Evil Eyes

Day 3 of our trip started with a leisurely buffet breakfast at our hotel. We were lucky to enjoy it most days in the walled patio. The breakfasts consisted of wonderful breads and cakes, dried figs, apricots, cheese, wonderful cheese, some cheese wrapped in pastry and then the usual fare. We did not have to be anywhere until after lunch so we wandered around enjoying our surroundings.
Turkey is truly a feast for the eyes. Around every corner we find such magical sights.

This lamp is on the entrance to our hotel - Nazar Boncuk charms (or Evil Eye Beads) are everywhere.

Some people believe the Evil Eye is good luck to guard against evil. I read somewhere that "The Evil Eye is a reminder that underneath it all, we are all the same human beings, even if we think we're different." I like that explanation. I have also heard that throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East, many people believe envious gazes or high praise from others can bring you bad luck.

We have seen them embedded into cement, on walls and fabrics, even on dog collars.

 

We went into a shop where they had amazing hand made pottery and tiles done in the Iznik style - this wall was made of the remnants of broken pieces of bowls, tiles and plates - they are just too beautiful to throw away.

 The courtyard of this tiny boutique hotel is paved with a pebble mosaic.

 There was something going on in the area in front of the Hagia Sofia today. There were flags from many countries and people dressed in costume. This group was from F.Y.R.O.M (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

 

This just tickled my fancy - the old with the new. This cart was on a bicycle. Just amazing.

At 1 o'clock we were waiting at our hotel for someone to come for us for the half day tour to the Topkapi Palace. We were checked out of the hotel so that after the tour we could take our luggage Tourista Travel Agency to be picked up and taken to the main bus station for our over night bus trip to Goreme.

The Topkapi Palace is a spectacular place. It is situated on the hill overlooking the Bosphorus and was the home of the Ottoman Sultans between the 15th and 19th century A.D.  It was built in between 1466 and 1478 by the Sultan Mehmet II. The model below shows the the size of the palace and the various gardens and buildings.



We have so many pictures of the palace and I am only going to post a few so you can see how beautiful it is.

We were supposed to get a tour of the Grand Bazaar but our tour got waylaid by a couple of people who went missing. We did end up at the Grand Bazaar but we had been there before and just wanted to get back to our hotel, grab our luggage and start on the overnight trip to Goreme.