The Galata Tower. A nice feel to the neighbourhood walking up to it, this shopfront workshop with craft sessions caught my eye, you can go and make your own mosaic lamp for €35

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galata_Tower

https://www.highlightsinistanbul.com/

Wandered over to the tourist core in my plan-less state, explored the gardens of the Topkapı palace and the squares around the Hagia Sofia but felt no impulse to go into these places

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BClhane_Park - the big column was left there by the Romans in the 4th century ago. Now reading that i missed a whole museum of Islamic Science and Technology nearby; having seen glimpses of those instruments and devices in the equivalent Western museum in Oxford recently, have to try and return there

Making a conscious decision not to go into curated spaces, just take what comes aesthetically

Did briefly go into one mosque, not with deliberate intent, was drinking tea in a patch of sun until it sank behind it, felt appealing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Hagia_Sophia - built around the same time as Hagia Sofia, originally a church. Very solemn and open feeling. The courtyard opposite had artists' studios around the edge, bought a small print of whirling dervishes. They do shows, that doesn't appeal much

The oddly quiet neighbourhood i arrived in yesterday was bustling by morning, it's dominated by shops selling craft supplies and makes, you squint down into a basement and see a half a dozen styles of sandals on a desk, a room piled with sandal bases, or a tiny mall connecting basements

Most of the upper floors must be used as warehouses or workshops. Explored the other direction to find a more living area this evening, ate at a hole-in-the-wall döner place, drank unexpectly rose-scented tea

Allowed myself to be tempted into a particularly pretty sweets-and-spices shop, be plied with tea and samples of Turkish delight, and emerge with a fancy presentation box full of thick rolls of the stuff, weighing almost a kilo, which they thoughtfully shrink-wrapped to prevent me from noshing up immediately. So i'll bring fancy Turkish delight home to share with loved ones, and stop looking at it here

A lot of day, earned the right to drink tea in the hotel cafe and attempt to shader code :)

I made this lamp! With a bona fide effort to place all the tiny glass beads by hand, towards the end of the session gave in and shoved the rest of the gold ones on with a spoon, as previously instructed. The lamp now has a big base which i *might* be able to pack

Sticking the mosaic to the glass bulb is done with clear silicone gel-glue like you'd use for plumbing. There's glass-cutting gear and scraps in the hacklab...