Day 2 Mosques and Bosphorus cruise
A much longer itinerary today than we had imagined!
Viking had about 13 large coaches ferrying people everywhere. I'd had no idea of their scale of their operation. First to Hagia Sophia mosque. We'd overlooked doing this today, so I was inapropropiately dressed and had to buy a Tyvek coverall suit (!) -very inelegant, to enter the mosque.
Our Viking guide, Kenan, a local, vibrant and tall young man, was exceptionally well informed on the detail of the very close connection of Islam and Christianity at the foundation of Islam and delivered his knowledge at good speed in a clear voice with, leaving no doubt in his mind of how early Islam has been reinterpreted and changed into the monstrous movements like Isis etc. He clearly had respect for both original beliefs.
The crowds were intense, he moved fast-we got separated a few times. looking for his orange umbrella marked '8' - our coach number.
Haggia is a good name for the mosque -in need of restoration , it looks a bit 'haggard'On to the Blue Mosque where it really was shoes off, legs and arms covered etc. Interior much better preserved but very dark and huge crowds.
On to the great 'Cistern' under the city, built by the Romans, about AD 400 I think, for water storage , it comprises 360 huge columns with an intentionally inverted Medusa Head at each base. some superstition thing.
Staggering engineering achievement. All columns , many decorated, were 'cannibalised' from other monuments in Rome
On to the cruise on a weird converted ferry, 'Le vapeur magique' with hundreds of others for a sit-down lunch with dozens of bowls and bits of pastried things etc. No real sightseeing.
Then on to the 'markets' --Grand Bazaar and Spice markets, which I particularly wanted to see. I had imagined it as a sort of cross between Petticoat Lane in London and a covered night market in Hong Kong. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was like a cross between the QVB in Sydney and Harrods in London- a labyrinth of tunnels with spectacularly illuminated 'caves' of shops stacked to the ceiling with goods at fancy prices. Males dominate shopkeeping. Over age about thirty, even mild mannered Middle Eastern males can unintentionally appear intimidating and domineering, so standing in that pose at the shop entrance hardly encourages buying -as if they are saying 'step in here and I'll bash you up until you buy something! A mix with females would be much better and some shops had got the message and were better patronised.
Then on again to a fancy mall where we were lead into a Turkish carpet shop, seated in a large bare room with tea to drink while a couple of male flunkies threw, flung or spun carpet after carpet onto the floor to our (feigned) admiration. "No obligation buy" the nice friendly man said, as non-buyers were asked to leave the room, so I got straight up and went out but Mary didn't, so I was called back , by a different man- to see what my wife had 'supposedly 'chosen .
A very attractive, small carpet of birds for A$480, I had no trouble at all showing sincere and terminal disaffection, so we got lead straight out and into a really fancy silver shop, where I really snapped and demanded to be shown the outside door.
Back to our hotel. We were amazed at our own endurance through it all and didn't feel at all exhausted, so changed and walked back to the final night of the Adana markets festival and had another kebab and bits from a stall, amid the barbeque smoke and crowds of families all eating there and apparently enjoying the weird and raucous rythyms of the street musicians.
We slept well.
