ISTANBUL TUESDAY

ISTANBUL

Tuesday Sept 27

Today we were on the road again by 9 and on the ferry by 9:30.  We counted 7 cruiseships in the harbor and knew this was not going to end well. We headed for the Hagia Sofia.  There were a gazillion people and the line wrapped around the block. So off we go to the Blue Mosque.  There were 2 gazillion people and little tour guide thingys sticking up everywhere.

Hagia Sofia

these are just a few of the signs sticking up at the blue mosque

We did not even begin to fight these crowds and headed out.  There was a very short line to the catacombs so we went in.  It was cool. They piped water in from 19 km and stored it here a long, long time ago.  There are fish in the water now. Also, you can dress like a Sultan or Sutanite and get your picture taken or you can have a cup of coffee.

watering hole

cafe

 This is pretty historical to me, but no one else cared.

This is were all distance was measure from in the Byzantine empire. Just like that spot in Notre Dame in Paris.

No one cared about her either. 

 far from the blue mosque and the tourist

 Nobody cared about these guys and they were Sultans too

The famous "grand bazaar"

Mostly tacky tourist trash

Back out shopping with the real people

Vicki wants a second wedding

Guess what you are getting for christmas

fortune teller

This lady sold pigeon food, but the wind was blowing so hard, 20mph, that when she filled her tins, tons of seeds blew on the ground and the pigeons did not have to beg from the tourist.

as seen on the ferry. he demonstrated his easy juicer.

This guy dives in that cold water every day and pulls up mussels. We stop and say hello to him and his fishing buddies everyday. We took the mussel picture first and then the fisherman said, in english "how about us".  The 20-30mph wind has kept them on land for 3 days