Things To Do In Istanbul

Things To Do In Istanbul

We arrived in Istanbul in the evening and went to the hotel straight away. We were in luck with the hotel as we were given a room with a very nice view. Because reservations were a bit last minute we stayed in the business district for the first night. The view from the hotel made it worthwhile.

The next morning, after breakfast, we took a cab into old town and started our adventure there. Our first stop was the Basilica Cistern. The cistern, built in the 6th century, supplied water to Topkapi Palace and the surrounding buildings. Although now holding very little water (enough for some carp), it has the capacity to hold about 100,000 gallons of water. When the emperors moved, the cistern closed and was not rediscovered until 1545. It was cleaned up and re-opened to the public in 1985 (the Ottomans used it as sort of their junk storage – threw a few corpses in, too. Of all the 336 columns, 2 stand out as they have at their bottom the head of Medusa. One is sideways and the other is upside down. No one is exactly sure why or where they came from, but they are interesting to see! The cistern is an unbelievable testament to the Byzantine engineering prowess not only because of its size, but that it was supplied with water through a large system of aqueducts from about 12 miles away. That fact that something like this could be built in the year 532 is amazing in itself.

We re-surfaced to street level and made our way toward Topkapi Palace – the home of Ottoman Sultans. The palace had it all. The Sultans lived and ruled from the palace for about 400 years from the mid 1400s until the mid 1800s. It was, for the most part, a city in the

city and the royals never really had to leave, everyone came to them. The Sultan’s court was at the palace and it was the seat of government. It is massive. The Sultan himself had an apartment with 400 rooms for his family and favorites! Good living if you could get it!!

After the palace we head out the back entrance called the Gate of Salutation. We stop for a fresh pomegranate juice and walk to view the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Istanbul is bustling. The hustle of street vendors and tour guides is ever present and gives the area an energetic feel. We look at Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque from the outside. Amazing buildings! We planned to enter them the next day. We stop for a snack of Durum Kebap then head for the hotel.

Dinner is next – a plate of mezzes (mixed plate), Gozlem (turkish pancakes) and Anatolian Ravioli (heavy pasta in a tomato sauce with greek yogurt and spices – Yum!!!).

At the restaurant you can eat on the cushions or at tables. We choose the cushions so we get that “eat like a Sultan” feel. We can see the gozlem being made fresh.

Istanbul is full of life. It is gritty and interesting place so far. We go back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the next day’s adventure

Do you want to know more about the things to see and do in Istanbul> Read the other posts in this series here and here.

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