Fifty-fourth Post From Türkiye: Iznik, Turkey's Tile Capital

Iznik
So this post has been put off for far too long. I always think I will churn out a bunch of posts and get caught up, but I never do. I really should get cracking with these things because our time in Turkey is quickly drawing to a close. Sad!
Anyway, after Trum and I returned from our sojourn in the wilderness of Waukee, Iowa, we took a road trip down to Iznik.
Iznik is a great town on Lake Iznik. It is a very old city and also the tile capitol of Turkey. I am obsessed with Turkish pottery and have purchased way too much of this beautiful, hand painted commodity. But that didn't stop me from picking up a few pieces while we were in Iznik.

So just for a little historical background info about Iznik, here is some stuff I got off the ole Wikipedia.

The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now Iznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the nature of the Son of God and his relationship to God the Father, the construction of the first part of the Nicene Creed, establishing uniform observance of the date of Easter, and promulgation of early canon law.
So you know that whole Trinity thing? That was decided on here in Turkey. Neat-o!

Here is what we saw in Iznik.

 Iznik Museum, not open. But there was a cute kitty sitting on some Roman artifacts out front!

The beautiful Green Mosque.

We wandered through the street market. I love these markets! In some ways they are all very similar but at the same time you never know what might surprise you.

Some stuff an "antique" dealer was selling. I liked the little homemade doll with crooked eyes.

Here is surprise from this market, Camel rides. That was a little wacky.

Little courtyard surrounded by tile & pottery shops. Each shop was run by the artist who painted the tiles and pottery sold in the shops.

Süleyman Pasa Madrasa, is an old madrasa where the cells are now pottery shops. You can see some of the artists painting in the courtyard. It was really cool!

We passed by this Hamam (Turkish Bath) that uses a wood fire to heat the steam room and the water. The pile of firewood was enormous. This picture doesn't do it justice. But I do like all the towels drying on the line.

Iznik's Hagia Sophia also known as Aya Sofya is a Byzantine-era former church building which was built by Justinian I in the middle of the city in the 6th century.

Cotton Candy anyone?

Jack sadly turns away from the roasted chestnut cart, because these guys tell him they don't like the cut of his jib! Just kidding the chestnuts weren't done roasting yet. 

I was sorely tempted to buy one of these enormous pans. Why? I don't know, because they are there and because they are awesome. Plus I kinda wanted to hang out some more with these awesome Turkish ladies.

Sunset on Lake Iznik.

Our hotel was right by the lake and the old city wall. It had a fabulous garden and restaurant. We enjoyed our breakfast there immensely! It had all of the elements for a perfect Turkish breakfast. Bread, cheese, tomato, cucumber, olives, honey, boiled eggs, pink meat (mysterious sausage substitute), borek (pastry with cheese), kitties playing under our table and a random Turkish kid who wanders by every once in a while with a soccer ball. I am telling you, it was perfection!

Istanbul Gate. I assume this is the gate through which you would start a journey to Istanbul through. But I wasn't paying much attention to Jack when he told us about it. Sorry!

Truman in an alcove and an elderly gentleman on a bike.

A crazy faced figure from the Istanbul Gate.

I just sorta love this picture. It is just a great shot of small town Turkey.

Kirghiz tomb, which dates from the early Ottoman period. Built for the Kirghiz warriors who fought as allies to the Ottomans. This is the kind of stuff Jack loves and Trum and I say, "Ahh, interesting." when he tells us about them.

Iznik is in a very fertile area, filled with lots of beautiful farms and orchards. We stopped at this little stand to buy some fruit from this kind man and he called for blessings on our heads. Pretty good deal when all we thought we would get were some grapes!

Beautiful valley we drove through on our way home.

Along our ride home we stopped in Eskişehir to see the Odunpazarı neighborhood.

Beautiful Mosque.

Fun and colorful ottoman style houses.

It was a great weekend road trip. Even better because we were together as a family!!