Kadikoy

After starting our day with some holiday housekeeping - Turkish Sim card purchase and banking, we had a trip overseas to the Asian shore planned. The sun was out, hade gidelim - let's go!

We made our way down to the Golden Horn waterfront with a short stop at the New Mosque along the way.

Although called the New Mosque, it's over 500 years old and seen 8 different Sultans rule. Its the last of the great mosques built by the Ottoman Sultans.The mosque has 66 domes and semi domes.  The interior of the mosque is decorated with blue, green and white İznik tiles.

In the collonaded courtyard there is an  elegant washing fountain that is almost perfect in design.

Look what I found in the plant pot.

(Mum, remember to click on the pictures and you can zoom in 🙂)

As you walk into the mosque you can feel it is different. The colours are striking in their subtlety.

The colour of the tiles and decorations  are much softer and this makes the blue and white Iznik tiles really stand out.

After a bit of digging I found out the design for the New Mosque  was by two female architects, Bahar Mızrak and Hayriye Gül Totu, who planned to create a 'female-friendly' mosque,  they wanted to change the tradition of more men going to mosques than women.

We set off on the public commuter ferry and after 15 mins on the water we arrived in Kadıköy,  a laid-back  neighbourhood on the Asian side.

We found the bustling fish and produce market and everything looked superb.

Check out the olive selection, amazing.

Lots of things to temp the tourists.

Think Cuba Street on a grander scale.

Lots of hip bars and eateries, lots of young digital nomads working from cafes. The side streets with their quirky outdoor seating areas could be taken for trendy Portugal .

It felt so much less stressful and hyped up compared to the old town on the other shore. We liked it, plus it's always nice to go and return by ferry boat, it's part of the fun.

On our return to our hotel in the old town we had to pass through the Grand Bazaar which was just heaving with people.

The little lanes are narrow and jam packed with traders and punters. In amongst this you see some poor workers toting hand carts with stock, there's no other way to get the deliveries into the heart of the ancient cobbled laneways that are full of bargain hunters.  Sculpture of the day acknowledges the role of the humble porter. 

The street dogs are so funny, they just flop down anywhere and everything moves around them. I noticed some had ear tags so perhaps the city innoculates them against disease.

Back to our quiet little neighbourhood and a coffee and cake to close out the day.