We Spend Three Days Discovering Istanbul and Conclude Our Tour

 

4/11-4/13/2025

With the Star Legend docked in Istanbul, we disembark in the morning for a three-night stay in the city. With a population of over 15 million, Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city and the economic, cultural, and historic heart of the country.

Entering the Dardenelles Strait

The city straddles the Bosporus Strait, which is the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The strait also splits the city geographically into a “European side” and an “Asian side,” as the city spans two continents.

Egyptian Obelisk in Hippodrome

Approximately two-thirds of the city’s population reside on the “European side.”

We begin our tour of Istanbul with a bus ride that brings us to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Built by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in AD 203, the Hippodrome was greatly renovated by Emperor Constantine the Great in AD 324. As the sporting and social center of the city, it was used for horse and chariot racing and imperial ceremonies.

German Fountain

Today it is a large square named Sultanahmet Square. As we walk through the square, our guide outlines its history and points out some of the famous statues of gods, emperors, and heroes that adorn the square.

Blue Mosque Exterior

Our guide tells us that to raise the image of the city, Constantine and his successors brought works of art from all over the empire to adorn it. We view the Serpent Column, which was brought from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the Obelisk of Theodosius, which was brought from Egypt. We also visit more recent additions to the square, such as the German Fountain, which was built by the German government in 1900 to commemorate the visit of German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II to Istanbul.

We leave the Hippodrome and follow our guide to the nearby Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.

Blue Mosque Interior

Started in 1609 and completed in 1617, the mosque with its six iconic minarets is a showcase of classic Ottoman architecture.

Another Blue Mosque View

After waiting in line and removing our shoes, we enter the mosque and are awed by the central dome and four cascading semi-domes that dominate the interior. The central dome is 77 feet in diameter and 141 feet in height. Over 21,000 Iznik tiles, featuring intricate floral patterns, line the ceiling and walls. We view the huge prayer hall (210 x 236 feet), which is covered with an elaborately woven carpet. The mosque has 260 windows that admit natural light, which were originally decorated with intricate stained-glass designs. Most of these windows have been replaced with modern, less elaborate windows, which likely makes the mosque’s interior more illuminated. We view the second-level galleries as our guide relates some of the history associated with the works we see. Still a working mosque, it is closed to visitors during prayer time.

We exit the Blue Mosque and board a bus that takes us to a local restaurant for lunch.

The Hagia Sophia Mosque

Afterwards we are driven to the Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, which stands opposite the Blue Mosque.

Hagia Sophia Interior

Originally built as a Christian church in the 6th century AD, it was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. It was later converted into a museum and then reconverted into a mosque in 2020. With its full pendentive dome allowing for an enormous interior space, it is considered to be the epitome of Byzantine architecture and became the quintessential model for Eastern Orthodox church architecture. As a working mosque, we remove our shoes, and the women don headscarves to enter its massive interior, which is further heightened by the 182-foot dome.

Christian Mosaics

In the upper galleries, our guide describes the depictions in the Christian mosaics and the giant medallions bearing Islamic calligraphy.

Leaving the mosque, we descend underground and into the Basilica Cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath Istanbul.

Basilica Cistern

Only a short distance from the Hagia Sophia, the cistern was built in the sixth century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The massive underground chamber is 453’ x 213’ (105,000 ft.² in area) with a ceiling supported by 336 marble columns 30 feet high, making it capable of holding 2,800,000 ft.³ of water. Today, the cistern holds little water and serves as a tourist attraction. We leave the cistern and ride to our hotel, where we check in and enjoy a buffet dinner. It was a very busy and tiring day.

This morning, we meet David and Linda for breakfast and then board a bus for guided sightseeing at the 15th-century Topkapi Palace. Construction of the palace began in 1459, shortly after the conquest of Constantinople.

Imperial Gate of Topkapi Palace

For nearly 4 centuries it served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and was the residence of the sultans. The huge palace complex (~160 acres) is laid out over four main courtyards and many smaller buildings comprising hundreds of rooms and chambers.

View of Palace Grounds

However, only the most important rooms are open to the public—the Imperial Harem, the Treasury, the Council Hall, and the Sacred Relics Room. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, the Turkish government transformed the palace into a museum that is administered by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. We follow our guide through the Imperial Gate and into the first courtyard—the largest of the four courtyards.

Gate of Salutation

We are struck by the parklike appearance of this courtyard and learn that many of the historical buildings no longer exist. This courtyard was also known as the Parade Court, where court officials dressed in their best uniforms would line the path that led to the Gate of Salutation and into the second courtyard.

Passing through the Gate of Salutation, or Middle Gate, we enter the second courtyard of the palace.

Imperial Council Dome

This busy courtyard contains the Imperial Council, the Imperial Treasury, and the palace’s hospital, bakery, kitchens, and stables. We begin our exploration of this courtyard by passing through the gilded doors of the Imperial Council.

Ornate Rifles in the Imperial Treasury

The domed chamber of this building housed the cabinet of the Ottoman Empire for most of its history. The walls and ceiling are lavishly painted and decorated with gold, and both the exterior and interior are ornately decorated in the rococo style.

We move on to the Imperial Treasury, which was used to finance the administration of the state.

Another Arms Display

Today, the Imperial Treasury has been converted to a museum with exhibits of arms and armor from the period. The arms collection consists primarily of weapons that remained in the palace at the time of its conversion.

Kitchen Cookware

Spanning 1300 years from the seventh to the 20th centuries, it is one of the richest collections of Islamic arms in the world. The collection contains objects manufactured by the Ottomans themselves, gathered from foreign conquests, or given as presents. As we view the exhibits, we are amazed at the detail and workmanship that went into the production of the arms and armor.

