Tour 2009 - Churches, Mosques & Bath Houses Oh My! - TopKapi Palace and More!

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Well after an action packed day 2, How can you beat getting tear-gassed? We stayed away from the part of the city with the IMF conference... we saw the police chopper in the distance and stayed in Sultanhamet... Still LOTS to see... This place is just packed with history... Today, we had to take our bikes to the shop to get fixed.. Unfortunately, the plane ride wasn't that kind on them. I had a soft brake, and Barry’s rim was bent. So first thing we made our way to the shop.. The gentleman that owned the bike shop was a professional cyclist himself... He managed to fix mine up in no time, but we had to leave Barry's there for the day. So after bringing my bike back to the hotel, we set out to see the Topkapi palace... Good thing we stopped for lunch first, because we needed the fuel to make it through the whole thing!

This palace is MASSIVE! It covers 700,000 (yes that's seven hundred thousand) square meters and consists of courts, pavilions, mosques and fountains. The palace is within the walls of the old city and situated right on the seawall... The palace was built in 1459 after Mehmet conquered Istanbul. The Harem was added later sometime in the 16th century. The palace was the official residence of the Sultans until 1839 when Sultan Abdulamecit I moved to a new palace - I guess he out grew the old one!
Anyway - the palace is mow a museum and contains some absolutely amazing artifacts - The Skull and case of John the Baptist (Yes his real skull) and his arm... kind of macabre, but this really hit home for me in term of just how much history is in this area. The exhibit also contained several cases containing the prophet Mohammed's Beard and tooth... amazing.
The entire palace tour, including the Harem, took us over two hours! We did manage to see the inside of the Blue Mosque... Again words can't even begin to describe the magnificent detail and grandeur of the complex. The intricate blue tile and large dome. (Actually the same size as Aya Sophia, however, Aya Sophia is not supported by pillars, as is the Blue Mosque). It is still used today as a Mosque and is thankfully open to visitors. It's hard to fathom, how they built such magnificent structures with so little technology. The Blue Mosque was built by the famous architect, Sinan. In his lifetime, he built over 80 big, 50 small mosques and various other schools, hospitals, palaces, bridges, aqua ducts and Turkish Baths. The Blue Mosque is probably his masterpiece.
After another successful day of sightseeing, we went for a beer on a patio and are now down for a nap! Tonight, we plan on dinner and a visit to the Turkish bath before bed - THAT should be an interesting experience😊 I'll tell you all about it in my next entry!

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