Sunday, December 18, 2011

Lazy Sunday.


I left the hotel this morning feeling as if I had won the lottery. Could it have been the breakfast of stewed sour cherries, with yoghurt and warm roasted pistachios? Took the tram over the bridge and went in search of the Mosaic Museum. 


Alas, it is closed for renovation. Did some relaxed shopping at Arasta Bazaar. Many glasses of tea later I left with a huge cloth bag full of treasures. Easy friends with Şenol at the Hamam shop. He sells beautiful hand loomed towels from Antakya in the South. For the first time I felt really understood by someone from here. He said to me: "Walk down the hill past Aya Sofya and turn right beneath the big stone arches. It's a park leading to the water. A good place for meditation."


Avenues of ancient trees guarded by an army of marble lions. Silence.

1 comment:

Petro said...

Lily,

Ek voel skoon nostalgies. Ek het bokse vol tee terug gebring en ook teeglase en pierings. Lyk soos die in jou foto. Ek was verstom oor hoeveel Turke Hollands praat. Ek het vele gesprekke in Afrikaans met hulle gehad.