The Beyoglu district for centuries now has been known as the heart of Istanbul. Starting with Taksim square. The word Taksim means "water distribution centre" and from as far back as the 18th century it was the where the water from the Belgrade Forest came from. Once in Taksim it was then distributed to all other districts and residents. The southwest corner of the square has a huge monument to honor Ataturk. Ataturk is a man known as the "father of the Turks." He was able to help the Turks regain territories as well as change the political and social era of Turkey int he early 19 hundreds. He helped separate religion and state as well as helping Turkey establish its now Turkish Republic State.
I met my friend Sarah here for coffee before he headed down Istiklal Caddesi for our rendezvous with the Galata Tower and the Spice bazaar!
The Galata tower was shockingly smaller then it seems when you look at it from farther away this is because it sits on the top of a hill. We took some photos obviously of this 6th century town and continued to the bridge crossing the golden horn to the spice bazaar. The bridge is one of my favorite sites to see because there are fisherman all lined up along the bridge with huge sea fishing poles catching all sorts of fish, right off the road. This is legal but only in the wintertime when the fish are fat and juicy. In the summer you cannot fish these fish since its their breeding time and they are not so juicy since the water is hotter. The view from the bridge is also something that is breath taking because its not a tourist area per say... its just a crowded bridge with noisy cars, trams, buses and people all walking toward the more central tourist areas. I found a great spot below the bridge to look across and really imagine the area as it was hundreds of years ago. This golden horn part of the Bosphorus used to be a flowing river but has long since drained itself so that its now just a small peninsula of water jetting into the land. This area was once (and arguably still is) the center of the world.
This side of the golden horn was once only inhabited by the "foreigners" it is still home to embassies and foreign relations buildings. It is also a main hub for fashion, shopping and luxury. On the other side you get the great tastes of Istanbul. The spice bazaar was good to me, and by that I mean I bought 3 lyra worth of Turkish delight (I will explain what this is in a sec) thinking that it would be maybe five pieces worth since it was 14 lyra for a kilograms worth. Well 3 lyra bought be like 20 pieces of Turkish delight, and delighted I was!!! These little treats will be the death of me I am sure, they are a naturally sweetened somewhat chewy, dime sized, pistachio, (or honey, or walnut, or almond, or chocolate) filled treat that you eat after meals. In my case I eat them whenever I find them. I only wanted a few pieces and so I had only a few but somehow the entire bag was gone when I got home! I blame the gypsies! If you have not had turkish delight I suggest you try it, and does anyone else thing of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe when they say Turkish delight?Maybe its just me.
Anyway our day ended with a sprint back to Taksim since it started to rain really hard and then back home for me! awww.... My next few days were filled with cold snow so I was glad for the break in weather and wonderful excursion!
No comments:
Post a Comment