I met Xavier at breakfast and he told me his itinerary for the day. I decided to join. I went for a shower and when I was back I found Celine, Tom and Alex (Guernsey man) were also joining. Cool!
We walked to the blue mosque and the Hagia Sophia but as usual both queues were too long. Instead we wondered over to the Grand Bazaar. It was cool, but it felt too clean and ordered for me. I prefer the chaotic bazaars of Morocco and Peru. The Egyptian Bazaar had more of these vibes. Here, despite my continuing stomach issues I bought some figs stuffed with walnuts and walnuts contained in some kind of sweet gelatinous tube. I also got some roasted chestnuts. All were decent, but especially the figs.
We took a look at another, less impressive mosque. After that we crossed the bridge to another part of the European city (Galata). The underpass to the bridge had some chaotic market vibes, which I appreciated. I like this part of the city.
Once over we wondered up to the impressive Galata tower and paid the equivalent of twenty euros to get in! My funds are now running very low. The view from the top was very nice. You can see the city and the Bosphorus laid out on all sides, replete with endless mosques.
I also saw a piece of the ancient chain which was used to keep the harbour safe, and saw Xavier simulate the flight of the winged man who supposedly jumped from the tower and crossed the Bosphorus.
After the tower we wondered along the main shopping street. I picked up a sickly sweet churro type thing which leaked honey when you bit into it. We visited a nice looking catholic church. It wasn’t as impressive after all the mosques and orthodox churches I've seen. I popped into a Decathlon in search of bike boxes but was unsuccessful. Hopefully I’ll have more luck tomorrow.
We got to the end of the street and saw a monument to the republic. Here, Xavier left us. The rest of us wondered back, mostly via the river which was kept behind a security barrier for some reason… it was lovely though.
When we neared the bridge Alex and Celine picked up some cheap fish sandwiches. I was full – having also had an expensive and disappointing cheesecake by the Galata tower. I took a bite of Celine’s one. Not bad.
We re-crossed the bridge and wondered over to the Hagia Sophia. The queue was faster moving now. We got in in about 3 mins with no issues despite our short shorts – at the small mosque earlier we had had to wear shorts to cover our sexy knees.
The Hagia Sophia is my favourite mosque I’ve been to by far. It is majestic and almost intimidating. The huge, dark church-like ceilings are hung with enormous black panels adorned in Arabic. The room itself is huge. We had to leave relatively quickly as prayers began. On the way out we passed some Christian iconography. Mental.
We checked out the blue mosque on the way back. It said it was closed to visitors but on closer inspection we saw people going in through the main entrance, so we did the same. It was magnificent still, and emptier than the last time I went, but not quite as cool as the Hagia Sophia.
We got back to the hostel around 6:30 and I asked for advice on haircuts. The guy told me 250TL was a good price, and told me to go to a certain park 10 mins away. I did so. The guy charged me 500TL, which became 550TL for hair and beard, so I was a little put out. The trim was decent and I got a thorough hair, face (and ear) wash from the kid who worked there. However the shave was disappointing – just a dry shave leaving me with stubble. Not worth the price.
I got back to the hostel looking 15 years younger and my mates didn’t recognise me! The American said he didn’t make the connection until I spoke. Good stuff. We had a few beers, met a few new people then, around 11, went for some food. Chester, from the Philipines, joined us. I got a decent pizza and we shared a hookah around the table. It was a fun juxtaposition.
I have very little money left. When we got back to the hostel I could afford no more beers, so I just went to bed.
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