I needed a slow day today.

Slept nine hours, and my coughing has now virtually ceased. All I needed was rest.

Spent the morning checking locations – in particular at the Blue Mosque, one of the most famous Islamic mosques in the world.

Across from the Blue Mosque is the Hagia Sophia, one of the oldest religious structures in the world –

Had lunch then with Zeyno and her business partner Fatih, and we discussed the coming days, and our trip to Konya at the end of the week. Here’s what we ate: Chicken, chicken, chicken, lamb, and bread.

Guess which is which…

The chicken was flamed grilled, and the bread was freshly baked from a clay oven under the restaurant. It had to be pierced with a knife to let the steam out. Delicious!

On Thursday night we’re to film some Whirling Dervishes, and on Friday I’m to interview a distant descendant of Rumi, the 14th century poetic and mystic. Friday as well we fly to Konya, which is regarded as the spiritual heart of Turkey.

This afternoon Jennifer and I went for a walk around the city, and I took some photos in the bazaars. Unfortunately I didn’t find the bazaar very interesting visually, but what caught my eye were some of the clothing models outside the stands and stores…

Oh alright – here are a couple of boring bazaar shots…

Tomorrow we begin filming – looking forward to getting into it!