Exploring Istanbul

Today we dove deep into Istanbul, visiting Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, and Hagia Iren.

We started our day with a surprise guest, as Melissa flew in last night to surprise Ben, joining our Istanbul crew. We all headed out on a walk to Hagia Sophia to ensure we could get in line early as we’d heard this spot gets filled with tourists. We grabbed a quick coffee on the way, and then entered the mosque. This mosque was once the largest Catholic Church in the Roman Empire, and was converted when Constantinople fell. Most of the Catholic mosaics were covered with new Islamic art, but some originals remained. It was very interesting to see, and learn about the transition. There was also many hundred year old Viking graffiti in the railing of part of the mosque from a time when Vikings occupied the area.

After the Hagia Sophia we headed to the Blue Mosque, where we took off our shoes and explored the interior. This was a massive mosque, with beautiful windows.

Our next brief stop was the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which was a chariot raceway, since converted to a public square. A massive obelisk brought over during Roman times from Egypt sat squarely in the center.

Next we visited the Basilica Cistern, which was an ancient water storage reservoir from Roman times built underground. This was MASSIVE, and clearly supplied a lot of water to the area.

We visited the museum for the Hagia Sophia after this, and watched a movie teaching us about the history of the mosque and the conflicts in the area.

Our last stops were Topkapi Palace and Hagia Iren. Topkapi Palace was the old sultan’s palace, housing the harem, guards quarters, etc. it was quite ornate, and huge. More similar to a small town than a palace. Hagia Iren on the other hand was the oldest church not converted to a mosque in Istanbul. It was in terrible disrepair, and filled with birds!

To end our night we walked İstiklal Street, and grabbed an authentic Turkish dinner from a rooftop restaurant. After we got Turkish ice cream on the main road. This was pretty funny as Turkish ice cream is stickier than our ice cream, as it has plant resin in it. This allows the server to play tricks on their patron, pulling the ice cream away over and over until you are able to grab it. You can see a really funny video of Ben buying some on today’s post! After ice cream we visited a rooftop bar, and then called it a night!Read more