Istanbul Constantinople

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Geo: 41.013, 28.9765

Greetings from Istanbul. A city of delicious cakes, many mosques and far too many Chelsea fans (they're playing Galatasaray tomorrow night).

Last night I arrived late off a Turkish airlines flight (highly recommended- Turkish delights on take off, beef burgers for dinner and more metal cutlery) and was met at the hostel by a glass of Apple tea and a discussion on weird Chinese food. I like this place. Today's weather has been cold and drizzly so I had a nice lie in this morning and then headed to the Topkapi Palace, the Ottoman sultan residence for around 400 years. The palace was closed but the gardens had some interesting gargoyles, lion statues and a merry-go-round. I then stumbled upon the tombs of five sultans and their families, each one dome shaped and more elaborate than the last- think of elaborate mosques and that's about the same level as these. After this I walked past the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia but decided they could wait for a less drizzly/crowded day.

After this I headed up one of the many hills and stumbled upon the Grand Bazaar, a place with over 3000 shops under one roof and the ability to buy just about anything. The decor was fantastic, high arched ceilings, and nice wooden beams. I wandered around looking at all the tea sets, rugs, watches and other generic Asian shopping mall wears before deciding that bargaining was too much effort and left. This area of Istanbul is characterized by small narrow streets, aforementioned hills and lots of shops- trade is definitely still a big thing for this city. There are also men (I didn't see any women) who run between the shops delivering small cups of tea until the call to prayer sounds and everyone disappears off the streets.

I then wandered into the Suleymaniye Mosque via the University of Istanbul. The mosque itself was absolutely huge with hundreds of chandelier type lights and plenty of people praying. It was set at the top of a hill so had great views of old Istanbul. Finally i popped into the spice market; a place where practically any kind of tea and spice are available. My favorites being the pomegranate and lemon teas. I then set off in search of a kebab, found one, thoroughly enjoyed it and then went back to visit all the old sites by night. I was not disappointed, they were just as beautiful.

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