  Created in the 6th century, this cistern holds thousands of gallons of water and features several hundred pillars that were brought to the city while Hagia Sophia was under construction.  One of the reasons the great church was built so quickly was that some of the materials were literally recycled!  Many of the pillars in Hagia Sophia were brought from other demolished buildings from even more ancient parts of the world.  The left over pillars were used in this cistern.  Some 15 meters below the street, the huge cistern is dark and mysterious with water dripping down as you move through the dimly lit passageways.  Carp move through the water slowly beneath your feet and the whole place is lit in a deep orange/red color.  Soft, echoing flute music reminiscent of an ancient Greek aulos add to the effect and it's pretty creepy.  In addition, two pillars in the northwest corner feature the carved face of Medusa.  As close to Halloween as I will get while I am here!  

After returning to the surface, I headed for the spice market.  On my way there I encountered a large crowd and as I got closer, I saw a policeman in a bomb suit.  "Big Trouble" a vendor told me, "bomb".  I decided to find another route.  I saw that the perpetrators were captured on TV, but nothing exploded thank goodness!  I found a much safer route that took me to the waterfront again where I found literally HUNDREDS of fishermen along the mouth of the Bosphorus.  The esplanade was bustling with activity as people made their way home.  the snacks I see eaten most here are roasted chestnuts (everywhere), roasted ears of corn (also everywhere) and a sandwich that people were jostling for around stalls set up around the waterfront.  Called "Balik" , it consisted of a small, grilled fish put between two big halves of crusty bread with onions and lettuce.  That's it.  I did not try one yet, but it is on my list!  Instead, I watched two young boys about 6 years old throwing small bits of bread over a rail so that they would hit people on the head as they were coming up out of the subway.  I busted them by laughing at what they were doing and they grinned sheepishly.

I went next to the spice market and as you might imagine, it was astounding.  Filled mostly with local people, it was a madhouse of spices, produce, meats, poultry and fish.  There were also people selling toys and nuts, wallets, you name it.  I stopped at a place and had a piece of Turkish delight which was given to me by the vendor.  It was delicious and reminded me of the stuff we get at home around Christmas.   I stayed here until the market closed and began to make my way home past the mosques which were just opening for evening prayer around 7:45.  I stopped by a crowded vendor for a sandwich.  What I ended up with was interesting.  It basically said "hot dog" of some sort.  The vendor brought a wiener out of a vat of reddish water and placed it in a bun.  Then he stuck it inside a panini press and grilled it flat.  He then removed it and put french fries and pickles in it and then squirted ketchup and mayo on it.  Finally, he stuck a tiny, plastic cocktail fork in it to eat the fries with...  It was weird, but mildly filling.

As I walked home, I bought two tiny pieces of pistachio balkava.  It was delicious and very sweet.  The perfect redemption for a day of mediocre meals.  This was the real deal.  I took photos all they way home and called it a night.  I will have to go out for music another evening. I ended the day by watching Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina play football on TV.  In case you are interested, Turkey won 2-1.