Two continents

 Merhaba, hello from Istanbul. Hadi gidelim - let's go! 

We are still waking at unusual times, ie 4.00am, but hopefully by tomorrow our body clocks will be attuned to local time. Another robust  Turkish breakfast set us up for the day.

First stop was the Archeological Museum. This has to be one of the most magnificent collections I've ever seen. It's up there with the Cairo and British Museums.

From the wonderful artefacts in the courtyard garden as you enter, to the amazing collection inside, it's breathtaking.

The sarcophagy outside are just a taster for what's to come.

If you look at the carved marble depictions they tell wonderful stories of their time. A prime example was the sarcophagy of a 7yr old boy killed by a wild horse. Each piece is hundreds, if not thousands of years old and yet the quality of the craftsmanship remains outstanding.

The interior houses over a million objects from many different  times and civilisations, allegedly it's one of the 10 wealthiest museums in the world. 

The detail on the marble carvings is out of this world.  The pottery, the gold coins, the emergence of fine, fine tools and glass.....there is so much to see and your eyes are on stalks most of the time. 

The sarcophagy inside are breathtaking, the photo's can't pick up the detail.

You can 'read' the carved relief....horse battles, hero warriors, goddesses .... magnificent. 

We began to flag and felt the need for fresh air. Not before admiring the odd Roman sandal and perfect pedicure. 

From a visual feast at the Archeological Museum, we set off for the Galata foot bridge between the two continents. We walked from the Western side to the Asian side. This was a different form of sensory overload.

So much water traffic on this busy stretch of water. Ferry boats constantly moving, tour boats plying the Bosphorus, fishing boats and water taxi....could be described as organised chaos...but what a sight.

Lots of locals fishing and catching small mackerel. We think one of these guys caught our lunch! 

We had a ekmek balik, local fish sandwich, cooked on charcoal with crushed peppers and tamarind spices.... delicious.

From having our ekmek balik on the Asian continent we walked back to the Western side and wandered through the spice bazaar.

Another experience of sensory overload. The bazaar was super crowded with vendors calling to attract your attention, quite touristy but worth visiting none the less. 

Aside, from the spices, there were rosebud, jasmine, and fruit teas; Turkish delight in every colour and flavour; herbal remedies; dried fruit and even sponges! 

We walked our socks off today but it was worth it.  One part of Istanbul is in Europe and the other side in Asia, what a fantastic melting pot of culture, sights and smells.

The street dogs just flop down anywhere and traffic goes around them!

The sun came out and we found a cute little coffee shop in our neighbourhood in the old town.

Coffee and sesame cookies went down a treat. We got talking to the owner and when we said we were from New Zealand he said he'd love to go there after watching the TV show Zena, Warrior Princess😁