First Day in Istanbul - December 29th, 2009

My mom's favorite place in Istanbul is the Basilica Cistern, so this is where we went first. It is an underground water storage unit, built in the sixth century to store water coming from a large number of miles away. (A number which escapes me now.) It can hold enough water to fill seven olympic size pools. http://atlasobscura.com/places/basilica-cisterns-istanbul Inside is quite majestic. It is quiet but for the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The water is of course flat, which of course makes me think of how it would be nice to row on, though I'm not sure you'd get very far as the columns would probably clash with your oars... After about 5 minutes inside, and half way through the cistern, I see my first "Caution: Slippery Floor" sign. Not sure why this wasn't at the entrance... At least they have the sign right? I looked down and checked my feet. Not slipping yet! Good. We stayed a little while longer, I played with my camera, trying to learn how to get a good shot in this dark, light-sensitive setting.

Afterward, we took the tram to Taksim square which is a busy downtown area. The tram was slanted. Yes, the cars themselves were built slanted. This line only had two stops, and it was on a hill, all uphill, and apparently building it on a slant was more efficient. Seems logical. Fun to look at, anyway. We walked down Istiklal street, which is the biggest, and then branched off to find a small nice place to eat. We found a good spot, food-wise. Unfortunately, we were also hoping for a good toilet. This was not that place. When I went upstairs to the toilet, it was a hole in the ground. I wouldn't have minded this so much, but it also smelled terrible, and I couldn't find the light. Peeing into the floor of a dark, smelly closet? No thanks, I'll hold it. I wasn't desperate yet.

We left, and found the most elaborate sweets shop I've ever been in. I wanted to eat it all. Every type of Turkish Delight, from rose flavored to toffee with pistachio, every shape of gummy candy, baklava, honey drenched pistachio roll things, "birds nests" which look like their name, and are filled with honey and other sweet goodness. Unfortunately my stomach is not large enough to fit the entire store. I'll have to work on that. (Once my lightweight days are over, I guess.)

Ok, laptop about to die... more later