Our clothes reek of the effervescent Turkish cigarette smoke, our colons are pleading for no more kebabs, and I don't think our brains have quite forgiven us for those glasses of Raki the other night. But despite coming to Istanbul at the wrong season, we have seen some very interesting sights and had a pretty good time.

Aya Sofia
We are staying in the old historic/tourist district of Istanbul - Sultanahmet - so the Aya Sofia [also called the Hagia Sophia] is just a couple of blocks away. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Aya Sophia is breath-taking. As I stepped inside, I was amazed at how immense the interior is. There are no pews or benches, like some other places of worship, and the decor is not as bright and detailed as the adjacent Blue Mosque, but the ceiling must be several hundred feet high. While the Blue Mosque has huge pillars to hold up the domed ceiling, in Aya Sofia they are concealed, so the interior is a large open cavern. It's pretty mind-boggling when you stop to think that this was built around 500 A.D, and there is even graffiti carved into the railing from 9th century Vikings! Truly an amazing architectural feat. It was initially built as a church, and later converted to a mosque in the 15th century.

Interestingly enough, there are several stray dogs and cats that live around Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. They seem fairly well-fed and healthy, and some of the dogs have plastic tags in their ears. Perhaps they have been 'adopted' by the Blue Mosque, as it is still functioning as a mosque, and we can usually hear all the daily calls to prayer over the loudspeaker.

Grand Bazaar
Alas, after much big talk, it appears that we will not be coming home with a carpet - not from Istanbul anyway. Seeking out the oldest, most painstakingly handmade carpet was never a goal for us, but it seems to be for many tourists here. One stroll through the carpet sellers' aisle in the Grand Bazaar has made it glaringly clear how out of our league we are here. All the sellers had crisp suits and ties on, hair slicked back, and seemed to pop out of every doorway with rapid fire "Hello, lady, hello, one moment please" and "Hello, where are you from we will make a special price today."
But we did find something very neat, a purchase that was perhaps inspired by reading My Name is Red, by Orhan Palmuk, who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. We found a miniaturist painting depicting Noah's Ark, on the back of a page from a religious text. The ocean is black, with sea turtles swimming near the Ark, and all of the other animals are immaculatly painted. The seller told us that his sister did a lot of the miniaturist paintings, and his brother did the calligraphy.

We have one more day in Istanbul, and then we will take an overnight train to the capital, Ankara - where it is snowing. Brrr.