Enjoying life in the big city

It's no secret, we love Istanbul.  It's a great city, the people are friendly, we love Turkish food, it's so nice to have beautiful parks within walking distance and it's easy to get around via public transportation.  So while we were still waiting on Micah's visa we enjoyed the beautiful weather and were able to see a few new things and visit a few of our favorite parts of the city.

While Marvin's family was visiting, we all went to Chora Church.

Talk about amazing frescos and mosaics; it's unbelievable that so many of these are still there. It was very impressive, and neat to think how these images have communicated biblical truths for centuries. It's hard to imagine life without knowing how to read or write but for an oral culture these mosaics could communicate so much. That was fun to imagine how they have touched peoples' lives. Calvin enjoyed hearing stories about each picture. The rest of the day he was asking me to tell him the story of any picture he saw.

We walked on the old city walls.  This one freaked me out a bit, but I'm glad we did it, and glad our kids weren't any bigger and could be carried the whole time.  I have a healthy respect for heights, especially with no railings to stop little ones from falling. 
 

The way back to the bus Marvin's dad and brother even got to help do some Turkish kids English homework.  (They're quite clever to hang out where there might be English speakers.)

A friend recommended a great restaurant in Sultanamet area.  We ordered a dish that is baked in a clay jar and then broken at your table.  I was impressed and like most foods we've eaten in Turkey very tasty.

Marvin was able to take in football game with his dad and brother.

And he also took them to see the Cisterns.....just a little jealous about that one, but we'll be back.

We needed to pick up a few gifts to take back to Nineveh and so we headed to Ortakoy.  It's one of my favorite places in Istanbul, not only is it right on the water but it's by one amazing bridge and there are venders selling jewelry everywhere, and tons of quaint restaurants.



I'm so disappointed this picture didn't turn out better; I was trying to capture the two covered ladies who were smoking the nargala pipe.  I just thought it was rather odd.

 

We didn't stop for kumpier (loaded baked potatoes) but come on isn't this clever?  It almost made me want to stop but I needed a more discreet place to feed Micah.

As much as we love Istanbul we're very thankful to live in a city where it doesn't take an hour or more to get somewhere via public transportation. We will miss you Istanbul but thanks for the wonderful memories.

See you again this summer!