Day 140 - Istlikal - Galata Tower - SALT Galata - Sehzade Mosque - Suleymaniye Mosque
Tuesday, November 20, 2018.
Today we hang around the house in the morning. The rainy, dark days are no help in getting out of bed. Honestly, it is affecting me! I need the sunlight!
Gregory left the house around noon to go to his Rotary Meeting. He knew where it was because he had done it 16 years ago! The kids and I, left the house around 12:30 to have some fun by ourselves in Taksim Square.
First, we took somethings to the tailor to get them fixed. I manage to express what needed to be done with sign language! Then we walked down Istlikal to the Galata tower, making several stops on our way. We also found the Catholic church that we -- well, I -- had to see. Sunshine found a cute backpack.
When we made it to the Tower, instead of standing in line to pay and climb it, we went next door to the Anenom Hotel rooftop cafe that our tour guide had recommended. It was nice and fancy. Gregory caught up with us there.
Afterward, we went to see the SALT Galata, which is a cafe, library and modern art gallery nearby. Daniel wanted to stay there and just read but Gregory wanted to see the Suleymaniye mosque.
We took a taxi but Gregory told the taxi driver to drop us at another mosque we were passing because the driver was taking wrong turns and the short ride up the hill was getting expensive. You can not trust taxi drivers in Istanbul. Every time we get in one, I start to pray that things don't go wrong because Gregory uses his GPS to double check the route and tells the drivers when they go the wrong way. [Gregory's note: we really miss Uber, which is great for transparency! Taxi drivers are the last vestige of obfuscation in a digital world which is why they hate Uber. Our friend in Skopje calls them "analog lies in a digital world."]
Anyway, we walked to a large, illuminated mosque, which was beautiful but Gregory said that it was the wrong one. I went in anyway to check it out. The name of this mosque was Sehzade and it was beautiful.
Afterward, Gregory took his Google maps out and walked us to the mosque he wanted to visit, the Suleyman. He had read that it was even more beautiful than the blue mosque. It really was, and most of all, it was empty and very peaceful. Of course, by then it was 7:30pm and cold outside. We spent some time there and leafed through the free literature about Muhamad and Islam. Afterwards, we walked to the metro to go back home. I'm happy that someone is good with directions and maps because there is no way, I would have found that mosque! [Gregory's note: or the way back home, either! Lili has even accused me of spinning Taksim around.]
We had a late dinner and a good day!
Today we hang around the house in the morning. The rainy, dark days are no help in getting out of bed. Honestly, it is affecting me! I need the sunlight!
Gregory left the house around noon to go to his Rotary Meeting. He knew where it was because he had done it 16 years ago! The kids and I, left the house around 12:30 to have some fun by ourselves in Taksim Square.
First, we took somethings to the tailor to get them fixed. I manage to express what needed to be done with sign language! Then we walked down Istlikal to the Galata tower, making several stops on our way. We also found the Catholic church that we -- well, I -- had to see. Sunshine found a cute backpack.
When we made it to the Tower, instead of standing in line to pay and climb it, we went next door to the Anenom Hotel rooftop cafe that our tour guide had recommended. It was nice and fancy. Gregory caught up with us there.
Afterward, we went to see the SALT Galata, which is a cafe, library and modern art gallery nearby. Daniel wanted to stay there and just read but Gregory wanted to see the Suleymaniye mosque.
We took a taxi but Gregory told the taxi driver to drop us at another mosque we were passing because the driver was taking wrong turns and the short ride up the hill was getting expensive. You can not trust taxi drivers in Istanbul. Every time we get in one, I start to pray that things don't go wrong because Gregory uses his GPS to double check the route and tells the drivers when they go the wrong way. [Gregory's note: we really miss Uber, which is great for transparency! Taxi drivers are the last vestige of obfuscation in a digital world which is why they hate Uber. Our friend in Skopje calls them "analog lies in a digital world."]
Anyway, we walked to a large, illuminated mosque, which was beautiful but Gregory said that it was the wrong one. I went in anyway to check it out. The name of this mosque was Sehzade and it was beautiful.
Afterward, Gregory took his Google maps out and walked us to the mosque he wanted to visit, the Suleyman. He had read that it was even more beautiful than the blue mosque. It really was, and most of all, it was empty and very peaceful. Of course, by then it was 7:30pm and cold outside. We spent some time there and leafed through the free literature about Muhamad and Islam. Afterwards, we walked to the metro to go back home. I'm happy that someone is good with directions and maps because there is no way, I would have found that mosque! [Gregory's note: or the way back home, either! Lili has even accused me of spinning Taksim around.]
We had a late dinner and a good day!
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| At the tailor shop, mini place |
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| I finally got my glass of fresh squeezed orange juice! |
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| Daniel got his pomegranate juice |
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| There is a small fair going on Taksim square and we had to take this picture! |
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| The monument of the Republic |
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| Me admiring Turkish delight, yum! |
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| Sunshine proud of her nose piercing (just kidding) |
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| Explanations of how the missionaries started the church |
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| St. Anthony and a Christmas Tree feeling blue! |
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| The interior of Saint Anthony didn't have many saints or decorations |
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| Very few images in the church in general. Some of Saint Anthony's life at the entrance |
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| In honor of Pope John XXIII |
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| Admiring the beautiful pomegranates |
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| We made it to the Galata Tower |
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| The Galata Tower — called Christea Turris by the Genoese — is a medieval stone tower in the Galata/Karaköy quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn's junction with the Bosphorus.Wikipedia |
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| It was too cold to wait in line to climb the Tower but Daniel remembered the Anenom Hotel had an indoor terrace. |
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| Fountain across from the Galata Tower |
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| View from the rooftop terrace at the Anenom Hotel |
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| You see a lot of these little tables and stools in the sidewalk with men chatting and smoking. |
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