Istanbul Protests

We end the day wandering along a back street in Istanbul where the real people live and only a few confused and lost tourists are ever seen. Walking is our main activity.

This abstract seems to be about whiling dervishes. We like it a lot. Maybe I'll blow it up and put it on the walls of the RV?

"Abstract art is a product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled, to the utterly bewildered". ~ Al Capone on Zen Twitter....

We set the alarm and hit the "Blue Mosque" at the scheduled opening time of 0830. The crowds move quickly.

Tourists cannot come into the mosque during prayer times.

After the Blue Mosque we went to see the Istanbul Archeological Museum.

Cat in a chair.

Cat in alley.

Another cat.

Ancient cat head. We saw one mummy box in the museum where the mummified priest had made mummy of his cat and placed it in the mummy box at his feet. What is the name of a mummy box? I don't need Google, Mrs. Phred knows everything....

This guy is really scary. He's about ten feet tall and holding something or someone upside down. There is no explanation near the state or on the audiotape. I think maybe his name is Baal. The museum is high tech.  You can use an iphone app where posted to get more information.

Part of the Code of Hammurabi is written on a tiny Babylonian Cuneiform tablet.  The original code has 282 laws involving divorce, inheritance, crooked judges and other matters.

Cat on a Roman pillar. They have too much stuff to put it all inside, so a lot of it is laying around  the yard.

Cat in the restaurant.

Cat with it's own house.

The GPS with the Turkey microchip comes in handy. We find another art gallery but it has been abandoned since our Frommer's was published.

Cat waiting for a train.

Fishing in the Bosporus from the Galata Bridge on a Saturday is a very popular activity. Lots of fishing. Not much catching..

The main street in Istanbul runs about two miles from Taksim Square to the funicular that takes you down to the Galata Bridge. The funicular is a short line underground. It's the third oldest subway after London and New York City.

The May Day protests here were violent. Today things seem peaceful but there are hundreds of riot cops ready to move if needed. It all seems very familiar to Mrs. Phred.  I ask her if she misses her gas mask and gas mask bag and shoulder strap...."Hell No, We Won't Go..."...