After some much needed sleep, today we went on a Segway tour to get a look at and some history about a few of the major landmarks in old town Istanbul. It’s amazing seeing these thousand year old structures and marveling at standing in these places that you’ve seen and read about in history books.
The weather in Istanbul during our visit was fantastic too. Sunny, dry and like 23c / 75f degrees.
We visited Sultan Ahmet (Blue Mosque), Hagia Sophia, & Basilica Cistern. We also did a food tour and played with random cats.
We’re staying at a hotel in the European side of Istanbul near Taksim square. It’s pretty different here than in old town. (Wider streets, fewer restaurants per block) but getting around Turkey is very easy. Their metro system is extensive, easy to figure out and efficient.
Three very different and vey interesting places.
Basilica Cistern was built to store water for the people of Constantinople in 3-400 CE It was damaged and rebuilt after a fire around 500 CE. It’s not used as a cistern anymore but parts of the aqueduct that fed water to it, amazingly, still stands today and is one of the oldest structures in Istanbul.
Sultan Ahmet Mosque is an actively used Mosque where Muslim’s visit as pilgrims and come to pray. The interior is stunning inlayed with Turkish Blue (turquoise) stones and every square meter covered in detailed artistic patterns. It’s breathtaking. The mosque was built between 1609 and 1617 when it opened.
Hagia Sophia. Standing next to Sultan Ahmet Mosque is Hagia Sophia. The building was originally a Christian church, built between 532 and 537 CE. It’s and has been standing since before the Quran was written founding the Islamic faith in 610 CE. The church was converted into a mosque in 1453 after Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman empire.
The interior of the Hagia Sophia is a fascinating mix of Mosque and church. Some of the ancient Christian mosaics still hang on it’s walls. My understanding is that Hagia Sophia has been only a church, only a mosque and only a museum at different times. But right now it serves as both a mosque and a museum. The first floor is for prayer and the second floor is open for tourists and the world to see.
