Istanbul

I had a last minute decision to get away, Turkey beckoned and I have been luxuriating in the delights of Istanbul. There is not so much modern public sculpture unless you count the hundreds of 'Ataturk's'  everywhere but the mosques, camii as I learnt to call them, are amazing. The weather was so good that I spent most of the time wandering around gawping and being amazed by the contrasts, the beautiful alongside the derelict and satellite dishes on 2000 year old walls. I was privileged to stay with Cemre who plays on and was the editor for this amazing music
doga icin cal 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3OwxXw0v9c&list=PL3E85345102C14249&index=4&feature=plcp
 Ataturk at the train station.

Down beneath the streets in the Basilica Cistern to find a pair of Medusa heads.










Extraordinarily tumbling down wooden houses in the Fatih district next to the Suleymaniye camii, full of small workshops making sieves and furniture. 

 Sinan the architect buried here, a very      under-       rated chap

One of the very few contemporary works. The plate shown here is  attached to the sculpture above, my Turkish isn't that good yet so I leave that translation to others.












The studio beckons and hundreds of applications to do but if I had the chance I would be back in Istanbul like a shot