Our first stop was the Hippodrome featuring the Obelisk which is Istanbul's oldest monument dating back to the 15th Century BC.
Then onto the Blue Mosque which was built during 1609-1616.
These photos were taken in the courtyard outside the Mosque itself.
And this is a model of the Mosque.
Enjoy these images taken inside the mosque - it is a truly beautiful place.
And I was amused by this sign on the steps outside the mosque - obviously cats cannot read!
Next we walked through the gardens (after a scary crossing of the street) towards the Topkapi Palace.
Despite what you may have believed all these years - tulips were taken to Holland from Turkey.
The Topkapi is an amazing palace and you really need days to do it justice. There were thousands of people there so it was a little daunting.
We visited the kitchens - wouldn't it be fun cooking in these pots?
And then we strolled through a museum where artifacts which had arrived via the Silk Road, mainly from China, were displayed.
These paintings depict typical ways of life.
The buildings were decorated with the most exquisite paintings and embellishments.
And this was fabric used, from memory, as a bed covering.
After leaving the Palace we walked back to rejoin our bus - I don't think this pedlar was selling many of his instruments but the sounds were delightful.
And Domino's are everywhere.
You don't avoid the call to prayer just because you can't find a mosque.
And a few prayer rugs were left.
We passed by the German or Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain which is also in the Hippodrome Square. and dates back to 1898.
Because the traffic doesn't move very quickly in Istanbul I was able to get a couple of photos from the bus.
And that evening we sailed from Istanbul and caught our last glimpse of the mosques - a truly fascinating city.
No comments:
Post a Comment