Blogs from Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 14

We rose early and breakfasted on the rooftop terrace surrounded by glorious views. Then we made our way to the Topkapi Palace. It only took about 15 minutes, in the crisp cool morning, but we wanted to get there early before the busloads of tourists arrived. We walked through the Arasta Bazaar, past the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia and the gardens of the First Courtyard of the Palace. After buying our tickets, we went through security, and entered the luxurious world of centuries past. There were still very few tourists at that time, so we made our way to the Harem, where we had to buy another entrance ticket. We were able to stay one step ahead of the early tourist groups, and enjoyed a most wonderful walk through the Harem. The rooms were beautiful - ... read more

Topkapi Palace was just a short distance from the Hostel it had been the residence of Sultans and commands a high spot over looking the Marmarus and Bosphorus seas. It has a high fortified wall and the grounds have many magnificant buildings. The gate entrance was manned by armed Turkish soldiers. Many of the buildings are still standing and in good condition, some have been turned into museums to display the Sultan's clothing, another held the Treasury in which the jewellery of the Sultans was on display. Many of the buildings did not allow photography, probably for conservation reasons as some of the clothes on display were hundreds of years old, so not too many pictures in the section. We spent 3 or 4 hours within the Palace grounds, it was very warm and lots of ... read more

As I write this blog the calls to prayer echo all around me, we are surronded by mosques and each mosque has its own call. it is an eery sound at first but one gets to enjoy it, one mosque after another starts and your ears are filled with the sounds Ahmet also showed us through Aya Sofa, (Haghia Sophia) this huge building now a museum , but once a church and also a mosque it is across Sultanahmet park from the Blue Mosque it was originally built in 537 however various fires and earthquakes have ruined and destroyed rebuilds till the present building which was rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 15th century We again entered quickly though there was long queues, the mosaic tiles in this building just leave you gazing at the ceiling ... read more

Istanbul is an awesome city. Probably in my top 3 favorite cities. Maybe even eclipsing my prior favorite, Paris. It has two of my favorite features of any great city - trams and ferries. And a completely wacky mixture of East and West and rich and poor and religious and secular. Coming to Istanbul was an enormous culture shock for me. I suppose it is all relative, but when I came from Jordan/Egypt to Istanbul, I was completely amazed at how free-flowing the alcohol is, how little clothes the women wear, and how many people eat and drink during the day during Ramadan. Traveling in Egypt/Jordan during Ramadan isn't fun due to the heat plus the inability to re-hydrate. Istanbul is a fully-modern city that still has all the trappings of a Middle Eastern city. Something ... read more

This is going to be a short one due to the frustrations involved in typing on a keyboard with extra letters. In addition I take no responsibility for misspellings or weird letters from here on... So Turkey has been awesome, so different and comfortable. Food is absolutely delicious with virtually no risk of food borne illness and such a rich culture. We have spent 10 days in Turkey in just 2 cities. Istanbul- We arrived after the best flight I have ever taken - Turkish Airlines is great! Public transport to the city center was super cheap and easy, that's always a bonus. What a beautiful place, lovely seaside walks, stunning mosques and plenty of parks. On top of it all, some of the best food to date, döner kebab, caçik, hummus and so on. We ... read more