Sunday on the peninsula

This afternoon we went for the reverse of a couple of walks we had done before: first to Balat, along the water on a walkway that has only recently opened up and that had nice views over to the Pera/ Kasimpasha shore of the Golden Horn. We had coffee at the usual place, sitting on the road and watching the people go by including a boy aged around 8 riding, with some difficulty, a motorcycle that was held together by rolls upon rolls of red tape. Also a dog lying asleep in the middle of the road despite the traffic, as is the way of dogs in Istanbul, ignoring all that passed until a scooter went by and it suddenly leapt to its feet to emit one loud bark, at which the rider, a young woman, jumped and squealed loudly. Satisfied, the dog went back to sleep.

We walked up to the Greek Orthodox school on its hilltop and then on to a tiny and very alive shrine where there were many women praying at a grave. From here we walked on to the Yavuz Selim mosque which, like the Sulaimaniye, overlooks the water but is altogether more modest. This was full of children playing, including a boy who did the most remarkable cartwheels all around the inside of the mosque. That thick carpet and open space, and willingness to admit children, must produce a great many gymnasts.

We went on to the Fatih mosque, where there were even more children playing, though no one doing cartwheels of the same calibre as at the other mosque. Then, being so close to the Syrian part of town, we decided to go for an early dinner and found that our favourite falafel place was open and quiet at this time (it is always packed) and has also been enlarged, losing some of its charm (and its ayran fountain) but definitely made more comfortable. We had a meal which, as usual, felled us and staggered away towards our return over the metro bridge, and came across one of the best positioned tea gardens in Istanbul, at a particularly fortunate bend in the Horn with a broad, angled sweep across Pera and the peninsula. Quite lovely, and worth a return when we have visitors.