The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Under and Over

The original plan was to take a boat ride on the Bosphorus today ... but that got scrapped early on. We didn't realize how tired we were from all the walking we did yesterday and agreed neither of us had the energy to find our way down to the ferry terminal and try to figure out the boat schedules. Neither task is that complicated ... and we will likely work it in before we leave ... just not today.

I mentioned that our base in Istanbul, the Acra Hotel, is within easy walking distance of the Blue Mosque. What we didn't realize until we went down to breakfast this morning (two floors lower than the street level) is that the hotel was built over what was the foundation of Emperor Constantine's 200,000 square foot palace. (It was good to be the emperor!)


I thought the Basilica Cistern would be something worth seeing. Maybe I was still picturing tales of foreign intrigue in Istanbul. It was, in fact, a location for part of the James Bond movie, "From Russia With Love." No cloaks or daggers in evidence but it was delightfully cool two stories underground. This huge cistern dates back to the sixth century AD and since it was built on the site of an earlier basilica ... well, you get the story behind the name. 336 columns, mostly scavenged from earlier Roman ruins, support the brick roof. There are a few feet of water in the bottom of it -- rainwater that leaks in -- and quite a few fish. The cafe near the exit was unexpected and a wee bit creepy.

After a lingering lunch waiting for the Blue Mosque to re-open, we finally got our chance to see it. We have been used to seeing it from the front (or what I have come to think of as the front) but an aerial shot from right side shows how close all this is to the Bosphorus. This is a functioning mosque so there are strict dress codes for both men and women. Women must cover their heads, shoulders and legs, no shorts for the men. They provide drapes for those improperly attired ... but we came prepared.



This is a massive building and there is no way to adequately capture it in one photo, but these should at least provide an idea of what it was like inside.


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