Left hotel a little after 9 headed to Church in Taksim. Taksim and the road that leads there was all the rage in its hey day. This was the place to be seen when the Orient Express was at its peak. Beautiful old buildings line the street with passages that branch off into the neighborhood. We were headed to Istanbul Union Church, located in the old chapel of the Dutch Embassy. It was a nice service a contemporary blend. They didn't have a piano of organ but had keyboard, flute, trumpet and guitar.On the way there we passed 2 other old Churches. One a beautiful Catholic church that looked like it was Franciscan, and another off a side street that was now a restaurant.
Church was at 11, and our directions were a little off but we found it anyway. The pastor, who was originally from South Africa, spoke from Jeremiah. Where both Israel and Judah are called on for turning away from God. Israel is unrepentant, but Judah is, although not whole heartedly. Israel ends up being praised. Basically he said that God calls us to obey him, and to love him but if we don't do it completely, with all our heart, we are no better than the people of Judah. We might go through the paces week by week, but if what we do doesn't change our heart, what good is it.
We walked back up the street to get lunch at a place that we had seen that had sandwiches. the neat thing was that it was inside one of the old buildings and in the 2nd floor seating area you could clearly see the old architecture, it was beautiful. then we went to look for the Avrupa Passage on of the most beautifully preserved and architecturally interesting passages, or so says LP. Being sunday there seemed to be few people out and about in this area. From there we walked to Galata Tower, went to the top and enjoyed wonderful views of the city.
Then we set off to find Saints Peter & Paul Church, but ended up finding the Jewish Synagogue instead. this area of the city seems to be very trendy, maybe artsy and popular with young musicians. On the way to the tower we bought fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, it was very good but there was a lot of pulp and seeds, that you had to spit out as you drank it.
Eventually found the church that we were looking for but it was closed. Walked down the hill and back across the Galata Bridge. Lots of people were out fishing. When we got across the bridge the people were swarming around the boats selling the fish sandwiches, and in the underground tunnel to cross the street it was wall to wall people. Walked all the way back to the hotel and ended up taking a long nap.
Around 6 went out in search of dinner. Ended up eating at Pasha a small restaurant near Shultanahmet tram station. We decided on this place because they served the pot stew dish that we missed out on in Cappadocia.
Crashed back at the hotel very tired but ended up watching a little bit of 24.
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