My work was overwhelming for a while so I’ve not posted.  I’ve got my head above water now but, dear reader, know that you get only the delightful parts of our existence here: it’s not all baclava and stuffed grape leaves!

As part of our never-ending pursuit of Istanbul sights, last weekend we took the bus down the Bosphorus to Sultanahmet, the peninsular part of Istanbul bounded by the Golden Horn, the ancient site of Constantinople, and one of the most bustling interesting city scenes in the world. 

Beyond the Hippodrome (which sports an egyptian obelisk plundered by Theodosius the Great and carted back to Istanbul in 390 and, yes, they had chariot races here) , mosques and Covered Bazaar, the area is a mass of weaving narrow cobblestoned streets with shops roughly organized by wares, a result, I am told, of the old prevalence of guilds.  So on the way to Süleymaniye Mosque, we stumbled onto a street of belts and belt buckles.  Amazing.

Note the depiction of the transport of the obelisk…and the cat.

The Süleymaniye Mosque sits atop the largest hill of Sultanamet and is a conspicuous sight from many vantage points of the city.  Built on the order of Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent) by the architectural genius Mimar Sinan, chief royal architect and considered the greatest architect of the classical period of Ottoman architecture, often compared to Michelangelo, his contemporary in the West. The construction work began in 1550 and finished in 1558. The mosque was ravaged by a fire in 1660 and part of the dome collapsed during the earthquake of 1766.  During World War I the courtyard was used as a weapons depot, and when some of the ammunition ignited, the mosque suffered another fire.

I am thankful that Turkey is in good financial shape and able to devote funds to maintaining the rich trove of historical buildings in the city.  My ninety-two year old parents often comment on how much time and effort goes into maintenance at their age; imagine after 500 or 1500 years what is required!

On Christmas Day I accompanied Sue to the Arnavütköy market to buy provisions for a supper party that night.

I do know what to do with pickled grape leaves but what do you do with fresh artichoke hearts?

We had drinks outside on Christmas Day

On New Year’s Day the fishermen were out in force.  The catch is small–anchovies, sardines and two other small fishes are common–but abundant.

The Christmas season included two significant snows and two snow days from school!  But interspersed were days of 50º, much different than the protracted cold of home.  Our begonias just bit the dust!

Topkapi was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign.

The architectural details are stunning.

Our friends Jack and Celeste; Celeste is an art teacher at Robert College.

The Imperial Harem occupied one of the sections of the private apartments of the sultan; it contained more than 400 rooms.  The harem was home to the sultan's mother; the concubines and wives of the sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants.

I too would enjoy lounging here with my family and concubines.

The sultan's seal; each developed their own stylized autograph which appeared on documents as well as buildings.