Galata Tower 9.11.23

 As always, a group went out early morning to photograph the fishermen on the Galata Bridge.  There always seems to be a large group of people hanging their poles over the railing attempting to catch what appears to be fairly small fish.  I'm unsure if these are sold to markets or for their consumption but it seems to go on from early morning to late at night.  I had experienced this on my last trip to Istanbul so I went with the 'a little more sleep' option.

We had a fairly long critique this morning after breakfast.  Speaking of breakfast, I fell into a routine of shakshuka (a slightly spicy tomato based sauce) scrambled eggs, tea, and warm pastries very early in our trip.  When you find something you like there's no need to explore further. There was a Turkiye breaksfast that looked interesting but entirely too big.  It was delivered on a large tray, filling it up to the edges.  Different dips, fruits, meats, and pancakes were on the one I saw delivered.  While I wanted to try it once it always seemed a little too daunting for that time of the day.

After lunch on our own, we availed ourselves of the public transportation.  The trams are quite efficient and are mostly filled with locals traveling from one place (a home perhaps) to another (a job, a religious service?).  When ours arrived we crowded on for our trip over the river to the area near the Galata Tower.  We transferred to a  funicular for the final climb to the top of the hill.  

The area was teaming with people and stores for them to visit.  Ice cream seemed a very popular choice with one vendor playing cleaver tricks on the kids, making them think he was handing them a full cone when he was actually giving them an empty one.  Down one street that led to the tower, shops specializing in musical instruments lined the way.  I don't think I've seen as many ukuleles as I saw in those storefronts.  





Down towards the tower we ran into some of our group partaking in a little afternoon snack and drink.  This seemed like a good idea so we joined in.  As the sun began to set the tower was illuminated with upturned lights.  You can take an elevator to the top but the line was intolerably long, so we chose to take a quick photo and head back towards our hotel.  Fortunately, the walk was all downhill!  We crossed the Galata bridge, which appeared to be a photo destination for newly married brides and grooms, just in time for the sunset.  A short walk led us back to our hotel.






Tomorrow: The Blue Mosque 


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