Election Day in Turkey . . . the streets are empty and it is a good day to take a taxi or a bus, as there is relatively little traffic on the roads. Usually it is very crowed, and every journey takes 4X longer than it should.
Today we head home to the USA. . . One last breakfast at Divan City Istanbul, check on the job site, see one last site of Istanbul and a little shopping, then off to the airport for our flight to JFK in NYC.
Divan City ~ our home away from home for the last month . . . the front lobby . . .
Looking through the lobby to the dining room . . .
Luc ready to go!
The head waiter, ready for breakfast . . .
The outdoor bar area . . .
And we are off by taxi, with all the luggage, to the Divan Taksim, to check on the work site and pack the tools.
Luc hanging out, while we check on the various projects, and take last minute photographs . . .
Luc was very glad the project was complete . . . and that we were heading home to today!
We headed to the spice market, but only the pet market and garden center outside, with vendors selling seeds and plants and animals . . . This bird was getting some free seed!
We went in to the Mausoleum of Turhan Hatice Valide Sultan, mother of Mehmet IV; this mausoleum (turbe) holds the graves of the Valide Sultan Turhan Hadice, her son Mehmet IV as well as five later sultans (Mustafa II, Ahmet II, Mahmut I, Osman III and Murat V) and various members of the court . . . There are such beautiful tiles on the walls . . . it is stunning . . .
Looking at the New Mosque from the street . . . We did not go in this mosque . . .
Beautifully carved building . . . very ornate . . . but I do not know what it is . . .
Kathy and Robert wanted to go and Hagia Sophia, but there was an enormous line . . . probably tourists of the many cruise ships that were in port . . . so they decided to leave it for their next trip to Istanbul, and come explore Ayasofya Camii . . . so we walked through the old streets from the bazaar, stopping to buy some beautifully ornate ceramic bowls, Turkish Delight, Apple Tea and other treasures on our way . . .
SS. Sergius and Bacchus' Church, commonly referred to as "Little Hagia Sophia" was built in 527. Ingenious and highly decorative both inside and out, it is one of the city's most charming architectural treasures. An irregular octagon of columns on two floors supports a broad central dome composed of 16 vaults. Most of the mosaic decoration has long since crumbled away, but the green and red marble columns, the delicate tracery of the capitals, and the carved frieze running above the columns are original. This church was converted to a mosque in 1453 after the conquest of Istanbul. This was my favorite place . . . and I was so glad I got there in my last hours in Istanbul . . .
Look how worn the steps to the second floor are . . .
The inscription on the frieze is boldly carved Greek script . . .
(Double click to enlarge the photo to see the Greek script.)
Various scarves for visitors to wear when visiting the mosque . . .
This gentleman was the caretaker, or at least on duty, when we were there. He was most appreciative of my 5TL donation, about $3 USD; it must take so much money to keep these antiquities in good condition to preserve them for generations to come . . .
Putting on our shoes after leaving the interior of the mosque . . .
A little tea shop with soft seating in the courtyard of the mosque . . .
and two men enjoying the Sunday morning . . .
As we headed back to the hotel, we passed this calligrapher's shop. I was so intrigued, but time was running out before we had to head to the airport, I could not linger long . . .
Last outside shots of the Divan Taksim, as we headed in the Havas bus to the airport . . .
One last crossing of the Bosphorus . . .
and a view of Hagia Sophia on the left, and the Blue Mosque with its six minarets on the right . . .
and to the airport ~ through security, although Robert had a butter knife left over from a picnic, that brought him through airport scrutiny . . . and then he found these sunglasses and was modeling them . . .
We met up with Christine and Penny, as they were waiting for their 5:10 flight to Amsterdam, and we were waiting for our 5:15 flight to New York . . . All went smoothly and on time . . . and off to the USA from our month stint in Turkey. . . What a wonderful journey of exploration of a muslim country. We should all be so lucky to understand the various religions and people of the world . . . Thank you for this experience . . .
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