Daydream Tourist

Jun 27

An Image Match and A Very Good Tip

Friedrich Wahle – “Beim Einkauf (When Shopping)”, sold in Munich in 2005

If you haven’t been following along, I’ve embarked on a little research project to create a catalog raisonne and biography for the German illustrator Friedrich (Fritz) Wahle – mainly because I bought one of his paintings and couldn’t find any information about him. Many of his paintings appeared in the humor magazine Fliegende Blatter and so I’ve been going through digitized copies looking to correlate print images with auction records and to identify new painting. Here is the first match I found!

Jun 25

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An American Watches Eurovision 2012

Walking home from dinner in Istanbul, I noticed the Eurovision Song Contest Finals being broadcast on a cafe TV and zipped back to the hotel to watch. From what I can tell, Eurovision is a American Idol/Pop Idol combined with good-natured European nationalism. I have some vague recollection of years past when the musical acts were either terrible, super avant garde or kitschy traditional music. Always one to watch European countries compete, I followed eagerly, only to realize that I really don’t like European pop music!

Jun 20

Side View of Valens Aqueduct, Istanbul Turkey

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Urban Aqueduct in Istanbul

Byzantine Valens Aqueduct, Istanbul Turkey

Valens Aqueduct running through Istanbul (Photo: Daydream Tourist)

Last week I wrote about the incredible Basilica Cistern in the heart of the Sultanahmet, or historic center, of Istanbul. All the water needed to fill that and other cisterns in Constantinople was brought in through an extensive aqueduct network which partially survives today. The most significant portion is the Valens Aqueduct constructed by Emporer Valens in the 4th century AD. It is about 95 feet high with about a 13 foot arch span which now allows cars to drive through the Byzantine aqueduct.

Jun 19

Istanbul Bazaar Purchases

I don’t buy a lot of souvenirs when I travel, but the prospect of bargaining in Istanbul sounded like too much fun. I hoped to negotiate in Turkish (to give myself some legitimacy) and so I really tried to learn at least how to say numbers. Frankly, I doubt I fooled anyone and you’ll see that only one purchase was actually significantly made in Turkish. That being said, I’m really happy with what we found.

Jun 14

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Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

Basilica Cistern entrance view, Istanbul (Photo: Daydream Tourist)

How does a city surrounded by the ocean get enough fresh water to support a population of nearly half a million people? The answer for Byzantine Emperors Constantine and Justinian I was a 19km aqueduct that emptied into a massive reservoir beneath Constantinople. Today you can visit the Basilica Cistern; the entrance is about a block away from the Hagia Sophia. The cavernous pool is cool, dimly lit and a quiet retreat from the tourist commotion above. I thought it was incredibly beautiful and peaceful and spent about an hour very slowly wandering through it.

Daydream Tourist

Because there are way more than seven wonders in the world.

An Image Match and A Very Good Tip

An American Watches Eurovision 2012

Urban Aqueduct in Istanbul

Istanbul Bazaar Purchases

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

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