July 14, 2014

Only the Locals Know




Our tour through Istanbul continues with our family from Utah. We visited some places that tourists don’t know about. We started off seeing Kariye Chapel (Chora Chapel) that is located just outside the old wall of Istanbul. At one point it was a Byzantine Christian Chapel and then was turned into a mosque.












They have started to uncover the old gold and colorful Christian art that represents old Byzantium. We walked around and tried to figure out which Bible stories were being depicted in each scene.

Next we went to eat at a restaurant high up on the old wall of Istanbul: Zeyrekhane. The restaurant is an old ruin that was being used for a sheep corral and it was turned into the restaurant in the late 1990’s. They kept the exterior exposed and unique. The food was good (it always is here in the city) and the view was amazing! We could see over to the Sulimaniye Mosque and down to the Bosphorus and the Galata Bridge. Istanbul really is a magical place.











Random pineapple chandelier







The last stop of the day was a swim in the Bosphorus. It is something I have wanted to do since we have been here and Lady Hiva told me that she wouldn’t do it because of the Jelly Fish. Granted I don’t like them either, but I did not want to give up on a chance to go swimming in between two continents! Luckily, I had two crazy people who would go swimming with me!







We saw some aspects of Istanbul we would never have seen without people that live here. But now we know! So when you all visit we can take you. 


(Oh, and we finally made it to Taksim Square—but everyone knows that, right?)




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