The Cats of Bodrum

The fishermen of Bodrum always had a lot of cat friends. This guy only had one ...



But this guy had 11 or 12:





Here is my cat friend from dinner on our first night in Bodrum. He got some of my chicken and some of Martin's fish because I couldn't resist his big eyes:



The cats were all very well behaved they would just sit next to you and wait patiently without meowing or pawing at you or trying to get onto the table.

Our hotel had at least 3 cats that it fed and housed. Probably more, there were definitely more on the grounds but there were 3 that could always be found lounging in random areas of the hotel and sitting next to your table at breakfast or dinner.



This one is passed out in the lobby:



There were also a few scraggly cats we saw wandering around outside of our room one night so I started stealing turkey from the breakfast buffet and leaving it out on our patio for the cats to eat. It was always eaten.

Here are my four cat friends from dinner on our third night. We ate at a fish restaurant right on the water. I of course made sure each of these cats got a bite of my fish. This picture might seem sideways to you but this was my view of the cats when I looked over the railing next to where I was sitting:



And those were the cats that we took pictures of in Bodrum. Believe me there were many more but if we took pictures of all of them we wouldn't have had time to do anything else.

Turkey: Bodrum

After 3 nights in Istanbul we headed to Bodrum on the southwestern coast of Turkey (on the Aegean) for 4 nights. Bodrum is a touristy town with a big harbor filled with boats. There are some beaches and some museums including the museum of underwater archaeology (shipwrecks) which was neat and a castle and even one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (Mausoleum) in Bodrum. We got to the castle and the shipwreck museum but not Mausoleum though we're pretty sure it's just a hole in the ground now. We went to Bodrum to relax and do nothing - at the pool, at the beach, on a boat, wherever. We stayed in a hotel on top of a hill overlooking Bodrum so we were able to enjoy a gorgeous view from our balcony and also from the pool and fitness center at the hotel. So here is Bodrum complete with the harbor and the castle, as viewed from our balcony:





The buildings on the hill next to our hotel:



Boats in the harbor as viewed from a little alcove in our hotel:



We took a lot of pictures of the boats in the harbor because there were so many of them and it was neat to see them all lined up:

The Cats of Istanbul

Inside the Hagia Sophia:



On the steps of the Blue Mosque:



Hanging out in the park between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque:





On the grounds of the Topkapi Palace:





On the street in front of our hotel:



Inside the Church of Chora:



Outside the Church of Chora:



Being fed outside the church of Chora (yes somebody actually gives them cat food):





On the roof of a house near the Church of Chora:



Mom and baby being fed bits of döner kebab meat where we ate lunch on the second day. These two were adorable. I was really glad all the restaurant owners fed the cats so well otherwise I would have had to buy a bag of cat food and wander the streets of Istanbul feeding all the cats:

Istanbul: The Rest of the Second Day

We rounded out our second day in Istanbul with a visit to a smaller mosque (I don't remember the name of it) and some shopping in the Grand Bazaar. Here are some pics from the mosque:



The ceiling, from where all the chandeliers are hung:





Close up of the tiles:





And a few pics from the Grand Bazaar. It's just like a mall except it's enormous (4500 stalls) and the hallways are narrower. Most of the stalls are repetitive - leather, jewelry, T-shirts, tea/coffee, scarves and clothing, carpets, lamps. And the people who own the stalls are pretty annoying trying to get your attention which gets old real fast. And it's all pretty cheap and not necessarily authentic so we only bought a few things there like tea and some T-shirts. If you want to buy tiles or carpets or leather you're supposed to go to a real store on the street and not a stall in the bazaar.





And here I am in the soccer shirt Cenk bought for me. There are four soccer teams in Istanbul and this jersey is from Cenk's favorite team. I can't remember or pronounce the team's name but the important thing is that I showed my support.

Istanbul: Church of Chora

This church was built in the 5th century and is filled with beautiful mosaics. It is another church that was turned into a mosque and then into a museum which is what it is considered today.

Here are some pictures of the ceiling:










And the walls:



I kind of wonder how the faces are the only parts that stay for hundreds of years but the tiles used on the faces are much smaller than the tiles on the rest of the bodies so maybe that's why. But I have my suspicions that somebody touches up the faces every once in awhile:







A few pics of the outside. It was hard to get a good picture but you get the idea.

Istanbul: Underground Cistern

Back in the day the Turks stored water in large underground cisterns. There are several hundred cisterns in Istanbul underneath buildings that you can wander around in today (they don't store water anymore so you can just hang out in them). The largest one was built in the 6th century AD on the site of an old cathedral and the water was used by the Great Palace of Constantinople (which no longer exists) and that is what the pictures below are from. Water is kept in it so you get a feel for what it used to look like but it's not used for anything and it's replaced all the time so it doesn't smell.

This cathedral-size cistern is an underground chamber approximately 138 metres (453 ft) by 64.6 metres (212 ft) - about 9,800 square metres (105,000 sq ft) in area - capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres (2,800,000 cu ft) of water. The ceiling is supported by a forest of 336 marble columns, each 9 metres (30 ft) high, arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns each spaced 4.9 metres (16 ft) apart.

It's kind of spooky:



There are two Medusa heads that were brought in to be used in the columns. They have to be sideways or upside down so you can't look her in the eyes and turn to store:





And there were lots of big fish down there too:





FYI, the cistern was used as a location for the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love.