4/2/98: We switched rooms at the hostel because there were openings this morning. We purchased a phone card to call Chris and Beth B. to make plans to connect on Friday. And we visited a few points of interest in the Sultanahmet district on foot, including the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.
4/2/23: We were staying in the Sultanahment neighborhood on the “Golden Horn” part of Istanbul. The Bosphorus Strait flows from The Black Sea to the north to the Sea of Marmara to the south and then on to the Aegean and Mediterranean. The Golden Horn is on the west side of the strait and on the continent of Europe, while the other part of Istanbul, east of the channel, is on the continent of Asia!
We visited the Blue Mosque on that first day, which was exquisite, named for its ornate blue tiles We had to remove our shoes to enter, and cameras were not permitted inside. We also toured the Hagia Sophia (translated: “Holy Wisdom”), originally built in 360AD as a church during the Byzantine era, but converted to a grand mosque when the Ottoman Empire conquered the city in 1453AD.
While walking around the neighborhood a young boy tried to sell us (obvious non-locals) some spinning tops. We weren’t interested, but he kept at us. He talked himself down to 10 tops for US$1.00. That was the easiest bargaining we did on this trip. We were also approached by a young shoe-shine boy. As we kept on walking, trying alternately to ignore him and then telling him, “Hayir, hayir!” (i.e., “no thank you”) he finally swooped down and put a big glob of shoe polish on my right shoe. I was tired, nervous and on edge, being only a few days into our trip and never having experienced such aggressive behavior, so I lost my cool. To my embarrassment, I shouted rather loudly (a stereotypical boorish American!) at the boy: “NO!” It so alarmed everyone in the vicinity, that an older man, also shoe-shine “vendor,” came over, wiped up my shoe and pulled the boy aside to explain how not to be overly aggressive.