Dinner this evening was a relaxing affair in a small restaurant attached to a hostel. A boistrous crowd of Dutch college students were finishing up when we were seated; once they left, quiet descended. much to our waiter's relief. Later, as we ate, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's signature song, "What a Wonderful World", wafted into the room, setting the perfect mood by reflecting just what we ourselves were thinking at that very moment -- a reaction made even more satisfying when our waiter brought us some complementary hot apple tea "to make up for our earlier being inconvenienced by all the noise".
We had two items on our agenda today, both museum visits. First up, a trek out to see the Byzantine era mosiacs at the Church of Saint Savior in Chora. The mosaics (and associated frescos) date from the eleventh century. They depict significant events in the lives of Mary and Jesus in exquisite and quite lifelike detail. The audio guide commentary helped us figure out what to look for in each image and what Biblical text was being illustrated. Best of all, because the mosaics are all overhead, high up on the walls and ceiling, it mattered not at all that there were throngs of other viewers sharing the same rather narrow space below and listening to the chatter of their respective guides.
We had two items on our agenda today, both museum visits. First up, a trek out to see the Byzantine era mosiacs at the Church of Saint Savior in Chora. The mosaics (and associated frescos) date from the eleventh century. They depict significant events in the lives of Mary and Jesus in exquisite and quite lifelike detail. The audio guide commentary helped us figure out what to look for in each image and what Biblical text was being illustrated. Best of all, because the mosaics are all overhead, high up on the walls and ceiling, it mattered not at all that there were throngs of other viewers sharing the same rather narrow space below and listening to the chatter of their respective guides.
The area around the Chora church features a number of the traditional wooden homes common in earlier eras of Istanbul's historic domestic architecture, many of which have been charmingly restored, largely due to the efforts of a local restauranter devoted to the preservation of the past, both in terms of architecture and cuisine. Having spent years accumulating recipes from all over the country, he opened his own restaurant, Asitane, in 1991. We had lunch at his place, then photographed some of the restored structures nearby.
Our next goal was to take in exhibits at the Archeological Museum. To get there, we required the use of a taxi. Our driver offered to take us for a flat fee, one not requiring the use of a meter. Since we had come to Chora by taxi, we had a sense that the thirty lire cost was in line with expectations. We hopped in and moved along quickly through the narrow city streets over to a boulevard along the Golden Horn. Then traffic crawled to a halt. Not to worry: our taxi took off "overland" - back and forth across the Golden Horn, uphill and down, in and out of impossibly narrow streets and alleys, often crowded with pedestrians, vans, trucks and parked cars. No matter. We zipped along and made good time to within a thousand yards or so of our destination.
Lee recognized where we were, so we abandoned ship, with much gratitude and an extra tip for our talented, experienced and knowledgeable driver, and made our way on foot to our next objective. The museum exhibits (including some fantastic sarcophagi and beautiful tile work), however, seemed quite pale in comparison to the wild ride we took to get (nearly) there!
What a wonderful world!
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