Istanbul Part 2

Our first mission today was to reach the small Chora church (Kariye Museum) about 5km further up the Golden Horn. Feeling intrepid, we again took the public transport option, taking a ferry. The day was already starting to warm up, so we were glad of the breeze. 

Then it's a steep walk up narrow streets, passing the old Byzantine city walls. The church is no longer in use, but it has the most beautiful mosaics we've ever seen. They date from the 1300's, when the church was built by the treasurer to the Byzantine emperor. The faces are so serene, and the work is so detailed, it takes your breath away. The mosaic tiles vary in size, but the ones used for the facial detail are only about 2mm square, all hand placed, with a perfect eye for shade and texture.

We made our way back to our district on the ferry. While we were waiting, there was a steady stream of ferries going towards the celebrations in the centre of town for free. As today is the national day, these ferries were bedecked in flags, not of Turkey, as you might expect, but of Turkey's ruling AK party. Most of the passengers were carrying AK party flags too. Hmmmm.

By the time we got back on dry land it was lunchtime, so just the moment to try our next Istanbul delicacy: a fish sandwich.

It may not sound like much, but these are a real treat. You fight your way to the dockside where a wildly rolling boat is moored. The boat is crammed with guys frying mackerel as if their lives depended on it. You hand over your money and milliseconds later you are making your way back with two steaming paper parcels in your hand. The sandwiches are made using half a split loaf of fresh bread, a couple of mackerel fillets (no bones), lettuce, tomato, and lots of raw onion.

Next thing is to get the pickles to go with your sandwich. I had seen stalls selling what looked like a refreshing drink. Pink, and with things floating in it, it is in fact very strong, very salty vinegar full of slices of gherkin and big chunks of sauerkraut. You fish these out with a little plastic fork and jam them into your sandwich. I consider myself an aficionado of pickles, but I've never had anything quite this intense - in a good way. Best of all, it is normal practice to drink the juice!

In the afternoon it was time to reacquaint ourselves with the Aya Sofya. This is a truly enormous church built in 537 by the Romans/Byzantines. The dome is not quite as big as the Pantheon in Rome, but the building is much higher, so it feels as big as St. Peter's. A thousand years later, it was converted to a mosque by the invading Ottomans. The mosaics are lovely, but we agreed the ones in the Chora church were better.

Graffiti is scratched into some of the marble rails around the upper part of the building. It is in Greek, so probably nearly 2000 years old. Also some written in Viking.