Istanbul

In the city where East meets West, there is so much beauty and history.  Most of our time was spent taking in the historical sights.  

First we visited the Hagia Sophia.  Built in 360 AD, this was first a church, then it was converted to a mosque, and is now a museum open to all.

Next stop... the famous Blue Mosque, so called for the blue tiles on the inside of the domed ceiling.  One of the most beautiful mosques in the world, and one of very few to have 6 minarets.

  

Our exploration took us next to the underground Basilica Cistern.  It is thought that 7,000 slaves were involved in the construction of the cistern, and that it originally contained gardens.  Later enlarged, it provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constaninople and other buildings, and continued to provide water to the Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times.  The cistern has the capacity to store 100,000 tons of water, despite being virtually empty today with only a few feet of water lining the bottom.

  

The afternoon was spent at Topkapi Palace, and there is so much to see in this place!!  The first thing we saw were the Harem Quarters.  Depending on which version you believe, sultans enjoyed the pleasures of between 4-300 wives and concubines. All the concubines were foreigners, as law prohibited those of the same God (Muslims, Jews, Christians) from serving. 

 

Also in Topkapi Palace are the Sacred Safekeeping Rooms which contain priceless artifacts. Some items include Mohammed's hair, footprint, sword, tooth, and Moses' staff. These holy relics are immersed in the sound of an imam constantly chanting the Quran. Other valuables include the Topkapi Dagger and the Spoonmaker's Diamond...5th largest in the world at 86 carats.

Now, while all of this was interesting, Bill always throws in some mandatory food challenges.  We sampled kebabs and turkish sweets, and a local liquor called Raki.  Awful!!!!!!!

But the best scavenge of all turned out to be the Nargile parlor visit.  Smoking "chichi" (flavored tobacco) in hooka pipes was not something David and I expected to experience, but you would be amazed what some people will do to earn points!!!

After a night of Raki and Chichi we were so ready to crash.  And after a good night's sleep we were off again.  This time we are headed to Madrid!!