LA VIE EST BELLE

Julia Roberts got it right!  Life is beautiful, indeed!

This morning, following an general tour orientation, our newly assembled group of ten (two others were off on an independent excursion) under the expert and informative leadership of our guide, Elvan Birisik-Albayrak, set off on our first full day of activities with (for us) a return visit to Topkopi Palace.  We were happy to return, since it gave us the opportunity to visit parts of the place we had missed on our earlier visit, particularly the sultan's prized clock collection and the recently-installed (and excellent) display of weapons and armor.  Lee took advantage by snapping some additional pictures of the elaborately-decorated interior of the Divan, the hall in which the administrators met when discussing state policies and the bureaucratic apparatus maintained its document library.

After a quick lunch at the Pudding Club (!), we then walked over to Haja Sophia, one of the highlights of any visit to Istanbul.  For a thousand years, the building served as a Christian cathedral; for another thousand years, as an Islamic mosque. Since  1924, however, it has been recast as a secular museum.  Currently undergoing some significant interior renovation and renewal, Aya Sophia (as its known in Turkey) is still very impressive.  The surviving mosaics, dating back centuries, were particularly interesting; both Heidi and Lee, nonetheless, noted the distinct absence of any kind of spirituality associated with this supposed "sacred space" -- it seemed somehow hollowed out and empty of meaning, however architecturally significant, indeed more museum than either church or mosque.

A quick visit to an ancient underground cistern came next on our walking tour.  The bases of two pillar in the HUGE underground chamber were stone deity Medusa heads installed upside down or sidewise!

We then boarded our tour bus for the first time for the Spice Market where we were guests at a "spice tasting" led by a charming young entrepreneur who, having completed a degree in marketing in the United States, was clearly intent on leading her family-run business (she's the fifth generation owner) well into the future.  Among her employees was a young man who had studied at Ohio State University in Columbus and who had even visited Cleveland ("A real comeback city" in his opinion).

Our final stop of the day took us through the Grand Bazaar, a huge area filled with some 4000 shops.  We two didn't visit them all, opting instead for an early supper and a easy return walk to our hotel.

After all, we still have days and days ahead of us sure to be as interesting and informative (and exhausting) as this one has been ...

             

But, as Julia says, "Life is beautiful!",  and we aren't complaining!