
I
stanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is Turkey's most populous city and its cultural and financial center. Located on both sides of the Bosphorus, the narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea, Istanbul bridges Asia and Europe both literally and figuratively. More importantly for Lei and I, it's the first stop on our trip through Turkey and Croatia.Founded by Constantine the Great in 324 CE on the site of ancient Byzantium (going back to 650 BC), Istanbul was the capital, successively, of the Roman Empire (324-476), the Byzantine Empire (476-1453) and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922).


Dating from the sixth century, the Aya Sophia was originally a Catholic basilica constructed for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. A masterwork of Byzantine engineering, the huge 30m diameter dome covers what was for over 1000 years the largest enclosed space in the world. The basilica was looted in 1204 during the fourth Crusade, and became a mosque in the 15th century. Today, the vast interior of the Aya Sophia includes both Christian and Islamic symbols. Over the years, the minarets were added - in total 4 mismatched minarets were added over the years. The Aya Sophia was turned into a museum in 1930's and remains that today.

Construction on the mosque began in 1609 and took seven years. Sultan Ahmet I died only a year after the completion of his masterpiece, at the age of 27.
One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque are its six slender minarets. This is very unique, as most mosques have four, two or just one minaret.

One of the iconic landmarks of Istanbul, the Sultanahmet Mosque is often called the Blue Mosque for the 20,000+ blue hued Iznik tiles that line its interior walls. From the pictures that I've seen of the interior of the Sultanahamet Mosque, I think that Lei and I will be seeing artistic beauty that no words can do justice to.
Unlike the Aya Sophia, the Sultanahmet Mosque is still a working mosque so we'll have to make sure to dress appropriately (no shorts, bare shoulders and we must keep our heads covered) on the day that we tour it.

Initial construction started in 1459, ordered by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Byzantine Constantinople. The palace is a vast complex with an assortment of various buildings constructed around four main courtyards, interconnected with galleries and passages, rather than a single monolithic structure. Interspersed are trees, gardens and water fountains. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only a few are accessible to the public today.
Today, the Palace Museum houses large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry. From the pictures I've seen, the palace complex is absolutely enormous - I think we're going to have to carefully pick and choose what we see. I would love to see the jewelry and Ottoman swords.


The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred cisterns that line beneath Istanbul. It supplied water for the royal palace - holding water that travelled, via aqueducts, from the Belgrade Woods which lie 19km north of the city.
Imagine this, an underground pool that is 143 by 65 metres in dimension, capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water; the large space broken up by a forest of 336 marble columns each 9 metres high. The columns are arranged in 12 rows each consisting of 28 columns. WOW!

....and if it's not already odd to see an underground cistern, designed to look like the interior of a basilica, there are fish swimming about!
The Aya Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern are just four of the historic landmarks in a city that has been shaped by hundreds of years of civilization. I can't wait to get there and experience the sights and sounds of touring these magnificent national treasures!!