Finally, a post about Turkey!

Well, finally managed to get a post written about Turkey.
I am actually in London now!
I could not post on blogger about our time in Istanbul as there was a blogger ban in Turkey.
Hopefully this will be a short term problem, I know a lot of people in Turkey with blogs were very upset about it.
Anyway on to Istanbul!
We had a very interesting time in Istanbul. Our hotel, the Ayasofya was a 2 story weatherboard building in the old part of town. We were actually located in an apartment further up the hill owned by the hotel which was great as we had a wonderful view of the surrounding area, including some of the little hotels in the area, mosques and a view over to the Sea of Marmara.
Right next to our apartment window was the Turkish equivalent of the Colosseum, the hippodrome wall, quite deteriorated and sometimes a bit of graffiti on it, but Roman and ancient it was!
The streets were old and cobblestoned and hilly, so once again I was thankful for my trusty
hiking boots.
We visited the Blue Mosque, a very large mosque with beautiful Iznik tiles inside. We took off our shoes and I covered my head with a scarf as that is the traditional religious requirement of entry.
There is one very large dome and multiple smaller domes around it and 4 minarets.
The carpet is red with aqua tulips and carnations, two traditional design elements from the Ottoman Empire.
We also went to see the Topkapi Palace, once the centre of government and the Sultan's palace.
I found the Harem area intriguing, lots of rooms for favoured concubines and their slaves, reception rooms, rooms for eunechs. I think there are over 300 rooms in the whole palace from memory.
All the rooms in the harem were large and very tall, all covered with Iznik tiles, predominantly in aqua and blue colors. All of the tiles were intricate in design, most as strong in color as when they were made.
Some rooms had tall intricate brazier type heaters and many had washing basins.
We also went to the spice bazaar, in the first photo you can see some unusual dried spices, the darker ones, I believe are dried eggplants.
We also caught a ferry across the Bosphorous to the Asian side just to say we had done that!
We tried different foods including fresh pomegranate juice ( see photo above) spiced milk drinks from a street vendor that sold it from a wonderful brass container, lovely creamy yoghurt, kebabs and quite a number of different and tasty breads. Oh of course, Turkish delight and Halva ( a desert made from pulverized sesame seeds)
Each night we wandered around finding a different restaurant, browsing around the myriad streets in our district and beyond.
Traffic in Istanbul is quite busy, the streets are narrow where we were,however,we found the drivers courteous and helpful to each other at all times. There was a lot of reversing to let other cars past etc, all with no bad temper or road rage! Traffic lights were few and far between, pedestrians would wander a lot of the time in the centre of the road and just move in time when a vehicle approached; certainly a very different way of doing things, but it all seemed to work quite well!
Anyway,time to finish now, I am in London now and have got to get a few posts done here before we head off to Hong Kong in a few days time,
Cheers,
Jenni

The Colosseum

Today we returned to the Colosseum, or Flavvian amphitheater for a closer look. The Colosseum is the largest structure left to us by Roman antiquity. It is a model for sports arenas of modern times. It is a very powerful building, however quite a lot of it has been damaged over the centuries by fire, earthquake and neglect. Pillaging of marble, travertine and metal was rife and used for construction of other palazzos etc. In more modern times damage from pollution is evident.
There are 80 arched entrances. These once held statues, now long gone. It held 50-60,00 spectators.
The floor has long gone, but visible today are the corridors and rooms below which held cages for animals, rooms for gladiators and slaves etc
Apparently animals were imported from Asia Minor, Africa and Europe to compete in brutal fights in the Colosseum.
It is hard to believe that bloody battles between elephants, tigers and cheetahs were quite a common occurrence in the Colosseum, an outrageous idea in the modern world of today.
There was a complicated system of platforms and winches to bring the animals from below ground up to the elliptical arena.
This must have been an astounding sight to the average spectator who was by all accounts just your average farmer.
Gladiators were chosen for their height and strenghth; the average height for a Roman man at this time was a mere 4 foot 6 ( so said the guide- seems unreal, doesn't it!)
Gladiators used to perform during a fight, but not necessarily kill each other. Slaves and criminals on the other hand would fight to the death or be condemned to death after a fight by the vote of the crowd and the Emperor's hand signal.

Photos;
1. Colosseum arches
2. A numbered archway
3. View across the Colosseum with the exposed underneath area visible.

Apparently a very wealthy Italian has recently left 25million Euro for the restoration of the Colosseum which will begin next year.

Cheers until next time,

Jenni

Roman street scenes

Photos;
1. Note the license plate on this little fiat!
2. See the Roman city logo, on this police box, Romulus and Remus. Romulus was the founder of Rome. Legend says that he and his brother, Remus, were orphaned and brought up by a she wolf.
3. A couple of centurion guards, waiting for a photo opportunity!

Cheers,
Jenni

Rome

We arrived in Rome yesterday.
This morning we chose to go on a city tour to see the sights.
It was a double decker bus, a 2-day pass for E15 each and the type of bus that you can jump on/off at various stops.Not bad value.

Photo 1.
We saw The Colosseum, a "noble wreck in ruinous perfection" said Byron
It used to seat over 50,000 bloodthirsty spectators who revelled in the spectacle of gladiators fighting to the death!
Photo 2.
Ruins of the Ancient Roman Forum.
Photo 3.
The Trevi fountain.
This flamboyant rococo-style fountain was designed in 1762 by Nicolo Salvi.It's central figure is the sea-god Neptune standing astride a giant shell drawn by winged horses led by Tritons. One horse is placid, the other agitated, symbolizing calm and stormy seas.
The fountain was beautiful, but oh so crowded, however I did throw a coin in to the fountain over my left shoulder. Apparently this means I will come back!

We saw so much today and once again walked until our feet were aching, there is just so much to see! Not too sure if some things will be closed tomorrow or not.
The Sistine Chapel is CLOSED tomorrow, some type of holiday, and we leave on Sunday morning so will not be able to see it. I was SO disappointed, so here's hoping that coin works!
Cheers for now,

Jenni

Doors and door knobs, Florence

Photos;

1. This first photo is a church, re-built in the 17th Century. It was formerly the headquarters of the Ciompi or wool-carders.
At the two sides of the 16th Century doorway with it's broken pediment, you can still see carved in stone the carding comb and the rack, the insignia of the corporation.
At one time filled with works of art, the church was later closed to the public and turned into a workshop.

2. A very unusual iron handle.

3. This door bell is recessed in what looks like a miniature marble bath. To ring the bell, you pull out the button in the centre which is attached to a string.

There are just so many interesting doors and door knobs in Florence.
Even the plainer ones are beautiful to me.
All the doors are massive, I guess a smaller one would look rather lost on these impressive and tall apartment blocks. ( most in this street are 3 stories high)

Ciaou,
Jenni

Street Scenes of Florence

Cheers jenni

Photos from Florence

Photos;
1. A picture of Brunellesschi's cupola del duomo (cathedral dome) on the Cathedral of Florence, an engineering marvel.
2. The Ponte Vecchio bridge, the oldest bridge in the city, built as it is now in 1345. The little row of houses on either side are jewelry (mostly gold) shops.
Above the houses, on the upstream side of the bridge, is Vasari's corridor, built by Vasari so Cosimo could go from Palzzo Pitti to Palace Vecchio, a "secret" corridor.
A local pharmacy, note the old sign .

Cheers for now,
Jenni