Saturday, March 26

Today we started by taking the boat to "Asia", that is the side of Istanbul that lies on the opposite bank of the Bosporus. On the way down the hill, we saw this old, wooden house.



A little later, we came across this playground, located about 75 feet above the water, still high enough to afford a nice view across the Bosporus. You can see the Hagia Sophia in the background as well as the tower of the Imperial Compound.



We took the boat up the Bosporus to the Asian side (past the Golden Horn), about a 15 minute ride. We walked into the commercial district, composed mostly of double-story buildings, giving it a sort of suburban feel. In the background of this picture is an Armenian church.




Inside the Armenian church--the part we were allowed to enter.





Small but charming stained glass window.




In the window of a shop devoted strictly to the sale of honey.



Through the window of a local bakery.


We ate a late lunch at Chiya, made famous by the New Yorker magazine. We sat near a reporterish guy wearing a National Geographic backpack. The owner of Chiya travels throughout Turkey, finding the local food and then preparing it in his establishment.







Fava bean "meat" covered with yogurt sauce.






Chicken stew.









More stews. The one on the left is made with very small okra. You can see some of these dishes by visiting the restaurant's web site.







A stew based on yogurt but full of many crunchy things, including nuts.




Two excellent beverages: sumac (red) which is tart and fragrant, and kiwi (green) which is minty and fruity.








We had oregano tea to go with dessert.






And the dessert! Wow! So innovative: candied tomato, stuffed candied eggplant, candied young walnuts, candied olives, pistachio stuffed cookie in marshmallow creme.




After Chiya (Ciya), we rode the boat back as the sun began to set. Here's a picture of the New Mosque right before we docked.

And that's pretty much the end of the notable events of our trip. The flights back were effortless and driving from LAX to SLO at 9:30 PM, then getting up at 5:45 to do a lab that started at 8:00 AM wasn't so hard after all.