Istanbul #3

Turks love cats.  There are community-cared for felines everywhere.  Ginger, grey, brindled or black and white spotted there is a cat under your outside table, accross the lane or having a nap in the midst of the throng marching around Haiga Sophia.  Allowed to mooch in restaurants and clearly taken care of in as a generalized community responsibility.  A four liter water bottle with a large hole for cats to drink out of next to one of the ferry stations or across the Golden Horn a coffee cup of water on the corner of the marble steps of a fancy bank.  Dogs also wandering without a formal home.  Fortunately not so many but clearly not starving.  (We have seen starving in other places and times.)

Views from the boat tour up the Bosphorus.

Back to our neighbourhood.  Galata Bridge crosses the Golden Horn.  It can raise the central span for large boats but all standard ferries can, (barely,) scoot underneath.  Both sides of the 200 meters long bridge have shoulder-to-shoulder fishing.  Fifteen foot fishing poles availed for rent if you don't have your own.  Very successful in hauling small 'horse mackerel' and lesser numbers of larger fish up to the upper road level. Underneath, next to the water are end-to-end expensive fish restaurants.  We went around the corner of the bridge one evening and had our fish meal by a second floor open windows while the ferries came and went every 15 minutes in front of us.

Our hostel is across the narrow street from an eye hospital.  Mornings involved a lot of taxis down the single lane dropping people off as others walk up the hill from the tram.  All the children you see in front have eyeglasses while from mid-day on common to see someone going home with one big bandage eye patch.  As someone who has had multiple eye surgeries, I can relate.

A quick spin around the Spice Bazaar behind the New Mosque (from the 1600s) on Sunday afternoon. It is smaller than the Grand Bazaar, but at least as busy.  Giant piles of ground spices, dried chilies and various mysterious vegetables on strings.  You don't dare stop, because you will be forced to smell all of the different teas.  We will return before we leave for home to purchase a few kilos.