Istanbul

I enjoyed my last breakfast as "The Sultan" and afterwards, saw Topkapi Palace which was impressive. The Harem was the most visually interesting. It had more of the Iznik tiles than anywhere else; the designs were more intricate; and the colors were brighter. They also had some celadon and blue and white porcelain from China on display because Istanbul is on the silk road and the Ottomans liked this style of Chinese pottery. They liked it so much that they sometimes had pottery made just for them in China.

During the Ottoman reign, visiting dignitaries from countries and empires brought silver and gold models of buildings as gifts and there was an impressive stash of bejeweled items--thrones, clothing, the Topkapi Dagger, etc.

Still, the bright tiles stood out, particularly the ones toward the end of the Harem tour. Also, the green, yellow, blue, and white tiles in the viewing room where the Sultan took visitors and viewed the gifts were especially beautiful. The green was a spring green. The stained glass and ceiling paintings in the back of Harem were wonderful. There were four stained glass windows with red bouquets of flowers and the ceilings were covered with a geometric bow-tie pattern in red and gold.

After the Topkapi tour, I got the Akbil figured out and used it to take the tram up to Kabatas. Then, I walked near Dolmabahçe Palace but passed on that tour in favor of a walk up the hill to where a sky lift crossed the road near the Hilton. Then I walked up the side of Nisantasi--the area mentioned in the Pamuk book Istanbul: Memories and the City.

At a busy 4-way intersection, in Ninsantasi I saw the beginnings of an ominous disagreement when a traffic cop awkwardly rode his motorcycle on to the sidewalk narrowly missing a young woman and her child. When an older man driving a truck yelled at the cop for being so careless, another young cop standing nearby started to yell at the truck driver and blow his whistle. I was worried that it was going to escalate, and that the truck driver would be pulled from the cab and beaten for mouthing off to the cops. It felt weird, so I kept moving.

I saw the outside of Tesvikiye mosque but did not enter since I was outside the tourist area and I started to feel a little like an intruder. I took a lunch break in the square near Tesvikiye and noticed a Microsoft building nearby which made me feel less out of place.

After a çay, I caught the tube back downhill and then caught the tram back to Emminonu for a ferry ride to Haydarpaşa where I hopped off to view the little ferry terminal there and to check train times to Ankara or Iznik. While I was at the ticket counter asking about times, an old man and young boy got in a fistfight, and I got the hell out of there when the old man started vigorously slapping the boy. Everyone else there stayed out of it too.

Then I proceeded to the next stop--Kadiköy. It was getting dark, so I took the boat back to Emminonu where I had hazel nuts and a bread ring (Simit) soaked with honey.