WOOOO HOOO KATHE (ARTMIZ) …YOU WON A GORGOUS GLASS TURKISH EYE PENDANT!!!

Note: I am shipping all the winner’s items so far, this coming Monday

Kathe we found yours at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and it is stunning!!  I put a  sterling bail on it so it’s ready to design with.   It measures about 2″ across and is fused glass done in huge furnaces

“A strong element of many cultures, Evil eye jewelry is primarily found in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. According to the belief, these reflect or absorb the envy of others, thus eliminating ‘evil eye’ effects such as bad luck.

The perception of the Turkish evil eye is common with other cultures but more interestingly, even though the evil eye belief dates back for thousands of years, the Greek Orthodox Christian Church does not dispatch the concept.

Finally its worth mentioning that these pendants are not only used as personal jewelry but many people also hang an evil eye pendant in their car and in other areas for good luck. However today these pendants are also worn by many as items of fashion rather than for any other reasons.”

The port on the Bosphorous Strait was filled with cruise ships from Greece and all over the planet..I took this photo from a taxi window as we sat in traffic on the way to the Blue Mosque

Yummy…this guy was making hard candy over this hot cauldron. He was lifting a string of molten goo as we walked by.  Then it went over shaved ice to instantly harden the candy.  We were being hounded by a carpet salesman as we walked to the mosque so I didn’t get to stop and buy some….and I regret it!!!

I love how this photo turned out

There is no doubt this was taken in Turkey.  I loved the door and window decor here

No No…Please no photos!!!

By the Blue Mosque….handmade Turkish carpets  waiting to “fly” off the shelves

Here’s another beautiful shot from the underground aqueduct I loved so much.  I could have stayed down there all day.  It was such a break from the heat and the history absolutely enveloped you!!!

Starbucks Turkey mugs

This was at the Palace on the hill.  It is the remnant of an ancient cistern (above ground aqueduct of sorts).  The textures were beautiful and such varied materials

I just love this!!!

This shot in color is just as beautiful but converted to black and white like sterling silver

Sitting at the base of the Blue Mosque for lunch.  It took dozens of shots to get this flag the way I wanted it

Are these windows yummy or what????

Remember “Bead Guy” outside the Blue Mosque?? This is a little better photo of him closeup

BATIK CHOW tshirt by electra_cute
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Its our final full day in Istanbul and we packed it so full of historical sites , we are absolutely exhausted!!   The Blue Mosque pictured above is one of the most distinctive sites in Istanbul.   It is the blue tiles on the inside of the mosque that lend to the name , but the outside is just as spectactular!!

It was touristy as all get out which is the reason we chose to put it off till the last minute.  Luckily this is low season and not too bad as far as tourist sites go.  The Turks are so polite too….never any of the push peddling of wares except for the Turkish Carpet salesmen who each are from wherever you tell them you are from….it’s so fun to BS them and they are good sports when they find you have been just as manipulative as they are

Above is a guy roasting chestnuts and corn…yummy!!

Our favorite line from a vendor was today.  He said “if you are looking for a place to get rid of your money…come in and see my rugs”  Now THATS HONEST!! lol!

These planters were so unexpected in front of the Mosque

One of the spires on the Blue Mosque…can you believe that blue sky and how we lucked out on the weather..especially after those terrible floods here 3 weeks ago

Bling had to stay outside the Mosque because she forgot to bring a head scarf and long sleeves…no biggie..Steve went inside and did a video and took photos we will show  and Bling later!

Steve discovers a new way to scratch a kitty without getting bit or starting to itch ..he’s so allergic.  The cats followed him around like he was their idol

That’s shortie me alongside the Egyptian Obelisk…this was so impressive

A closeup of some of the detailed hieroglyphs

A cutie bead salesman by the Mosque

We are now heading to the Mosaic Museum

The streets were dotted with vendors with colorful wares

This museum was AWESOME…the Byzantine mosaics were unearthed and restored…each tile only a bit larger than 1/4″

The color was actually the stone color and not paint

Looking down at one of the floor panels from above

The 3 bears were my favorite.  The mother bear is plucking pomegranates out of the tree and tossing them to her baby

Time for a Turkish Tea break!! We found the most awesome cafe and we were the ONLY ones there.  We sat right under the Blue Mosque and lo and behold the Call to Prayer started about 20 minutes after we arrived.

GO TO THE UPPER LEFT  COLUMN OF THE BLOG TO HEAR FOR YOURSLEVES WHAT MILLIONS COME TO EXPERIENCE IN PERSON!!

Here is the cafe right under the dome

The cooles thing is this cafe is the excavation site of the mosaics!

Now back out and about to head to the Roman Cistern

Some colorful scenes enroute by foot

I loved this fountain.

