I love Eminonu - it's the place where pigeons rule, fed seed by the people, where you can buy hot corn-on-the-cob in season, ice cream makers are there in the summer and the ever-present simit salesmen sell their delicious breads.
The New Mosque is there too, Yeni Cami.
Begun in 1597 by Safiye, mother of Mehmet III, building halted when the sultan died and his mother lost her position. It was completed around 1663 when Turhan Hadice, mother of Mehmet IV took over the project.
It's a beautiful mosque and one of the most prominent mosques in the city. I saw these two women just inside and couldn't resist taking a photograph.
I left New Zealand mid-2003, bound for Istanbul and a new lif. After two years, a Belgian guy lured me into his world, deep in the heart of Europe. For a long time I was an in-process immigrant. One day we married. These days it's about photography, a little red wine and wandering ... and so the journey goes.
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