Saturday's Fantastic Photo Journey

To celebrate this new lovely weather I headed out for a long walk around part of a neighborhood I hadn't explored much yet. It is on the other side of Fulya Avenue from me and seems very self contained with all sorts of little shops. It also has the least straightforward roads and most stairways of any neighborhood I've seen. To start the day out I had a great Kabob down at Haci Baba's then walked around the neighborhood until I saw a staircase leading up into adventure and the unknown.



And looking down from the top


This staircase actually has a name, it's "Gül Sokak" meaning "flower street." Along the stairway there are a few shops and a small restaurant. After a steep climb I came to the center of the newly discovered neighborhood, a very beautiful mosque which is probably one of the ones I hear from home every call to prayer.



Stairs lead down behind the mosque to a small patio facing south that gives a wonderful view of the city.











After emerging from around the other side of the mosque I explored the neighborhood a bit more. Because of the warm weather the children were out in force, running around everywhere kicking soccer balls around or just playing tag. This neighborhood seemed a bit more conservative than mine, more of the women wore headscarves and not every convenience store featured alcohol for purchase. I've come to appreciate Islam much more from living here and seeing the values in place within a society.







After a few hours of roaming the afternoon sun went behind the clouds and I turned home, taking as winding and confused route as I could find.





Tomorrow I think I will go see what Beshiktash is like in March.