Lots of pictures - and downhill walking

Thursday, September 28, 2023

We eat a late breakfast - complete with the cheeses and olives I love.

Lunch is fresh bread, 

 menemen, an egg-tomato dish for W, and veal ravioli with yogurt for me.

We share a pistachio "hard" ice cream after packing away most of mine to eat later for supper. The food here is amazing.

W has laid out our walk today. First we take a city train to check out the summer palace of a sultan. Next door is the palace's mosque.

The school kids are going through, trailing their teacher like unruly ducklings. The boys throw arms around each other.

The palace's painted gates show the ornateness of the metalwork.

You can't imagine the life of the family who owned these entries. 

This palace is built in classical style, highlighting ties to European royalty and admiration of their style. Or was it the other way around?

We catch a funicular (climbing) train up to Taksim Square. This enormous painted gear pulls a thick cable that hauls the train up the hill in 90 seconds, saving pedestrians a 20-minute climb.

The memorial in Taksim Square represents the 1928 independence conflict.

Stones are mortared on end around the memorial. Looks like a dream walk for reflexologists.

We wander down the high street past shops and eateries. Centuries of architecture line either side of the street.

Traditional Istanbul buildings can be very narrow, like these housing and shop combinations.

Down the narrow alleys, we find second-hand bookstores, printing shops with mimeographs and old presses, used clothing stores, and more.

Some store windows are artistic masterpieces. Look at these jars of canned food.

Fruit is beautifully displayed. I order a pomegranate juice for $4. The vendor squeezes 8 fruits into a glass. How fresh and delicious.

I keep stopping to admire the vegetable and fruit stands.

Everything is fresh!

The shops are laid out beautifully inside, too. Look at these barrels, heaped with sweets. After I snap a photo, the two girls pose and laugh aloud.

We arrive at the Galata Tower, which rises above the landscape. People pay $10 to go up (we don't). I marvel at the fickleness of history. Would the defending warriors ever imagine today, with tourists walking around the highest ledge (zoom in to see them) ... and souvenir shops at its base? It has gone from life-and-death defense to a curiosity.

My watch only measures the 4 flights climbed, never descents. Before we leave the hotel each morning, I go down 11 flights of marble circular stairs (6 to breakfast and 5 from our room to the lobby). Thank God for healthy knees.

At lunch, I take the elevator to the 4th floor to wash my hands but walk back down steep stairs to our table. Luckily someone has put non-slip tape on the lips, so we don't wipe out while circling on the narrow treads.

Stepping off the funicular, we take 2 escalators to the top of the mountain. We emerge at Taksim Square. The plan is to walk the streets known for food and shopping = back down to the hotel, which is at sea level.

I peek into the open doorway of a narrow apartment. Horrors at having to climb those stairs to your room each day!

There are road repairs partway down. We inch past the supply truck on one side while a motorcycle squeezes past on the opposite sidewalk.

Some paving stones date from the Roman Empire.

When we cross the bridge back to the Old City, the arches midway frame the next crossing of the waterway.

Boats and ships crisscross the rivers and straits.

The vessels are functional with or without decorations. Some boats are quite glamorous.

Most fishermen are men but there are families on the bridge as well.

It's not in vain. Little buckets and pails fill with their catches.

Arriving on the other side of the river, we look up at the fishermen, their lines cast away from the shops and balconies below. We walk under the bridge to our side of the river.

It occurs to me that in societies with a lot of input, a few loud voices can delay or halt needed upgrades. With less discussion in countries like Turkey, transportation, repairs, and infrastructure are planned and well-executed. Their transit system is excellent.

Little coffee stands are easy to find.

Corn and chestnut vendors roast their goods on gas grills.

The old train station has a historical locomotive on short tracks. It's practically across the street from where we're staying.

After +13,000 steps (5 1/2 miles/8 km), we eat in our room, watch Aljazeera news (best for Middle East updates), and retire early.

Read more:

*You will certainly revere me, you will accept discipline. Zephaniah 3:7

*Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer.’” Luke 19:45-46

*In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:26-28

Moravian Prayer: Sovereign Lord, your justice is powerful and creative, beginning with each of us allowing your will to work its way in us. We sometimes make the mistake of believing that faithful action takes singular courage. What it takes is union with you and your reconciling purpose in the life of Jesus Christ. On this trust, we base our lives. Amen.