Today, I Got S*** On By A Bird

3/26; Day 2; Istanbul, Turkey


Terrorizing foul beasts!

What a terrible way to start off Spring Break. It happened in the Grand Bazaar where there are thousands of shop owners trying to sell their goods: everything from traditional tapestries, clothes, and normal touristy souvenirs. Meanwhile, a bird pooped on my face. My friends say it’s lucky to get shit on by a bird, but how lucky can you be if you get shit on by a bird? The bomb hit me in my right eye and over my glasses. Thankfully, the laughing shop owner next to me gave me a couple of wet wipes and some tissues to wipe it off, but damn that was unfortunate. Good thing it was towards the end of the day, or else my entire day would have been ruined.

Crime scene

But back to the beginning, before I knew this was going to happen. We started our day early to go see the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia which were conveniently located right across from each other.


Glimpse of Istanbul

The Blue Mosque on one side...

...and the Hagia Sophia on the other

And salted corn in the middle! Super delicious

We first went to the Hagia Sophia, originally an orthodox church during the Byzantine Empire, converted to a mosque during the Ottoman Empire, and now remade into a tourist haven. After trying out the precursor to chicken and rice for lunch, we headed to the Blue Mosque to check it out.

Ceiling

Virgin and Child mosaic

Wish Column: Ability to cure all ailments, including simple-mindedness

The lodge of the empress where she watched the service

Jesus mosaic

The original chicken and rice: does not measure up to New York's

Blue Mosque

Requirements to get inside the mosque










Vertical Panorama of the Inside

Another Bazaar-esque place near the Blue Mosque

An array of hookah pipes

The Basilica Cistern

The Grand Bazaar; also where my unfortunate incident occurred

Additional Pictures

-Emoinacloset