We spent the day touring Istanbul. Our first stop was at the ancient Hagia Sophia Museum. "Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Built in AD 537 at the beginning of the Middle Ages, it was famous in particular for its massive dome." - wikipedia. As impressive as the building was unfortunately there was a large section that was under repair making it impossible to appreciate the full splendor of the building, but such is life and all buildings require maintenance.
Our next stop was across the street at the Basilica Cistern. Again from wikipedia - "The Basilica Cistern, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 150 meters southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I". Going underground to view this impressive site provided a welcome relief from the heat of the midday Istanbul sun. In the cool damp space we were awed by the magnitude of the place and the random seemingly unnecessary artwork that would never have been witnessed while the cistern was in use.
Leaving the cool confines of the cistern we waded through the masses to the famous Blue Mosque. We toured the mosque and admired its beauty, though it also was undergoing renovations and its dome was unfortunately not visible from the inside. The masses of visitors to the place took away from some of the religious calmness that we have experienced at other mosques on our trip.
From the mosque we saw the Hippodrome in Sultanahment Square before venturing over to the Grand Bazaar. Unfortunately the bazaar was closed for ramadan celebrations and we had to change our plans. We walked across a bridge wandered through the streets of the Karakoy neighborhood stopping for some Turkish delight before continuing our wanderings up to the Taksim Square. Thirsty and not overly impressed with the square we walked back to see the Galata Tower, a medieval stone tower that has been restored. From a hotel rooftop bar next to the tower we enjoyed a drink before growing hungry and opting for a Turkish breakfast at a small cafe nearby that to our surprise offered a nice view of the tower from its back terrace.
Full from our feast we took a cab back to the hotel and crashed for the night after walking and fighting through crowds for nearly 10 miles.
Our next stop was across the street at the Basilica Cistern. Again from wikipedia - "The Basilica Cistern, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 150 meters southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I". Going underground to view this impressive site provided a welcome relief from the heat of the midday Istanbul sun. In the cool damp space we were awed by the magnitude of the place and the random seemingly unnecessary artwork that would never have been witnessed while the cistern was in use.
Leaving the cool confines of the cistern we waded through the masses to the famous Blue Mosque. We toured the mosque and admired its beauty, though it also was undergoing renovations and its dome was unfortunately not visible from the inside. The masses of visitors to the place took away from some of the religious calmness that we have experienced at other mosques on our trip.
From the mosque we saw the Hippodrome in Sultanahment Square before venturing over to the Grand Bazaar. Unfortunately the bazaar was closed for ramadan celebrations and we had to change our plans. We walked across a bridge wandered through the streets of the Karakoy neighborhood stopping for some Turkish delight before continuing our wanderings up to the Taksim Square. Thirsty and not overly impressed with the square we walked back to see the Galata Tower, a medieval stone tower that has been restored. From a hotel rooftop bar next to the tower we enjoyed a drink before growing hungry and opting for a Turkish breakfast at a small cafe nearby that to our surprise offered a nice view of the tower from its back terrace.
Full from our feast we took a cab back to the hotel and crashed for the night after walking and fighting through crowds for nearly 10 miles.
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