Day 117 & 118: Istanbul, Turkey

Day 117: Took the city sightseeing bus and drove around town. Saw turkish men playing backgamon, very popular thing to do in Turkey. Then went to a Devonshire dance, where the men go into a trance like stage and dance around the stage in circles its suppose to be religious. Went to Aya Sophia, the grandest church before 15th century of Chrisitanity. It was pretty amazing to see the church as it is now converted to a mosque. You can still see the remants of the church with Jesus and Mary drawings. Then you see the big black circles with gold writings all around Aya Sophia I have been told this is the name of the prophets friends. It remined me of seeing the black an gold contrast that I saw in Greece. The colors were quite grand in the Aya Sophia and the mosiacs as well. The birds were flying thru which added to the scenery. Then headed to Taxism walked around a bit. Seems like Turkish food consist alot of cheese, bread, and olives.

118: Today went to Topaki Palace and ran into two new friends I had seen the day before. The Topaki Palace was home of the the sultan (politcal leaders of the country). The palace was pretty amazing. The mosiacs were pretty incredible. It was a nice blend of Arabic and European w/rocco style, symbolic of east and westof Turkey being the crossroads. Went to the Harem (private quarters for the sultan and his family) where he had many concubines and eunichs (castriated male servants from Africa). Seems like I have seen alot of concubines and euncihs in royalty which is the common thread in most cultures I have seen so far. Then went to the grand bazzar it wasn't as impressive as the ones in Syria. Had a pide (which is basically a pizza rolled up on the sides, without any tomatoe sauce and cheese). Then headed to Taxism where they have cobble stone walkways and great shopping and food. Tried the stuffed potatoe which is potatoe whipped with cheese and butter and then loaded with a bunch of different types of salads.