![\"1838-0007-Apartment-In-Balat-Istanbul\"](\"https:\/\/matchgrun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/1838-0007-Apartment-In-Balat-Istanbul.jpg\")
<\/a>Apartment In Balat, Istanbul<\/p><\/div>\n
Balat is an old area of Istanbul. There is a mixture of dilapidated houses, that are gradually deteriorating, and houses that have been remodeled and renovated. The really old houses have some interesting textures, as can be seen in this image, where plaster had fallen off the wall to reveal underlying brickwork.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Wall Texture And Window, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
Making my way down the steep street, I encountered the colorful flower boxes along one storefront.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Flower Boxes, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
Like many cities around the world, this area is becoming increasingly more gentrified. These three houses, in Kiremit Street, are typical of the remodeled houses in Balat.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Kiremit Street Houses, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
Another street was lined with black bollards to keep cars off the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Balat Street In The Morning<\/p><\/div>\n
I eventually returned to the top of street, above the rental house, where I encountered several other early risers who had hit the streets.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Street Scene, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
After breakfast, we decided to do some shopping in the nearby stores. While making our way there, we stopped at the Fatih Mosque. This is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful mosques in Istanbul. The main worship area has lighting located about 10 feet above the floor. In this image, I captured the fabulous domed ceilings that had chains that suspended the lights.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Suspension Chains From Ceiling, Fatih Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n
This mosque also had a huge red carpeted floor. The carpet included intricately detailed designs that can be seen in the following image.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Carpeted Floor, Fatih Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n
Passing by the main entrance, I made the following image of the mosque’s courtyard, where ablution facilities are located.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Looking Out Of Fatih Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n
Like many of the Turkish mosques, the heavy doors were decorated with geometric designs.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Main Entrance Door, Fatih Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n
After exiting the mosque through the main entrance, I stopped by the ablution fountain to make this image.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Ablution Fountain, Fatih Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n
The mosque had many domes that were included in the design of the roofs around the courtyard. At the peak of the dome, is an ornament, usually golden in color. I am sure that these dome ornaments have a name, but I have not yet found reference to this in various internet searches. I made this image that included the roof line with ornament against the blue sky.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dome Roof Ornament, Fatih Mosque<\/p><\/div>\n
Leaving the mosque, we made our way to the stores. Some of the stores are really specialized. In this image, the vendor only sells dates. These have been harvested from various areas and countries around the middle east.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Date Street Vendor, Istanbul<\/p><\/div>\n
The Turks are really enterprising people. In this image, one can get knives sharpened in the street. This vendor had setup his grindstones on a cart in the street. That guy in the orange shirt was amused by my interest in making photographs of the knife grinder!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sharpening Knives, Istanbul<\/p><\/div>\n
During the afternoon, we made our way down the streets of Balat. We found these two chidren enjoying a ride in the steep streets. They were fortunate that there were few cars in the area to spoil there enjoyment!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Children Enjoying Downhill Ride, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
We also passed this one really steep street, lined with really coloful houses.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Colorful Houses On Steep Street, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
At the bottom of the street, Susan and Warwick found a cat sleeping on the porch roof above a doorway.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Susan And Warwick, And Cat, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
This cat was the source of interest!<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Cat, Balat<\/p><\/div>\n
Susan and Angela visited the Turkish baths, while Warwick and I walked through the streets. One interesting building house the “Hobbit House” that serves breakfast.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Balat Hobbit House<\/p><\/div>\n
Here is another street scene that we found in Balat, where these two guys were chatting out in a street full of colorful houses.<\/p>\n