After leaving the Imperial Treasury, we make our way to the palace kitchens, which consist of 10 domed buildings and 40 chimneys. They were the largest kitchens in the Ottoman Empire, with a staff of over 800 people preparing food for about 4000 people daily.

The Throne Room

As we progress through the kitchens, we view exhibits of kitchen utensils and massive cookware. There is also a collection of silver gifts, as well as a large collection of porcelain—much of it Chinese porcelain from the mid-15th century onward.

A Room in the Harem

This collection of nearly 11,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain is among the finest porcelain collections in the world.

We enter the third courtyard through the Gate of Felicity, which separates the “inner court” from the “outer court.” The gate is ornately decorated in the rococo style with rich paintings and gold. The third courtyard is the heart of the palace and primarily comprises private and residential areas. No one could pass through this gate without the authorization of the Sultan. Right behind the Gate of Felicity is the Audience Chamber, also known as the Chamber of Petitions. The audience chamber contains the main throne room, richly decorated with intricate tiles, carpets, mosaic works, precious jewels, and gold.

Spoonmaker's Diamond

Also, in this courtyard is an extension of the Imperial Treasury (an “inner” treasury as opposed to the “outer” treasury in the second courtyard) that houses a vast collection of artworks, jewelry, heirlooms, and money belonging to the Ottoman dynasty. Many of the items on display were gifts made to the Sultan. Chief among these is the Spoonmaker’s Diamond, an 86-carat pear-shaped diamond considered to be the fourth largest diamond in the world and the most expensive exhibit in the palace.

Topkapi Dagger

Another famous exhibit is the Topkapi Dagger, a gold and emerald-studded dagger with a scabbard covered in diamonds and enamel.

Lastly, in the third courtyard, we are shown the Imperial Harem, a residential section of the palace with over 400 rooms that housed the sultan’s wives and concubines, his family and children, and their servants. We pass to the main entrance of the harem and view many of the courtyards, passages, baths, privy chambers, and apartments used by its residents. We learn that the harem was expanded and redecorated by several sultans over time and evolved into the huge complex it represents today.

We conclude our palace tour in its fourth courtyard. Our guide tells us that this was the innermost private sanctuary of the sultan and his family. Originally part of the third courtyard, it has recently been identified separately to better identify it.

The Grand Bazaar

It consists of a number of pavilions, kiosks, gardens, and terraces.

We leave the palace and ride to a local restaurant for a traditional Turkish lunch. Afterwards, we walk over to the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. Founded in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, the marketplace today contains over 4000 shops spanning 61 covered streets. It employs over 26,000 people and attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors a day.

Golden Wares in the Bazaar

We are given two hours of free time to explore and shop the bazaar, and we begin on a street that is approximately one-fourth of a mile long. All the shops are equally spaced on each side of the street, and each features a specific commodity for sale—handmade carpets, gold and other kinds of jewelry, ceramics, candies and sweets, spices, textiles, and antiques. We don’t go very far before the offerings in the shops start repeating themselves. We come upon a leather goods store that is featuring high-quality lambskin leather jackets, which interest David and Capt. Larry.

Our Boat for the Strait

The shop owner quotes a price of around $200 USD for the jacket, but we know that bargaining is expected. After a few minutes of wheeling and dealing, David gets the price down to $150. Capt. Larry then announces that they will each take a jacket for $100 each. The dealing then gets really lively until we finally settle on a price of $120 each. We pay the owner and leave knowing that the jackets would probably sell for in the neighborhood of $400 in stores in the US or Canada. We are pleased.

On our last day in Istanbul and on the tour, we begin our day with breakfast with David and Linda (sound familiar?).

A Waterfront Yali

We begin an intercontinental journey by boarding a motorcoach and crossing the Bosporus Strait to Istanbul’s Asian side and embarking on a private boat for a sightseeing cruise along the strait. The Bosporus Strait is a natural strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. Only 19 miles long, it is the world’s narrowest and one of the busiest straits and forms one of the continental boundaries between Europe and Asia.

Inside the Rusem Pasha

As we begin our cruise, our guide informs us about the waterfront houses, or mansions (yali), built along the Asian and European shorelines during the Ottoman period. These elegant mansions are quite impressive, and we learned that many have now been turned into restaurants and museums.

We disembark our boat and ride to one of Istanbul’s most revered mosques—the Rusem Pasha Mosque. Completed around 1563, this mosque was commissioned by Rusem Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

Another Interior View

This mosque is noted for the many different designs of Iznik tiles that cover nearly every vertical surface. The floral, geometric, and arabesque tile patterns in cobalt blues, emerald greens, and deep reds are quite striking. While we are viewing the mosque, our guide introduces us to the Five Pillars of Islam, fundamental acts of worship that define a Muslim’s faith and practice.

Intricate Tiling

The pillars are faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage, which guide Muslims toward a life of faith, humility, and service.

Leaving the mosque, we walk a short distance to the Misir Carsisi, Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar and the center for the city’s spice trade. With 85 shops selling spices, Turkish delight and other sweets, jewelry, souvenirs, and dried fruits and nuts, it is Istanbul’s most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar.

A Spice Bazaar Shop

Walking through the bazaar gives us an intoxicating sensory experience with shops bursting with color, aroma, and flavor.

We eat like a local at a restaurant near the Spice Bazaar and return to our hotel. We spend the afternoon packing our bags for our departure tomorrow and get ready for tonight’s farewell dinner and reception in the Istanbul Orient Express train station that has been converted to an entertainment venue.

Dinner in the Train Station

We say goodbye to our fellow “Tauckies,” to David and Linda, the next morning at breakfast. We are already beginning to mull over some options for our next adventure together. Until then…