She'll be waiting in Istanbul (Part 2)

Feeling like that cat that got the cream today! Have my bearings, got amongst it and have been loving every minute. Started off by attending my Woodblock Printing Course at Les Arts Turcs. AMAZING! My teacher Tahsin was extremely talented and with the kind of precison with which he wielded his surgeon's (block cutting) knife - I thnk he would have been a champion at Operation in his day! I on the other hand had to to come to terms with the fact that I had to draw a design on the spot and there was no room for error. Those of you who have known me awhile would understand an eraser is the tool I value most in the artistic process. For the art nerds - check out the activity page (soon).

Having long overstayed the alloted time, I rushed off to see a few of the nearby sites including the Topkapi Palace. By this stage I had made good friends with the gents at Les Arts Turcs and they arranged for their delightful student apprentice from Texas to keep me company. The buildings and ground were gorgeous. Strangely one of most lovely rooms was the one in which they used to perform circumcisions (below)! The gardens and the view from the palace were also picture perfect.

Post the palace I made a mad dash for the Hagia Sofia (snuck in with the last entrants). The incredibly impressive church turned mosque turned museum was definitely worth a visit. One side was under restoration but there was no hiding the beauty. It contained marble brought from all over the old Roman Empire - at least 7 types. The stunning mosaics trace back to at least the 6th century (possibly older - that was the oldest I saw). And the huge calligraphic panes were something to behold.

You may note that for someone who mentions food a lot, there has been no mention thus far and we have now reached about 6pm. That's because I was so busy that there was no time to eat! Don't worry.. I made up for it! On the way back to the hotel I couldn't pass by the lovely Turkish lady rolling out gozleme in the window of the Han Restaurant in Sultanahmet. After eating my fill of a slightly over priced but very yummy cheese and spinach gozleme the waiter asked if I wanted to have a go at making one myself. Channeling two very good friends of mine (who's advice was to just say 'yes!'!) I gave it a go! Let's just say the one that I made had a LOT of character. Luckily I was able to pay with Lira rather than labour or I might still be there..

On the way back I bought a hand crafted wool scarf (I love it - see below) from an amazing young man named Hussain. We sat and drank Apple tea for an hour as he told me about Turkey and all the reasons he chose to come back after studying in America. He spoke about Turkey with such passion that it was hard not to love it even more.