So not only were the figures at the Mosaic Museum really well made, some of them were really funny and/or gory. A lion was depicted ripping a deer open, complete with bloody, scratch marks, and there was also an elephant strangling a lion with its trunk. The most remarkable was this weird mythical creature Caleb dubbed a “Unidragocorn” for its resemblance to both a unicorn and a dragon. Turns out it’s was an “Okapi-headed leopard griffin,” according to the helpful placard. Caleb’s explanation sounds a bit more plausible…
We met some other weird animals today as well. In the underground cistern, one section featured art in the form of jellyfish hanging between the columns. With the weird, orange light and hanging jellyfish it was pretty trippy.
At lunchtime, we had a weird ice cream experience. Neha and Jackie both got ice cream cones where the guy slapped the ice cream into the cone with a giant metal spatula and then kept playing tricks before giving the cones to them. And then, it wasn’t normal ice cream at all. Apparently, it was made with the extract from a tree that used to be used for gum. So the ice cream was incredibly elastic in its nature, which made it especially hard to eat for Laura, who had gotten a dish of the stuff and could barely get it on the spoon.
But our time is Istanbul has been fun so far. One of the best parts is our hotel, which features a great breakfast, and a huge, puffy, incredibly comfy beds and comforters.