How cute is this

Talk about a statement!! Its the only thing purple I can recall here

The ancient Cistern of Roman times was surreal!!  Click here to read about the history..it is fascinating as was the site.  I could have stayed there for hours

Weird photo I took with a long exposure!! Almost like aparitions of the past

Fish were swimming in the water.  I had goosebumps the entire time we were down there.  It was like being transported back in time

The columns were massive and intricately carved…this is all under ground

The perfect mirror reflection

Here’s those pale pomegranates I was telling you about yesterday

Our last stop was the Topkopi Palace on the top of the hill overlooking Istanbul

Look at the interesting markings on this kitty!!

I’d love to know what kind of tree this is.  It had maple shaped leaves

Lots of gold gilt everywere

Of course I see the walkways as art!!

And look at this rooftop!

Bling has hit the wall…she needs a break and a brew before we return by subway to the hotel

And one final pit stop at the local Starbucks to get our Istanbul mug to add to our growing collection!!!

Another beautiful day in Istanbul starts out with an equally inspiring sunrise at 5:30 AM

Immediately after breakfast we set out by subway to the Grand Bazaar which is one of the oldest continuous markets on the planet .  Over 4000 stalls!!!

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO BOO IN THE UPPER RIGHT OF THE BLOG FOR MORE SHOPPING INFO TOO!!

Turkish Eyes were everywhere made of fused cobalt colored glass.  Hanging one above your doorway at home or at your business is said to keep evil away in Turkish customs.  I have one of these to give away as part of the post adventure drawing!!1

Here is a shot of what the entrance to the Bazaar looks like.  Most of these photos are not well executed because of the light and crowd conditions, but still give you an idea of how huge and varied this market is

Scarves and locally made textiles were everywhere

Here are some leather goods

The Turkish silver and gold jewelry booths  was never ending!!!!

Some lovely silver above

Here are the scarves again!!

A Fez dispenser

Water pipes are a very popular glass item at the market.   We love the huka bars where the men smoke tobacco around a table from these pipes.  We finally saw a woman at a huka joint but only after we arrived in Turkey

I wanted EVERY one of these stunning beaded lamps!! What a display

A great little hat display…loved the head forms too

A quick snack of a cold kebab of some sort and a coke

We bumped into an entire street of button and buckle shops!!  This was not  the  tourist area but a place where local business people bought their wares

A shop jam packed full of colorful jewelry

Cutie Steve had to have a photo of this sign….we sat in front of this store for a quick break and cup of Turkish tea and Steve said he’s renaming my business to what the sign says!  His shin is now bruised…but only a tiny bit..hee hee hee

Tea and Baklava…I prefer the smaller tradtional cups for the Turkish tea which I showed you all before but these were very cool too

Treasures!!

Belly dance supply booth

This booth was all traditional instruments

Wood inlay chess, checker, and domino boxes…Very nicely done witth Mother of Pearl

Hand woven textiles made in Turkey

More Hukas

Typical of the archways throughout the market

Steve is back in the booth buying me a special necklace!!! I’ll take pix tomorrow when it gets light outside

Hand painted porcelain tiles are a popular art form here

And Pomagranate symbols are super popular too.  Today I saw a yellow pommie wiht a coral blush!! Oh how gorgeous they were!!

These jewelry photos only represent a small fraction of what is out in this market

Me with the artist who made the pendant Steve got for me!! This guy was so nice!!

This is more of the silver I bought yesterday.  This is their Bazaar location

The prices were 6x higher here than  what I paid!!  I will go back to the first guy tomorrow

Uh oh…caught in the act at one of the bead booths!!

Bling says she’s geting very hungry.  See she has her own Turkish Eye amulet??

So once my crazed shopathan is over we sit down to eat  at a street vendor.. OH YUM this was tasty!!

Here  they are preparing the kebabs in the tgraditonal way

And back out into the market….we are heading for the spice market

Turkish evil eyes but the sinful quantities!!

Here are some hats from a felt artist who does her own felted jewelry too!!! We were very impressed with her work.  I will do an entire post on her later

Here are a few of her pices

Here is the felter with a bunch of her necklaces to the left

Now comes some insanity.  We were attempting to leave the market and head to catch a taxi and got side tracked for about an hour on a local group of narrow streets

This is the area I mention on the AudioBoo where it was the locals shopping market.  All sorts of dry goods where here

Now this girl stood out like a sore thumb..great tattoos!

Talk about a contrast between tattoo girl and these ladies

Now we come to the spices

Here is Steve buying fresh dates…OMG we got 3 different varieties and they all taste like the finest caramel you can buy!!  Sweet and slightly chewy.  Not dry like the supermarket kind we see in the US

Mystery dried fruit

Spices went on for blocks!!

Dried and cured  meats are very popular over here

Powered mint tea!! Thsi was tempting but we need to be careful what we take through customs in Europe

Here are the cheeses  I mention in the Audio boo.  Kasseri chees is soooooooooooooo yummy

Aren’t these little colorful pots charming??

The fish were extremely fresh at the spice market

This man was shredding Kasseri cheese

An iphone shot of a few of the beads I got today

My gigantic sterling and turquise pendant that Steve got for me today

For now I’ll sign off…the computer screen is going blurry so it’s probably time to quit.  i’LL CATCH UP WITH YOU ALL TOMORROW!!!