Istanbul- Tuesday Oct 1st

10pm
         The police once again made their rather unwelcome presence on Istiklal Caddesi this evening. Several dozen, in full riot gear, stood in the rain with batons and tear gas launchers at their sides, their plastic shields giving them some degree of shelter.
  Thankfully, they were gone by the time we returned from supper.

 Sleep came in brief cycles last night as the bar across the street finally closed up around 4am. Motor traffic and street sounds continued till close to dawn. I finally got out of bed at 8:30am with, at best, 3 hours of sleep under my belt.
  A basic breakfast of bread, cheese, "mystery meat" butter and hazelnut spread , washed down with Nescafe, gave me enough energy for the day ahead.
  The day began with a walk ( approx. 2km)from the hotel to the Golden Horn, the body of water that separates the Beyoglu District from the Bazaar Quarter to the south. Intermittent showers kept things rather damp for the first part of the day, The rains did then hold off until sunset, other than the odd sprinkle.
 At the halfway point of the descent down the hill, the Galata tower overlooks the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Standing approx 200 ft tall, it has been, since its construction in the 6th Century, a shipping observatory, a prison,a naval depot and a fire watchtower.
 Two bridges span the Golden Horn, the most accessible for pedestrians being the Galata due to its proximity to the major tourist sites. Below its main deck are several seafood restaurants. In front of each is a waiter armed with a multilingual sales pitch and a menu offering "the freshest fish for the best price in all of Istanbul" They do not understand the word "No" in any of the major languages and one has to simply keep walking in silence rather than attempting repeated "No ThankYou's"
 After crossing the bridge we made our way to the nearest major structure, the New Mosque. Old by our standards, it was built between 1597 and 1663.  Since sveral other mosques were built around the same time, the title New Mosque is a bit of a misnomer.
 The interior is decorated with blue and white floral tiles from Iznik a city to the southeast of Istanbul which is famous for ceramics.
  Leaving the Mosque we made a brief stop at the Spice Bazaar. As well as a dizzying array of spices, the stalls also sell dried fruit, various Turkish candies, fresh fruit and the usual tourist "bait" pashmina's,  leather goods, jewelry and ceramics.
 An uphill walk towards the centre of the Bazaar district brought us to the Grand Bazaar. Enclosed by external walls and domed roofs it is, essentially a small self contained town with several dozen streets lined with several thousand vendors, restaurants, cafes and food stalls. Vendors sell everything from traditional hand made jewelry, ceramics, carpets and leather goods. Here the lesson "buyer beware" takes on an ominous threat, as cheap knock-offs are an everyday risk. Carpets are promised to include delivery and they may occasionally arrive at your home having transformed on route from silk on cotton to a polyester copy. With care and some help from some of the more trustworthy tour guides, it is possible, however, to come away from the experience with an excellent carpet of quality construction.
 A quick lunch of kebab, rice, shepherd salad and flatbread cost just over 10 YTL ( $5 US) and was tasty and filing.
 Stops at two more lesser known mosques, the Nuru Osmaniye Mosque and the Atik Ali Mosque, brought us to the structure known as Constantine's Column. Originally much higher than its current 115 feet, it looks rather like a smoke stack due to the reinforcing rings along its length. It was built in 330AD and was originally capped with a statue of the Emperor Constantine dressed as Apollo. Various fires and storms over the years have reduced the once decorated exterior to a dull rust colour.
 Slightly to the east of the column is a large mausoleum, the Tomb of the Sultan Mahmut II (1838) Enclosed within are the shrouded ( in carpets) caskets of the Sultan and various others of his family.
  With the clock rolling on for 4pm and with the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace just down the hill we decided to call it a day.
  Crossing the same way we came, we ran the gauntlet of seafood restaurants under the Galata bridge, dodging at least a dozen pleas of let me show you a menu? No, then how about a beer.
  Arriving back in Beyoglu a short tram ride saved us the long uphill slog to the hotel.
  Deciding that one more night of Turkish disco is one too many I cancelled next weeks, 4 night stay at this hotel and picked one in a different district which hopefully has thicker walls.
 It was raining when we headed out for supper. Dodging the areas with heavy police presence we found a bookstore/ restaurant offering pizza, pasta, chicken and steaks. A hearty offering of pasta with seafood for Susanna and chicken for me was later balanced with a nice cappuccino and a slice of caloric heaven!
 At 12:30 am the music across the street is still slightly more tuneful than the sounds of car horns and I am praying that a pillow over my head and a half tablet of Imovane will serve me well.