Istanbul revisited: 6 & 7 September, 2014

The iconic sights again; the man delivering tea to vendors, shoe repair man, and those crowded but so useful trams!

I commented before on the relative high cost of the trams; about AUD 2.2 for a single trip. However locals load a card for travel at half that price! Thinking back to my University public sector economics, I realised that this was a very good pricing policy.

 

 

 

 

 

Again there are the cats; everywhere including resting in the shade of the "bread circles" (simit) vendor.

Upon further research it became apparent that stray cats are highly regarded by residents of Istanbul, Turkey in fact.

Islamic legend has it that cats saved the prophet Muhammad from a poisonous snake: "If you’ve killed a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God."

 

We visited the "Spice Market" on a Sunday that was punctuated with quick downpours that flooded areas of the market. (The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays.)

We ate just outside the beautiful mosque (photo below). A great morning; "Everyone is so friendly!"

And the beautiful plate I was given for my photo of Ataturk, now sitting in our travel memorabilia cabinet.

 

 

A beautiful 'blue mosque' near the spice market. They were most receptive of respectful visitors.