No bull, Istanbul is really cool.
KH had gotten some kinda deal with Lufthansa, a twoferone, and we were both going to get to Istanbul and back for something like 187 Euros total. At that point, how can you not go? I am very glad we did.
Jessi drove us to Frankfurt International at about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 29th. So the flight was fine and we got to Istanbul about 1 p.m. which is an hour later than German time. We knew we had to take the metro and then the tram and it was all really easy except in the middle of the tram ride there was some kind of announcement. I figured something was wrong and the Turks motioned for us to get off and we switched to a different tram and rode into the city and got off at the stop for our hotel which happened to be at a park. We went to sit in the park and get our bearings when the first rug salesman immediately approached us. Half the population of Istanbul seems to be trying to make a living selling tourists rugs. They are generally quite nice if perisistent. We never look at anything or go into any shops because we don't want to buy anything and I think once you look it is nearly impossible to get away without buying anything. That goes for drinking tea too; they offer tea and if you accept it you will need to buy something from them. He did tell us where our hotel was which was only about a two minute walk away and we got there about 3 p.m. We think we got pretty lucky with the Hotel Hali http://www.halihotel.com/. I think I found it on Tripadvisor.com and we thought it was a great place to stay. It is within easy walking distance from all the major sights, clean, cheap and the view from the balcony off the breakfast room was fabulous.
Some other street salesman had told us something about the Cathedral Cisterns being closed the next day so after we dropped our bags we went over to see them. We didn't know what to expect but it sounded like something good to do when you didn't have a lot of time and it was. Apparently this big hole in the ground with many columns was built as a giant water tank. They have built walkways through it and you can wander around in the cool, dark dampness and look at the columns and the fish swimming in the shallow water below the walkways. When we were in Istanbul the weather was very pleasant but this would be a great thing to do in summer when it is really hot outside. Personally, I won't go to Turkey in the summer. http://www.istanbultrails.com/2008/06/the-basilica-cistern-the-coolest-spot-in-town/
After the cistern we walked over to Hagia Sophia but it was already pretty late and it would close at 5 p.m. so we decided to see it some other time and went over to the Blue Mosque. All of these sights are just a few minutes walking from each other. On the way there we bought some of the worse grilled corn we have ever had and some so-so chestnuts from a street vendor. These guys were everywhere and maybe some of them have decent corn but the corn we bought was cold and dried out so we never tried it again. The Blue Mosque was closed for prayers (no tourists allowed then) and so we went back to the main drag and had a doner while we were waiting. At the mosque we had to take off our shoes but there were plastice bags to carry them in and the entire place was carpeted. I used a scarf but I did notice some other women did not. The Blue Mosque was nice but the room that was marked for women looked rather not surprisingly pretty second class to me. My general recollection is big, domed, round, beautiful and peaceful. It is a lovely place but there isn't that much in there to spend time looking at since it is really designed for prayer.http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-blue-mosque.htm Outside of the mosque is the Hippodrome which now is basically a park but used to be used for chariot races among other things. There are several ancient artifacts here that are pretty underwhelming particularly the snake sculpture with the heads missing. And one of the obelisks sure looks like it's been touched up. http://www.travelsignposts.com/wordpress/turkey/things-to-see-in-istanbul/the-hippodrome-istanbul We walked back to our hotel through a circuitous route that took us through some pretty crummy looking areas and got back at about 6:30 p.m. feeling like we had already seen some interesting stuff.
After we rested up in the hotel a bit we went back out in the dark to see the Blue Mosque at night. Lit up, it might be even more spectacular. We went back to a restaurant we had seen earlier and I had fish and KH had some spicey meat. On the way back to our hotel we stopped and bought an bottle of red wine at a little hole-in-the-wall market. We are not picky, but it was the worst wine either one of us has ever had. It made me understand the term "rot-gut". My advice: in Turkey stick to the beer.
Unfortunately, that night the guy in the next room talked on the phone until late but we were tired enough we mostly slept anyway. I need to always remember to bring ear plugs when traveling. And at 5:40 a.m. we heard the first call to prayers but it wasn't too bad and we both managed to go back to sleep.
Breakfast upstairs on Monday (included for the 50Euro price of the room) was simple but o.k. There was white bread something like Italian bread, yogurt, tomatoes, olives, cheese, jelly, honey and hard boiled eggs all served buffet style A server brought you coffee or tea. I had coffee the first day and it tasted like instant to me. My advice: in Turkey stick to the tea.
After breakfast we walked over to Topkapi Palace. This place was more interesting than I had anticipated, actually quite astonishing. We went through the harem which costs extra but there is a good chance we'll never get back so why not. There are also very famous "treasures" like a giant diamond and a bejewelled dagger on display. But the greatest part for me was that there is a reliquary there which I hadn't anticipated containing, not only muslim relics, but also Moses' rod and St. John the Baptist's arm and skull! Whoa, ho, boy was I surprised! Moses' rod looked like it had been varnished and looked pretty fake. St. John's bone pieces were encased in gold or gold colored metal and decorated as seems to be typical of these types of relics. The reliquary for the arm and hand were arm and hand shaped with an opening so you could actually see the bone inside.http://www.mgr.org/JdBRelics.jpg Not only were these wonderful relics in their own right but it was also very interesting to see them along with all the muslim relics and to note how similar some things are. There were lots of pieces of the beard of the prophet and someone obviously had the foresight to save them. There was also am imprint of his foot in some clay and his cloak too which had been carried into battles several times as a good luck charm. And a bowl he used which I thought was odd to be kept as a relic. In the reliquary there was a guy who was reading (it sounded like chanting to me) from the Koran the whole time we were there and apparently there is someone (I assume male) there doing that whenever it is open. We spend a good half day at the palace and it is definitely worth seeing especially the relics. When we got there in the morning it was relatively peaceful but by the afternoon it was pretty jammed so go early.
