The rain it raineth every day

Thursday morning was bucketing it down with rain. So naturally we decided to walk all the way to the western disrict of Istanbul where no trams or buses go. We calculated that we must have walked about ten miles, squelching all the way. But it was all worth it, because we ended up at the Chora Church - a real little gem, just outside the old city walls which is full of the most beautiful mosaics dating from the 12th century. It became a mosque after the fall of Constantinople and is now a museum. In the picture at the side, you can just see Theodosius (chap who built the church) and his wife offering it to Our Lady and Christ. Presumably this was in one of the areas which surrendered to Mehmet the Conquerer as he promised to spare any churches which accepted his authority. The original decorations of the church are remarkably well preserved and there is little sign that it ever became a mosque. We stayed in here as long as we could to get out of the rain, before venturing out to explore the area more generally. After much wandering we found a local bakery where we had incredibly cheap cay (tea) and rice pudding (a Turkish speciality) and watched lots of local children running errands to buy bread and baclava. Then it was off again into the rain to walk along the Golden Horn all the way back to Sultanahmet, psyching ourselves up for an encounter with the Grand Bazaar......