The Grand Bizzare & Basilica Cistern

Today the plan is shopping, my absolute favourite thing to do in the world!  Well, at least I can people watch in the craziness of the Grand Bazar.  Once again, it was a slow morning and it always seems the hottest when we finally walk out the door!  Guess that’s what you get when you don’t get out the door until the afternoon!

The chaos of the Grand Bazar, and this is slow.

We walked up towards the Grand Bazar with Shannon and Alyssa getting sidetracked in all the little stores along the way.  The girls have been eyeing up the baggy pants/dresses that seem to be the fad here and would be nice and cool given the quasi dress code for women around Turkey.  We made it to the bizarre and found hall upon hall of stores to the point that a guy could get lost pretty easy.   They all look the same and if it weren't for the slope the stores are on, I would have had no clue where I was.  Everyone is a lot more aggressive here with, “you come, yes please” and sometimes almost blocking your way.  The girls looked at a few stores but here the vendors like draping their wears on you and don’t give much room in an already cramped shop.  The other thing we noticed was all the shops sold the same stuff; carpets of course, clothing, silver, leather, souvenirs and food, especially Turkish Delight.  There must have been thousands of stalls and surprisingly the girls lost interest pretty quick.  I was delegated to be the barterer and didn’t even get to use my skills!

Check out the supporting structures at the top of the columns.

We headed back toward the Blue Mosque, coming up with a new plan for the rest of the day.  Shan wasn't feeling too good so she decided to head back to the hotel while I took the kids to the Basilica Cistern.  The underground cistern was first built in the 3^rd and 4^th centuries and is capable of holding 80,000 cubic meters of water.  The water was brought in from the Belgrade forest, north of Istanbul, through an aqueduct system 19 km long.  The Cistern has 336 marble columns laid out in 12 rows of 28 columns and was used as a water filtration system for the palaces in the area.  The columns were thought to have been recycled from other areas in the Roman Empire and brought to Constantinople.  It was nice and cool to walk through and Alyssa really liked checking out all the catfish and goldfish that were swimming around, some were huge!

The plain columns in the Basilica Cistern.

On our way home, of course we had to hit a gelatino and then go check on Shannonto see how she was feeling.  All good there so I headed for the rooftop for a beer and some reading while the girls caught up on life at home with friends.  I stopped to chat with Mehmet and got a great perspective on life in Turkey.  The people around here are sure giving and it’s pretty cool to get some time to talk about life in our differing countries.  Tea and social time is a major part of the culture here and whenever you get a chance, take it.

Most of the columns are plain but these two columns have Medusa's head upside down, thinking it would remove the powerful magic while the other Medusa head is sideways at the bottom of the pillar.  

We gave the girls the pick of dinner spots and with Shannon down for the day; I headed out with the kids.  Of course they wanted Burger King and a taste of home as Jenna was craving a chicken caesar wrap.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any so we settled for chicken strips and chicken burgers.  It’s crazy, the cost is the same as home (expensive against Turkish food) and it seems this is the optimal date place, and treat for the locals.  We ran into a number of fancy dressed youth on their hot date night.  It was after 9pm and all three floors and a pile of tables outside were full.  On our way home the girls looked at a few clothing stores and I think we have to make a loop back to one place tomorrow.