The Chronicles of Istanbul: Day 3

Our third day in Istanbul was a disappointment, to say the least. We woke up to ferocious winds and -what?!-SNOW! We got on a bus to go to the Fener-Balat area. This is the historically Greek and Jewish area, but now it's mostly internally displaced persons from other areas of Turkey. This change is partially due to changing demographics--a lot of Greeks moved back to Greece as part of a population exchange between Greece and Turkey, and of lot of Jews moved for various reasons. We first took a walk around the neighborhood. Like most of Istanbul, the neighborhood is old, but it's not as beautiful as some of the other parts. There were a lot of burnt-out buildings, and a lot of fish markets! It was good to see part of modern Istanbul and learn about current issues, in addition to seeing the sights. We talked to members of an NGO called Mavi Kalem about the work they do, mostly with women and children in the community. They work in health education, counseling, and children's activities.

NGO front in Fener-Balat

Street in Fener-Balat

Fish stand. The streaks are from the snow.

Door to a synagoge. This is the old Jewish neighborhood of Istanbul, so the synagogue (like most things in the city) has been around for a while.

More of Fener-Balat

The neighborhood was a mix of run-down and just plain old.

Outside of the Greek Patriarchate

Inside. We had to be quiet because there was a service going on, but we walked around the 2 aisles separated from the seats in the church.

Interior

The entire front wall is covered in icons, and according to our guide the icons for each church are arranged in a special way.

I thought this icon was interesting because all of the "flesh" parts--face and hands--are removed, and you can see the wood in the background.

I ate lunch near the hotel on Istiklal with some friends, but afterwards I was feeling very tired from being out in the snow and the wind in the morning, so I stayed in tonight (trying to not get sicker!). Plus, I wanted to make sure I'm ready to go to see the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and Blue Mosque tomorrow! So excited, but I hear the weather is going to be difficult again tomorrow! We'll see ...

But a blog post wouldn't be my blog post without ... ta-da! A picture of food. I had these things a couple of times, they're called sigar borek. It's basically just fried dough with cheese inside. It's delicious.