Mnemonics for Turkish

Friezes previously lining a street in Babylon
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How to say thank you in Turkish:

Tea Sugar A durham - more like tay shukur adihrem

Today I moved back to the hostel and Bunny aka Raki moved into the hotel with her group.  They took a Bosporus boat tour and I went off on my lonesome first to the Archeological museums and then to the Suleyman the Magnificent Mosque rounding out the day with a stroll through the Grand Bazaar.

The archeological museums were overwhelming.  There are two main buildings plus the tile pavilion.  One concentrates on really, really, really old stuff ( 8th and 9th century BC to 300 BC).  The other on the really, really old to the relatively recent (pre Greek to the Byzantine ).  There was stuff in the older collection that was from the Hittites, Egyptians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Phrygians, Uruartians - I had never heard of them either, from Ninevah and Nimrud.  Headstones of the Bythrians and Thracian horse combs.

The first known peace treaty between the Hittites and Egyptians in 1295 BC
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The most impressive piece would have to be the marble sarcophogus from Sidon decorated with the figure of Alexander the Great and Macedonian warriors fighting Persians.  Each face distinct and individual.  At least 30 figures grace the sides and the cover is edged with ram heads with roaring seated lions at each corner.  There are two rooms dedicated to the several sarcophagi found in a farmers field in what is now Lebanon and carted back to Ottoman Istanbul by Hamdi Bey this very impressive official of the Empire who oversaw work at this site, Ephesus and Nemrut Dag which is where they found great stone heads.

The first known love poem
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The other museum holds stuff from the Greek periods, Roman, Byzantine and rooms for Syrian, Palestinian and Cypriot finds from the ancient past.

I was totally exhausted at seeing so much remarkable stuff that I had to stop at the very first place outside the museum wall.  For a total tourist trap this little restaurant had a great salad of tomatoes, cukes, lettuce, carrots and peppers in a tasty dressing with flat bread and of course more tea.  I didn't realize I was right next door to a carpet salesman whose shop I had managed to avoid seeing  3 previous encounters.  I felt compelled to go in.  He actually had absolutely nothing that tempted me.  After another cup of tea I made my excuses and split/

Kurt would know where these come from
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Sulieyman the Magnificent was magnificent because he marched the Ottoman armies to the walls of Vienna expanding the empire to its height and brought great wealth to the capital.  His mosque is considered the greatest mosque in the city.  Mosques tend to be vast carpeted floor spaces with a mihrab or Mecca direction indicator.  Tile work and painted design are the main decoration.  I could not be a Muslim in this country because the carpeting makes me sneeze.  But I do like the idea of having a place to stop off during the day and wash your feet.

Assyrian wall segments
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From the mosque it is a short walk to the Grand Bazaar.  All covered with 4000 small shops.   It is a labyrinth of color and temptation.  A precursor to the shopping mall with a lot more give and take over prices.  At least here people understand it is supposed to be a bargaining process versus intimidation.