Istanbul

Our arrival in Turkey hit a bit of a snag straight away - our pre-booked ride from the airport didn't show up and we spent about an hour and a half waiting before another helpful tour operator agreed to take us in to the central city.  Our first impressions were that the best way of describing Istanbul was simply to refer to its geography - part European and part Asian.  Not quite flash / developed enough to be your stereotypical European city, but more developed than recent Asian cities we'd been to. One thing it does have most places covered for is the history.  We thought we'd seen old places in Europe, this was another level and we set about exploring straight away.

First stop the next morning was the oldest church - mosque - now museum of Hagia Sofia. Thousands of years old, huge, a long and complex history and unlike anything we'd ever seen.

Hagia Sofia, main dome.  You can see the scaffolding up on the left, ongoing restorations.

Old Christian symbols from when Istanbul / Constantinople was predominantly Christian.

Christian symbols now dominated by huge Arabic letters

Looking from the upper level of Hagia Sofia towards the Blue Mosque

More Christian symbols - note this is all made from tiny tiles.

Blue Mosque.  As you can see, the weather was amazing.

Galata Bridge fishermen

Floating fish sandwich restaurants.

Lunch - fresh fish sandwich and sour, fermented turnip juice.

Looking back on the city from the Bosphorus cruise boat.

Another old palace on the Asian side of Istanbul on the shores of the Bosphorus.

Huge bridge over the Bosphorus on our cruise.

Fortress on the Bosphorus from where an attack was launched on Constantinople

Dinner out at a rooftop restaurant, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Taskim Square

Not a good shot, but there are armed police  and water cannons on standby at Taskim Square.

 Our second day was another ripper and again we were keen to get up and away to avoid the crowds.  First stop today was Topkapi Palace, former residence of Sultans, now a museum.  We would later find out that the weekend we were there was a long weekend, hence the maddening crowds.  When we returned a couple of weeks later, it was much quieter.

Rooftop breakfast at our hotel overlooking the Bosphorus.  Breakfasts everywhere were excellent.

Phots below all from Topkapi Palace, the tiles and painting were very detailed.  Most of the good quality was from the Sultan's residence and the Harem.

Looking down the Bosphorus

Sea of Marmara in the background

More of Topkapi

Scale model of Topkapi Palace - there was a lot to get around!

Gates of Topkapi

Outside the Spice Bazaar

Spice Bazaar

Nut based pastries in the Spice Bazaar

Turkish Delight!

That was about it for our first weekend.  Again it was a nightmare commute to the airport - rush hour of the long weekend and we took a tram / train combo which was absolutely rammed.  Fortunately we had plenty of time to spare.

When we returned to Istanbul, it was much quieter and given that we'd seen the two biggest sites we were able to take it a bit easier and wander around.  We went to the Blue Mosque (no photos allowed inside) and then to another one that was very similar from the outside and much nicer, and less touristy, on the inside.  A good recommendation from our hotel.  The photos below are from that mosque.

Enjoying a turkish tea in a cafe near the gardens

Plants ready for planting in the park behind Topkapi Palace

Kebabs!

Looking back from a rooftop bar - back toward Sultanahmet where all the big mosques are