Our day started by stepping into archeologist 'shoes' & following a trail of Byzantine arches, snatches of wall and glimpses of window. Enroute we popped into a Medrese (teaching part of Mosque) which is now artists studios, including Ahmet Sezen who is a master of inlaid mother of pearl work. The current Mosque is built onto remnants of the much earlier SS Sergius & Bacchus Church, & we noted brick work changes, & variety of tombs, as indicators to age. From here we followed the trail of the earlier church down on the other side of the railway, to the crumbling remnants now home to the cities homeless! The piece that looked like it belonged to the church....has since been spray painted with 'WC", so Trici refers to it as Sergious & Baccus WC! It wasnt safe to scramble into the ruins (more because of it's current custodians than the fragility of the building), but it was obvious the former building still wanted to be remembered.
Walking along the same road we came across the remains of the Bucoleon Palace, which had been literally on the waterfront...much likeVenician palaces. Wonderful bricked arches, snatches of marble, columns & walls, all held together by the roots of the plants around them...in fact growing over the remaining building like a protective cloak. With a little imagination we could see the grandeur & elegance of this building...and a woman standing on a balcony waving to a love sailing off into the distance! After this we went to a little cafe directly behind the remains to se the other side. The walls of the cafe were lined in kilims and carpets & the smell of past narghila smoke hung in the air. The tea actually had tea leaves in it & was very good...which makes me wonder if we have been having turkish tea bags up until now!!
Our next destination was tracking down the Corridor of Lord, & enroute we scrambled over more building debris to seek out that thin horizontal brick work that marked it as Byzantine....and now supports a growing shanty town of gypsies!The patch of 'Corridor of Lord' (the course a new Empress would walk enroute to her coronation) that we had good access to was via Asia Minor Carpets. They had invested in cleaning up, without destroying, the archeological treasure that these remains are. Wonderful vaulted ceilings & brick work, together with the tree roots making their way through, created an amazing atmosphere, it was almost possible to believe that the walls were trying to speak & tell their story.
Climbing back out into the current world, we then crossed the threshold of the VERY fancy (& pricey) Four Seasons Hotel! It was once the prison & Trici pointed out inscriptons carved into pillars by the soldiers. I wished I had crayon & paper to do a rubbing to see what it said! (Not that I would be able to read it....!) Out the window though...Byzantine wall!
From archeology to textiles & we dropped by to see Sheila, whose Dad deals in carpets & other textiles. We were looking for embroidered cloths from a group of people in Saudi Arabia. In the shop Sheila was managing for the day, there werent any, so...as seems to be the norm...she left her shop in the care of staff & walked us to her Fathers other shop, near the Grand Bazaar! We were welcomed with tea & a wonderful display of these unique cloths that are all the more special because they are not going to be made anymore! (Not sure of actual story, but have a contact to ask & find out!) They were so gorgeous I bought one. Trici was also in love with them...and continued the practice that these &
other tribal textiles here are all about...she traded! She is going to go back & draw Sheilas Dad sitting as you see him in the photo, a survivor of cancer & open heart surgery & back in his carpet shop selling carpets! There was no pressure selling here, which I appreciated, but there was the pleasure of meeting & interacting.Walking through the Grand Bazaar with someone who knows where they are going is so much smoother, albeit, we WHIZZED around I was quickly directionally disorientated. We lunched & then went visiting reputable stores; tribal jewellery saw me bring out my purse again...a pair for me & a pair for Rose. Not cheap, but good value for money.
Another store had nomadic textiles from Turkistan, Uzbekistan...all the 'stans'! I bought a few, hoping to use in my own textile work. Again this sense of taking part in history. This was the end of the silk route, this is where massive trading took place.
I was disappointed in the Suzanis. They were all extremely beautiful, but a lot of the fabrics used seemed to be synthetic. I admire the embroidery, which when I had first seem them, appeared to be applique! So, I didnt buy any of those.
From here we went through the spice Bazaar to meet Troy, a Turkish Van cat, who resides at the last stall! White & tall, he has one blue & one green eye! Turkish vans are protected from export, so here, allegedly, is the only place to spot them! He was too active to photograph & in fact...he bit Trici !
We popped into Rustem Pasha Mosque before visiting a few hans to see ancient walls & then Trici gave me a real treat. We went upstairs in this mans workshop to his equivalent of an attic, there exposed from beneath some hideous plasterwork was the remains of a frescoe . Looking at the room we could see niches in the walls & surmised that this had once been a church. The small portion of
fresco was delicate & the colour still very clear, I had to resist the urge to start tearing off plaster in the hopes of finding more! From an adjoining door, which very possibly could once have been a window we looked out over the roof tops & spotted more signs of the previous lives of buildings, which currently house cafes and cigarette rollers & printers, and where they all coexist & evolve together!A brisk walk 'home' to fresh orange juice on the rooftop, introduce Trici to husband & co & witness the seagulls making that incredible SOUND,( very much like Howler monkeys). A great way to take our shoes off, to a great day!
After saying goodbye to Trici, we made our way to the Kalamar restaurant in the 'fish restaurant capital of Istanbul', Kumkapi. We met a fellow another aussie who was travelling alone, so asked her to join us... only to discover that she is fluent in turkish! What a find that was! She interpreted menu & asked questions of the waiter for us & then gave us all sorts of recommendations as to what to try. (She is part Turkish!) The food was heavenly....best fish stew I have ever had... but the REAL treat was the gypsy bands playing in the street below. At times there were 3 of them, all competing in volume, such vibrant music, which they put genuine passion into! A late night, to a long day....but oh so worth it!
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