Mısır Çarşısı

After Topkapı, I walked down to the waterfront of Eminönü. The Galata Bridge crosses the Golden Horn into Eminönü. This is not the bridge between Europe and Asia, it just crosses an estuary of the Bosphorus where it opens into the Sea of Marmara. Today it is a bustling ferry and train terminal.


Here I bought a barbecued mackerel sandwich from a vendor plying from a boat (it's the one dwarfed by the ship in the picture). After that I had a simit from a hawker because they were so addictive. Not as fresh as the morning's but still good.

The Spice Bazaar or Mısır Çarşısı (literally, Egyptian Bazaar) is the second largest covered market in Istanbul, after the Grand Bazaar of course. Egypt used to be a major source of spices in the Ottoman period, thus the name. Here is an impressive entrance.

There are many passages through the market. Yes, that's right, the blue sign indicates a buffet stall.

One of the many dim hallways inside. A sweet snack sold here that made me smile was labelled Natural Viagra. Nothing dangerous, it's just a dried fig split open and stuffed with half a walnut. However its appearance is risque, looking a bit like a woman's privates, hence the titillating name. Who says the Turks are uptight?

Pulses and bird cages are also sold here.


After the market I crossed the Galata Bridge and caught a tram uphill to Taksim Square, the heart of modern Istanbul. I found it soulless and didn't like it. I tried to walk to Kabataş which I thought was the ferry terminal for Asia but was blocked by a highway so I gave that up.


From Taksim I caught a bus labelled Topkapı but it turned out to refer to a city gate, not the palace. Never mind, I was near the Sultanahmet trams so I caught one back for a siesta.


In the evening I walked down to Eminönü and looked in the Hocapaşa area for food. The area looked scruffy but there were many visitors so it was ok. (A brief linguistic diversion, the c without a cedilla in Turkish is pronounced like j, so it sounds like hojapasha.) I settled on a pide restaurant and had a pastımalı (cured meat) pide. Pide shops are less common in Turkey than you might think from Australian pide shops. The bread was great but the meat was too salty. While I was near the docks I got the departure times of the Bosphorus cruises.


When I got back up to Sultanahmet, I found a sound and light show almost over at the Blue Mosque. It turned out that the commentary had been in German. The next one in English would be on the 30th. I might attend that one.


Two Turkish youths at the show chatted me up. When a Turk chats you up, often he wants to sell you a carpet. This wasn't the case here. They were curious about where I came from. When I said Australia, they said oh you have missed Gallipoli Day. I said that it wasn't of interest to me. They asked me if I was Muslim since I mentioned that I was born in Malaysia.


Before turning in early I went up to the terrace to view the Sea of Marmara. A lighthouse flashed in the distance. It was so tranquil.