It was pouring rain, and we had said our goodbyes to Johan and Jenny. It was time to go shopping! Trip was not thrilled, but he trudged along behind me, waiting patiently and carrying the things I bought, while I poured over the stalls in the Grand Bazaar.
After the bazaar, we moved on through the still pouring rain to the Pudding Shop, one of the iconic places for lunch in Istanbul.
And then it was time for the Basilica Cistern. Despite being surrounded by the sea on three sides, Istanbul has very little fresh water. The cistern, and a series of hundreds of kilometers of ductwork from the mountains were constructed in Byzantium times (6th century), to provide water to the palace and the local population.
The cistern is 9,800 square meters in size, and is supported by 336 stone columns, most of them recycled from the ruins of older buildings in other parts of the empire.
From Russia With Love
The base of one particular column features a head turned upside down. Reportedly it is Medusa (minus the snakes) and the head is upside down as that was how to prevent her gaze from turning you into stone. That, or someone simply had a sense of humor.
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