A day to remember

Today was senses overload in a good way. 
Late morning we (friends and ex-colleagues - Sean, Ruth, Marshall, Shaun and me) drove to Karaköy to visit the Istanbul Modern Art museum. 

As it is only a couple weeks since I was last there with Sarah, today I lingered more on those works that really interested me. In a modern and contemporary exhibition, talking about 'what is the purpose of Art?' is enticingly inevitable so always more fun to visit with friends.

After an eyewateringly expensive bottle of water and a beer at the cafe, we walked further in to the district of Hacimimi. Adjacent to Tophane leading up (literally) to istiklal Caddesi, it is close to my favourite places and yet I've never explored this vibrant area. I must do so. Life in these narrow, super hilly and  crowded  streets is best described visually - a project for another day, preferably a cooler one. 

Our destination was an Indonesian cuisine restaurant for lunch. A familiar place to my friends but new to me - more sights to see and now tastes to tickle too. Delicious, comfortable, (and inexpensive!), it was a good meal in good company.  A couple of hours later, satiated and content, we walked to see the apartment that Sean and Ruth are staying in for a few days.  A typical very tall Ottoman C19th apartment building, beautifully renovated,  with a roof terrace and a view to fill your eyes that is today's photo. 

After a period of oohing and aahing and general recovery, Sean, Shaun and I walked back to the underground car park, with a quick detour to Karaköy sea front. The port here is the only place on the Bosphorus that is deep enough for those huge ginormous floating city cruise "ships" to moor, and so it was an uncommon sight to see  the quay empty and the beautiful blue Bopshorus exposed in all her glory - and many were making the most of this photo opportunity.

The ride home was long and tedious because by 17.30 of course, the traffic has turned all roads in to carparks, and it was more than an hour before I finally got home for a quiet evening to reflect on all I had seen. 

Extas:
Entrance to the Istanbul Modern
View from the terrace
Woman recovering from seeing all that art
Karaköy quay photo op.