Turkey - Istanbul - Part 3

Day 10 - This was the last day of our museum pass and we were determined to make the most of it. Embarking to the Great Palace Mosaic Museum first. This was a collection of the old Byzantine floors found around the Arasta Bazaar and most likely to be from the Roman Emperor Justinian era. Honestly, we were a little bit shocked by how run down this place was. There was a roof - but it was mainly open air - the sun light could come in at selected areas. There was no temperature control & the mosaics were fading.

Still, it was pretty amazing.





Our next stop was to the Chora Museum. This was very much out of the way. We had to leave the Sultanmahet area that we were in, head towards the Grand Bazaar then take a 30 min bus ride to the area. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, we made our way there in one piece.

The Chora Museum was seriously worth the trip. I wanted to see Byzantine art - my god, i did and this was clearly the most well preserved of what we had seen so far. Later on, i would find out that this was one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches that was left in the world.







Navigating the back streets, we made our way to another smaller church. Unfortunately, i cannot remember the name now. On our way back, we went past a local madrasah which gave me a glimpse of how religion had polarized Turkey. In the past, Turkey was always a mix of the East and the West. It was a cultural melting pot of Christian beliefs and Islamic religion. The Ottoman Empire was accepting of both and invited conversation between the faiths. In the tourist area that we were in, as this was the Ramadan, we saw local people camped out in the park and it was an even mix of conservative and western clothing.

Here in this area, women and children were clad from head to toe. Us in our tiny shorts and tops, were looked upon curiously. If this was how Istanbul was like in the residential areas, it was a sad turn of events as what our hosts were explaining to us and now we see first hand.




Leaving the area, we went to the Spice Bazaar for lunch. Now, this was the bazaar that we were waiting for. Local food and wares, we could see the local people shopping here as well. We loved this area.











We ended the evening sitting along the Galata Bridge - which linked Old and New Istanbul together. There were people fishing on top of the bridge and 2 lines of restaurants dotted under the bridge. We grabbed a cheap local fish sandwich and sat there people watching and seeing the boats go by.