Alternative Istanbul walking tour

In the morning we went to Hagya Sofia. It’s an absolutely incredible 11th century mosque, which was originally built as a Byzantine church, then renovated into the mosque by the Ottomans. During the last century it was a museum, and just in 2020 it was opened as a mosque again. What an incredible story of a millennia! It’s dome is not supported by any visible columns (they are hidden in the corners) and appears to be floating. In the afternoon, we went on the Alternative Istanbul Walkative tour. We first stopped by the large open air book market, then walked by the Istanbul University and ended in the 17th century Suleyman mosque - another stunningly beautiful architecture and interior. In the evening, I went back to the Blue Mosque again and did a quick VoiceMap tour and then spent a wonderful hour in the 17th century hammam!Read more