Istambul

Immortalized in art and literature in its antiquity, Istanbul today is a sprawling metropolis with almost 8 million people spread throughout the three major sections of the city. The old part of Istanbul is the old city of Byzantium which is surrounded by the original city walls on the one side, the Golden Horn on the other side and by the Sea of Marmara on the third side. The new modernized section built at the end of the 19^th century is the current business center of Istanbul. The final section is the Asian side, with its residential streets, separated from the European half by the Bosphorus.

Places to visit and enjoy:

Blue Mosque:

 Built between 1609 and 1616 by Mehmet Aga, it has 260 windows and 6 minarets forming an impressive skyline from the sea. Built as a complex consisting of a covered bazaar, a Turkish bath, a soup kitchen for the poor, as hospital, schools and later the tomb of Sultan Ahmet I, not all the structures have survived. The inside of the Blue Mosque is covered by more than 20,000 Iznik tiles. The floor is covered with carpets donated by believers.

Saint Sophia:

This church was built by Emperor Justinian in 532-537 AD. St. Sophia was then the largest church in the Christian world. It took 6 years to built and was reconstructed after the earthquake of 556, which ruined the dome. In 1453 Mehmet II conquered Istanbul converting the city and the church to Islam. Today, the beautiful Christian mosaics and Islamic calligraphy testify to the spiritual beauty and harmony of both religions.

Topkapi Palace:

Located on the peninsula that overlooks Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara, the palace complex is surrounded by 3 miles of walls. It is the oldest and largest of the remaining palaces in the world. It was built for Sultan Mehmet II and completed in 1479 after 14 years of building. It has a series of open courtyards and the Harem with its 400 rooms, where the Sultan kept his wives, children, eunuchs and concubines in the beautiful captivity of its jeweled interior.

Bosphorus:

The strait which separates Asia from Europe, the shores of the Bosphorus are between a third of a mile and 2 miles apart and are lined with cafes, restaurants, taverns, Yali’s (residences) and several palaces. From Istanbul to the Black Sea the shoreline measures 19 miles in all. The view of the Bosphorus from any of these establishments is amazing with its traffic of freighters, fishing boats, water skiers, swimmers and flights of storks and eagles. Silently watching all this progress for centuries are the two stone fortresses, AnadoluHisari (1390) and RumeliHisari (1452).

Grand Bazaar:

One of the oldest covered market places in the world. The Grand Bazaar’s labyrinth of tunnels contains over 4000 shops where all kinds of carpets, trinkets, jewelry and clothes can be purchased. The Bazaar is located in Beyazit Square at the end of YeniceriCaddesi, Avenue of the Janissaries.