Brain Transplant Journal: Istanbul: European with Middle Eastern Overtones

The photo above is a street near our hotel. Super lively area: great, high(ish) end shopping, lots of restaurants, cafes, and bars.
Below: the Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque.

This made me laugh. It's such a monumental building, but has such ordinary cleaning methods.

The underground cistern. Amazing, beautiful, and built by the Byzantine Emperor I.Justinianus. At one end, there's a little cafe with a stage for concerts. I would have loved to have gone to one there.

Medusa was there, supposedly in three spots (I only saw two). She is there to bring luck, but only when positioned upside down or sideways. If you look at her rightside up, you'll turn to stone.

I just thought this was funny.

Our neighborhood at night, on the "Flower Street": one narrow little street that originally housed florists, but now is a restaurant row.

Istiklal Street.

A photo from our cruise on the Bosphorus.

Obviously, he was waiting for an important call.

I pet this cat. She was friendly, but felt kind of dusty.

Jellyfish.

The New Mosque.

In the Spice Bazaar. They call dates Turkish Viagra.

"Fatih" means conqueror in Turkish, and this sign was posted on all the garbage cans, so I thought maybe it means "conquer garbage." Unfortunately, "Fatih" was just the name of the district, so it wasn't nearly as funny.

The "Flower Street" during the day.

I liked all the creepy faces at the archeological museum.

Inside Hagia Sofia. It was originally, a church, but then was turned into a mosque. Now, it's preserved as a museum, and no services are performed there.

My dad at the wishing spot inside the Hagia Sofia. I made a wish there too. It seems to actually work. ;)

Lots and lots of kitties. This was further down Istiklal street, on our way to Galata Tower, where it was turning into a mix of tourists and locals, instead of just tourists. Definitely a cool, interesting neighborhood.