Biking on the Princes Islands

Our last day in Istanbul! The items on our list of activities and sights were being readily checked off. We had a few museums identified for rainy days, if needed, and a biking adventure to the nearby Princes Islands. Our final day turned out to be a gloriously sunny, pleasantly warm day. We skipped the museums and went biking instead. I know, that is difficult to predict or understand. The ferry boat there stopped about four times as it visited the Asian side and then three of the islands. We got off on the largest island, found a place to rent some bikes, pedaled around the island for about an hour, and then found another place for tea and backgammon - it was a theme by this time. Now, I'm finishing the blog on the ferry boat staring out at the clear, blue Marmara Sea, surrounded by the city of Istanbul and the forested Princes Islands. It's been quite an adventure, as the over 600 pictures document. The weather has been perfect, the people friendly, and of course, my traveling companion has continued to fill my life with meaning and fun. 

Cooking Class

In planning activities for Istanbul, Martha had found a nearby cooking school and arranged for us to take a class. We met our instructor on Istiklal Street about 20 minutes from our room. He greeted us and then collected the other students for our class. There were 11 of us altogether - 3 Dutch women, one Canadian woman, and the rest of us from the US. There was one other guy, in addition to our instructor. Our class started with a walking tour of a local market area, where fresh fish, spices, and vegetables were available. As he described the foods, we were offered samples to taste. Many of the items that we had seen on menus were clarified for us. One of the most unique items was chili paste. It is very similar in consistency to tomato paste, but made from chili peppers instead - quite spicy. The mounds of spices were incredible to see and imagine the hundreds of little tiny bottles that could be filled from the spice mound and sold at Safeway for $5 or more each. Our instructor bought the ingredients that we would use to cook our dinner that evening. 

At his cooking classroom/yoga studio, he asked us about our culinary experiences in Turkey so far - we mentioned the turnip juice - and answered questions that we had. Then he started explaining Turkish food cultures as they related to social and geographic elements. The three cultures that he described were kebab culture, fish culture, and the royal (Ottoman) culture. Kebab culture comes from southeastern Turkey - bordering Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is focused on roasted meats and is very spicy. The fish culture is from the Aegean and Marmara Sea areas. Besides fish, its focal food is called meze, which is somewhat similar to Spanish tapas, small dishes of food intended to be served cold. The third cuisine was the food that Istanbul residents grew up with, originating in the kitchens of Topkapi Palace and then spread throughout the city. A key feature of this food culture was food that was stuffed. We learned to make five different dishes: hummus (kebab culture), bulgur salad (kebab culture), aubergine (eggplant) meze (fish culture), cigarette borek (royal culture), and helva (royal culture). Way too much food, but very tasty. He used long eggplants (similar to Asian eggplants) that were roasted directly over a gas flame. The preferred method of cooking them is over a grill - no problem there. This gave the eggplant a smoky flavor which was combined with lemon and then chilled. The most involved dish was probably the borek. The stuffing was cheese and parsley, which was then rolled in fila dough and fried in oil. The helva was dessert - basically semolina soaked in boiling water and then boiled with a sugary syrup. The dessert was the favorite dish of one of the most popular Sultans; so, when he died, everyone was told to make helva to remember him. Now, helva is often eaten after people die. The evening was most informative and enjoyable. We were stuffed at the end. Here's why.

Fatih Mosque Carpet Designs and Suleymaniye Mosque

The mosques are beginning to blend together in our memories. Several of the biggest mosques in Istanbul were designed by Sinan. In addition to the Blue Mosque, he designed the Fatih Mosque and Suleymaniye Mosque, among others. Here are pictures of the two plus some others possibly - including some close-ups of the carpeting in the Fatih Mosque. 

I think this is called the New Mosque. 

Sights and Smells

We had read that a nearby neighborhood was one of the most conservative Muslim areas in Istanbul, so we wandered over to visit it. The guidebook advised us to look for couples getting married and little boys dressed as princes. We saw more of the latter than the former - here is an example as well as some other street scenes. 

We also stumbled upon a food market packed with people and an incredible array of food - lots of roasting meat - both vertical and horizontal donner, huge shallow pans of bubbling meat stews, and lots of breads of different types. We had a free sample of something that looked like string but tasted like cotton candy, and we bought some meat-filled dumplings and some doughnut holes. 

After that, we just wandered until we found a place to sit and play backgammon while sipping tea. 

Immersed in Istanbul

Another coincidental find was a flea market near Istanbul University. The sellers spread out their tarps and arranged whatever they were trying to sell. Most of the items could easily pass as junk - including old cell phones, cell phone covers, cigarette lighter chargers, headphones and ear buds, old computer circuit boards, various appliances and audio equipment, all sorts of clothes, plastic kids' toys, tacky souvenirs, tools, kitchen utensils, shoes - including "old, icky shoes", and probably bootleg CDs. We didn't manage to find any treasures that needed to return with us. On several occasions, we passed stores selling burkas. My offers to buy one weren't that well received. 

Walking the Walls

From the church, we found and followed Constantine's walls for a little while. In this area, the walls are surrounded by cemeteries, some of which contain tombs of the Sahib - Mohammed's disciples. Here are some views of the walls and an example of one of the tombs.  

Chora Church

The mosaics and frescoes in this church were amazing. Instead of destroying the artwork when the church was converted into a mosque, the art was just painted over, protecting it for hundreds of years. The mosaics illustrate the story of Mary. The frescoes portray the life of Christ as well as other scenes from the Old and New Testaments. I took many, many pictures. Here are some of the better ones.