Istanbul, day 2

Today was my second full day in Istanbul. Like yesterday, it's very hard to know where to start. The day was full of tantalizing sights, smells, and sounds. I am still very disappointed that I am unable to post pictures. I suppose this will force me to be more descriptive than I first planned. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

The first part of our day today was spent in the Egyptian spice market. Probably the most exciting two blocks in Istanbul. In the market they sold everything from harem pants to puppies, but I was delighted by the selection of Turkish teas. When the vendors wanted to sell you a tea they scooped it out of their bins and shoved it in your face. Now how's that for effective marketing? I smelled sweet apple spice tea, rose tea, pomegranate tea, orange green tea, jasmine tea, and a tea that blooms in your cup. Naturally, I had to test them all. I was also delighted by a hand painted coffee mug to go with the tea... Okay, well, the theme made sense to me at the time. The actual spices were pretty amazing too. I am now the proud owner of some wonderful Turkish curry.

After visiting the spice market we took a scenic ferry ride through the Bosporus, and ate lunch. After lunch we visited the Chora museum. The term "museum" is a little misleading because it is not a building made for showcasing priceless works of art and culture. The building itself is the showpiece. First this building was a church and monastery, but it was later converted into a mosque. When it was converted into a mosque, the fabulous mosaics were covered up with plaster. Recently, archeologists have attempted to remove the plaster and restore the original mosaics. The tiles were bright and jewel toned. One hall depicted the life of Mary while the other hall depicted the life of Jesus. One of my favorite mosaics at the Chora was the one of Jesus turning the water into wine. In the picture Jesus is literally pouring the water into large wine jugs. Another remarkable mosaic was the one of Mary's death. Apparently that is a very rare scene to see depicted. The mosaics seen in the Chora museum were very different from the ones we saw yesterday in the Hagia Sophia. These mosaics seemed to be telling a story through the art while the mosaics at the Hagia Sophia seemed to be more focused on symbolism.

The last item of the day was our visit to the Grand Bazaar. At the risk of sounding redundant, it was quite grand. Over four thousand shops selling imitation products at exorbitant prices. It was quite exciting. I learned that I am very bad at bartering, apparently I do not have a future in sales. These vendors could spot this sucker from a mile away. I did not end up buying anything at the Grand Bazaar. Every time I tried haggling I ended up walking away with nothing. C'est la vie!