Street Food In Istanbul

It's a gray rainy day in NYC today, and winter is most certainly in the air, so it seems that food is in order...but why not go somewhere warm and sunny....so I went through some pics from last year and found Istanbul street food...

Some nice mussels off Istiklal Street. The food in Istanbul was great....simple and fresh....think Greek food prepared intelligently.

Fresh fruits and veggies always good to snack on....and great colors

Really beautiful produce.

Fresh baked bread...tastes great and smells even better.

Hand made ice cream......mmmm

candy, candy candy....and candied fruit....

Fresh juice....I really love street food and I'm thinking I might need another little trip to Istanbul soon...

Critical Gaze: Istanbul Decoration

It's Friday and I've had a long week so I thought it might be nice to get away, what better place to go than to Beyoglu design district in Istanbul. It's always fun to see how other people live and what other cultures consider luxurious. Istanbul seems to like fancy, super extra special fancy, didn't get much while i was there but certainly got an eyeful.

There were so many of these ceramic shops, all of various quality....visual and other, the metalware was  more to my liking

This shop was enormous...they went for silver rather than the more splashy gold

Lots of heavily carved furniture of unknown date or provenance

The green chair was of really high quality

There were so many tchotchke shops.....

And a few high style shops with good quality items.

So much fun....can't wait to go back.

What I'm Looking At Today: Galata Tower

The Megaolos Prygros [Great Tower, as the Byzantines called it]. The Christea Turris [as the Genoses who built it named it], the Old Tower of Galata stands on the north side of the Golden Horn inside the citadel of Galata. The purpose of the tower was to raise and lower a great chain across the Horn. But that tower was destroyed in 1204 allowing Dodge Dandalo to sack the city. 

The current tower of Galata [Galata Kulesi in Turkish] is a medieval 9 story fortified tower built to replace the old one in 1348 during the Genoese colony expansion. Lucky for us there's an elevator and some great panoramic views of the city.

The tower.

There's a nice water fountain across from the base.

Looking up from the one door.

There's a restaurant on top of the tower....dancers and music and tons of views.

Looking at the roof.

Views of the sprawling city.

Looking at the Topkapi, The Hagia Sophia and the Sultanhamet. LOVE the terraces.

Looking like the Golden Gate, Europe to Asia.

More views.

There are many very sweet apartments with terraces, the drawback would be all of the nice tourists looking at you ALL day long....every day..........

The base of the tower leading down very steep hills to Karakoy

Looking back up from not even half way down the street.

You can take the Tunnel instead of walking to Galata Bridge....160 seconds vs  a one hour walk, but it's fun getting lost in the maze of streets.

What I'm Looking At Today: The New Mosque

I am not familiar with mosques. In all honesty, I had not been in one until I entered the New Mosque in Istanbul. I am not a religious person, so it always amazes me that these buildings were built by the masses at huge expense in the service of God....that one or two were not enough is also pretty crazy to me....just like there's a church on every corner in Italy, there seems to be a huge mosque in every quarter of Istanbul...there's even smaller ones next to the big ones....the buildings are, as in all churches the same. Basic elements are required, but the subtle decoration changes from one to the next. I have to say that I have now only been in 4 or 5 mosques, but I really like this one....the colors, the size....it's goldy locks...not too big, not too small....just right. I like the lightness above with the wieghtiness of the perimeter and I like that it's not crowded! and I like the large overhangs similar to the ones at Topkapi. It's a nice, nice building. 

The New Mosque [Yeni Camii] on the banks of the Golden Horn sits just off the Galata Bridge.

While the Hagia Sophia was built in 5 years and the Blue Mosque was built in 7, the New Mosque took 50 years to build and was actually begun before the Blue but completed after most of the others in the city. Ordered by Safiye Sultan, the wife of Sultan Murad III in 1597, she envisioned a mosque built in the Jewish quarter of town would enhance the Muslim sphere of influence. However one year into construction and the architect, Davut Aga, an apprentice to the great Mimar Sinan, died.  He was replaced by Dalgic Ahmed Cavus. It took another 50 years  and another Sultan, Turhan Hadice to complete the building which had by that time fallen into ruin.

One of the reasons that I name so many names is that I do like history and useless info AND it's so long ago,  that we still know who these people were is pretty amazing......

The Spices Bazar in from of the Yeni Camii

There are fountains which the faithful use to wash their feet before they enter the mosque.

The inner courtyard.

One of two minarets.

Looking at the domes.

I love the antique tiles, they seem to be placed haphazardly almost as if they were left overs or restorations. Beautifully faded.

More Iznik tiles. The blue is so vibrant, even when faded.

The domes with very elegant and refined decoration.

The decoration on the walls is looking like Isfahan or Tabriz carpets....

I liked the decoration of this mosque more than the Blue and even than the painting in the Hagia Sophia.

The back of the Yeni Camii

Our spare room from many years ago......It was an Arabian Nights fantasy.....maybe that's why I like this mosque...it reminds me of our guest room...

What I'm Looking At Today: The Blue Mosque

There are a lot of little Hagia Sophia's all over Istanbul, it's as if after they saw Justinian's building all of the architect's were cowed by the design of Isidoros and Anthemios. And when you consider that it only took 5 years to build, maybe it was more a matter of time...they didn't want to reinvent the wheel. What they did do was refine the model and the Sultanahmet Mosque sits across from the Hagia Sophia as a smaller more elegant copy. Built from 1609-1616 during the rule of Ahmet I it is commonly called the Blue Mosque because of the beautiful blue tiles that adorn the interior.

The main courtyard

Walking into the Blue Mosque

The pendentives and semi domes

The dome with it's elegant decoration.

Looking at the semi domes.

Beautiful Iznik tiles that look like carpets.

 One of the many piers tiled with marble and Iznik tile.

Balconies run along the facade.

The private garden...yes, I snuck in!

Looking at the front of the Blue Mosque with it's minarets.

I suggest that you go see the mosque if you're in Istanbul, however it gets very crowded and it's an active mosque which means that it may be closed during some parts of the day......I will also warn you, it smells like feet! too many of them....I went in, took my pics and ran out.....FAST.