We had a very full day of touring Istanbul. We started at Topkapi Palace, the palace of the sultans of the Ottomon Empire. Its a wonderful museum with clothing, jewels, armory and other artifacts of the Ottomon Empire. It was the home of the Ottomon sultans and the grounds are lush and beautiful with a view of the Bosporus. My favorite place there is the hall with the relics of the prophets, including the arm of John the Baptist and various bits of the Prophet Muhammad, including a tooth and hairs from his beard! In that set of rooms the Qur'an is read continuously so as you go through the exhibit you are listening the the chanting of the Qur'an. On the way out you pass the person who is doing the chanting. The Qur'an is recited in that space 24/7 every day of the year. Its really lovely to listen to. After that we went to the underground Roman Cistern Basilica, which is a really surreal, gorgeous underground cathedral, where the Romans built an enormous cistern. Its cool and dark and beautiful underground there. After that we went to lunch and then headed back to the Blue Mosque and then Hagia Sophia. By then it was very late afternoon and we were all tired from walking all day, so we opted for an early evening boat cruise on the Bosporus. That was lovely and we saw the sunset as we were heading back. By the time we got off the boat, it was gone 8:00 PM and then we went to dinner! We got back to the hotel at about 10:30, having left at 8:00 AM! It is amazing how lively Istanbul is at 10:00 on a Wednesday evening. As we were driving back to the hotel (a long drive as we are out near the airport) it was astonishing to see how many people are out and about on the streets, with small night markets all over the place and people sitting out picnicking, having tea and coffee and walking around. The place is really bustling with activity! We were all pretty done in after our very long day and we have an early start tomorrow. We fly to Izmir tomorrow and will visit Ephesus. One night there and then on to Cappadocia the next day.
I've included shots of Bonnie at Topkapi Palace, the cistern, the ceiling of the Blue Mosque and a sunset shot off the boat on the Bosporus.
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