30 Jun 2015. <TR> Kumköy —

Today, a rest day. Well, not exactly — Warren was frantically trying to bring the blog up to date (he succeeded), and Suzie was updating her journals. We also made the decision, noting the parlous state of the Greek economy and the excitable temperament of the Greeks, to drop Greece from our plans for now. So our next moves will be through Bulgaria and into Romania. Bucharest is very near our Romanian entry point, and we have a camp site lined up there, so we can use its internet to fine tune our journeyings in Romania and out to Hungary.

Distance driven — today, 44 miles ( 70 km ); to date, 22,777 miles ( 36,656 km )

29 Jun 2015. <TR> Istanbul —

Today we go out to the Prince's Islands. The ferry calls in turn into Kınalıada, Burdazadası, Heybeliada and Büyükada. We have been advised that the last, the largest, Büyükada, is the place to go, so that's our plan.

We got ourselves up to Kabataş, where the ferries leave from. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the 'slow ferry', was only ₺4.00 per person — a very cheap cruise!

We passed fairly close to the Maiden's Tower

A couple of highlights from the cruise itself — the birds. The seagulls seem to love soaring in the air currents created by the moving ferry, and a lot of the passengers had great fun throwing pieces of bread up into the path of the birds. One passenger had the dubious honour of hand-feeding one of the gulls — when her finger became part of the target meal, she quickly revised her intentions!

Anyway, we stopped off at Kınalıada ...

And then at Burdazadası ...

And then at Heybeliada, where there is a naval cadet school ...

Magnificent tiled murals on the Cadet School

And finally we disembarked at Büyükada. We had been watching the skies as we came in, and it looked as if we were in for some heavy weather.

We went around some of the streets at the embarkation point — as you get off the boat, there's a street that is wall-to-wall ice-cream vendors!

We went down by the waterfront, and found a restaurant, By Şükrü, where we went in for lunch. We chose this restaurant because its operator had met us at Kabataş and had given us his card. Interestingly, he had beaten us to the island (presumably by taking the faster ferry), and he welcomed us as we arrived. The lunch was very pleasant — this is primarily a fish restaurant, but we chose a 'mixed grill' — not the same thing you would expect in Oz, but every variation they have of grilled meats here in Turkey. A very pleasant meal — and very timely. While we were in the restaurant, the heavens opened up, and there was a wild thunderstorm — which only lasted the duration of our meal!

The racks of drying bluefish had to be taken out of the rain...

.... and so did groups of tourists, who sheltered under umbrellas

A couple of Australian tourists at the next table were intrigued by a seagull that had taken a stong interest in their meal. They weren't in a position to interact with the bird, but Warren was able to get a good shot of the interloper!

Most of the taxis in Turkey are yellow!

Flower garlands in the hair are the in thing!

Bicycles are very popular on Büyükada

One steers, three push — that's how the deliveries are made!

One of the old-style houses once common round Instanbul

We had been planning to have a donkey ride up to the monastery on the hill on this island, but the rain storm put paid to these plans, Instead, we enjoyed our lunch, then wandered around the waterfront shops, before taking the fast ferry back to Kabataş — not much more expensive, at ₺6.00 per person. On the trip back, it was obvious that a lot of the people had had a long and tiring day — but not Suzie!!

We got back, and took the funicular from Kabataş to Taksim, where a travellator took us to the Taksim station on the M2 line, and then to Hacıosman, and the bus home — quite an easy trip! So now we've used the bus, the subway, the light rail, the tram, the ferries, and the funicular — is there anything left?

We made every connection with split-second timing, even having to run for the train at Taksim, but when we got to Hacıosman, we found we had a 24-minute wait for the bus. Not bad when you take the day as a whole!

So, back to Kumköy and another night in!

Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 22,733 miles ( 36,586 km )

28 Jun 2015. <TR> Istanbul —

Another day in Istanbul — we're in danger of becoming residents! And this is the second of Jonathan's birthdays we have been absent for — Happy birthday Jonno!

This time we wanted to get in and see the Chora Church, reputed to be one of the most beautiful surviving Byzantine churches. So this time, we took the Bus, and then the train from Hacıosman to Yenikapı — from terminus to terminus, the full length of the M2 line. Then we took the light rail M1 line up to Topkaı-Ulubatı, where we walked along the old Ottoman city wall until we came to the Sur Cafe, where we paused for breakfast. This time we went for omelette, and it was a good meal — they topped the omelettes with a little dried red chilli pepper, just enough to add interest. Suzie had a little visitor during her meal, who showed a great interest in what was on the plate. She capitulated, and left the last little bite for her visitor.

We then went on to Kariye Müsesi (the Chora Church). This place truly is a gem. Unfortunately for us, the main Naos (under the largest dome) was closed for renovation, but there was still a lot to see — we probably saw about 95% of all the mosaics and frescoes!

Christ Pantocrator

The Nativity

The Magi visit Herod

St Peter (with the keys) and St Paul (with his Gospel)

Jesus figure from the Deesis (δέησις) mosaic

Madonna and child fresco

Madonna and child, surrounded by twelve angels

The mosaics are in incredible condition, all the more amazing in that they were apparently covered with plaster from about 1511 when the church became the Kariye Camii (the Chora Mosque). It remained like that until it was turned into a museum in 1948. Fortunately it has escaped the early vandalism perpetrated on many Byzantine churches when Islam became the official religion of Turkey, so we see many of the works in very fresh condition. The frescoes are, by their very nature, less well preserved, but some of then are regarded as the best to be found in Byzantine churches. The fresco of the resurrection of the dead at the end of the world is one of the most famous.

Anastasis (ανάστασις), the Resurrection (fresco) 

The Last Judgment

The Gospel story is illustrated sequentially through the many mosaics and frescoes in the church — but you might find a few surprises, as many of the illustrations portray parts of the story told only in the 'Apocryphal Gospels', that are no longer part of the officially-recognised New Testament. So you get the story of how Mary chose her husband-to-be (where each of her suitors left his staff with her overnight, and in the morning, Joseph's had sprouted branches). And there is another about the conception of Mary. The New Testament Apocrypha is certainly an interesting read!

Even the 'marginalia', the decorative work between the gospel illustrations, is exquisitely detailed.

The exterior of the church is involved in renovation, so it's all wrapped up!

After spending time in the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, we went out for a cuppa in the associated cafe, then we went back to the Topkaı-Ulubatı staton on the M1 line, went back as far as Aksaray, and then walked across to meet the T1 tram line at Yusufpaşa. This transfer was interesting, as you leave Aksaray, follow directional signs to the Tramvay. On the way, this takes you through an underpass. An underpass? Here there's no such thing — any passageway is turned into a humming hive of shops or stalls. But it does get you under the major road and up on the other side. Following a few more signs, we soon found the Tramvay.

We took the tram round to Eminönü, where we were planning to take the ferry across to the Ortaköy Mosque, only to find that, contrary to information we had been led to believe by the Tourist Information Office, this ferry no longer runs — but it still features on all the maps they hand out! Oh well, enough is enough. We made our way home, to have dinner, and to watch the second half of the James Bond film "The World is not Enough", that we started last night. Much of its second half is set in Istanbul, so we were seeing places that we had seen in real life over the past few days!