After that we wandered over to the train station where the Orient Express used to operate because KH was interested. It only had a couple of tracks and was much smaller than the stations in Europe but I think it is not the majore station in town. We were going to take a boat trip the next day and KH wanted to check out the location so we walked down to the harbor and along the way I bought an ice cream from a window. The guy made scooping the ice cream into a theatrical presentation including ringing a bell and getting some ice cream on my nose. With all the antics he actually broke my cone and had to start all over. I think they do it to try and attract other customers.
The harbor was interesting but it took us some time to find the place where our boat would leave in the morning. We wanted to take the regular ferry but there are other trips available and several guys came up to us trying to get us to take the other trips. There are vendors all along the docks. and along the way KH had a fish sandwich which was pretty good and also bought some very bizarre pickeled vegetables including cabbage and I think carrots that were in a spicy red liquid in a cup. When I first saw it I thought it was some kind of jello. I thought it was o.k. and KH said he enjoyed it. There were guys on big boats in the water grilling fish and selling it from the boats too.
We walked briefly through the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and then through a more modern and very crowded shopping area outside. Eventually we stopped because I wanted a doner and we sat outside on miniture chairs to eat. We walked through part of the Grand Bazaar just to see a bit and stopped to sit on a bench in an upscale street in a nice neighborhood. There we saw the only bad salesman we saw in Turkey selling candy on the street. He didn't say anything or approach anyone, just waited for customers to come to him. On the back to our hotel we stopped at a Dia Supermarket to get a candy bar and another of hopefully better bottle of wine.
That night we went to a hamam. We've been to hotel hamams many times but this was a public one so we had to pay 35 Turkish lira to get in and were separated by sex. In the hotels you leave on your swimming suits and go together. Here you are separated and get a towel to wear. It was crowded and had sorts of a "cattle call" feel to it. While I was lying on the hot marble slab in the middle someone poked me and I thought, What, I know someone here? but it was just one of the ladies who worked there wanting me to move so she could scrub someone down. When I met KH in the reception afterwards I said it was weird experience and he agreed. We wouldn't do it again and I was glad I hadn't paid to get a scrub/massage. I think that was also the night we stopped at a bakery and each had one of the amazing sweets they have that seem to be soaked in honey.
Our hotel was across from a park and that night a couple of guys were hanging out there singing together and it was actually quit pleasant.
Tuesday morning after breakfast outside on the wow view terrace we walked down to the harbour to take the ferry. We decided to just take it for an hour and then get off and take the bus back. On the ferry we met two sisters from Mt. Prospect Illinois. Small world. The ride was pleasant enough but I didn't think it was as great as some of the reviews for it. I think the town we got off in was called Satiyer and we were on the ferry on the Bosphorus for about an hour. In the town we walked along the waterfront until we found a restaurant we liked. The menu had some stuff translated into what they thought was English and I guess it was kinda: KH ordered cigars and got chees filled pastry things and I ordered fried faggots and ended up with fried slices of sausage. Who knew?
We found the bus stop without too many problems as it was a small town. Someone motioned to me to move and I shrugged as to why and they pointed to the roof of the bus stop and there were a couple of guys up there hosing it down. We took the bus back to the outside of Istanbul for three Euros each, unfortunately it was slow because there was a lot of traffic. From the bus we switched to the tram which took us back to the Galata Bridge. We got off on the other side of the Golden Horn and took the steep walk up to the Galata Tower to see the view which was great. From there you could really see how much water from the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea there is around Istanbul. All this water and the beautiful giant mosques (and Hagia Sophia) are what make the city so beautiful.http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Sights/Beyoglu/GalataTower.html After we left the tower we stopped at a rooftop restaurant we had seen from the tower and KH had coffee, and I had tea and cookies. We happened to get a corner table directly overlooking the Golden Horn and the view was also great. Unfortunatley, neither KH nor I can remember the name of the place. After that we walked back to our hotel with a stop at our regular Dia Supermarket for apples, wine and candy. KH got us seat reservations for our flight back the next day and I checked email on the computer in the lobby.
Later that evening we walked back to the bridge to have dinner. On the way there a guy with a shoe shine case "dropped" a brush and we told him. He then insisted on giving KH's hiking boots a shine and then wanted money for it. In the middle of this his "brother" showed up and wanted to brush my Nikes! I wouldn't let him. KH and I walked farther when I said I thought it was all just a trick. About five minutes later another guy with another shoe shine case dropped another brush. We both just stepped around it this time. Between those two events I managed to trip and fall to my knees. This was not only really embarassing but also hurt quite a bit as well. Once I got over the shock I seemed to be o.k. and we walked the rest of the way to the restaurant. The lower level of Galata Bridge is filled with restaurants and we picked one with an o.k. menu and a good view and sat outside both on one side looking over at Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the spectacular skyline. And we ate some fish and had some beer. It was a really nice spot.
Wednesday was our last day and we still hadn't see Hagia Sophia so that was on the top of our agenda. The first thing I did when I woke up was to check my knees to make sure they were o.k. and I'd be able to walk because sometimes injuries like that are worse the next day. They were a little sore but fortunately o.k., thank the heavens. It was only a 10 minute or so walk to Hagia Sophia from the hotel. The building started as a church, was converted to a mosque and eventually to a museum to avoid controversy and potential violence. So in the museum are remnants of both religions which makes for a rather odd combination. Of note are several old Christian mosiacs which had been uncovered and the giant dome. There are also giant round things with arabic writing on them and places on the wall where you can tell crossses were ripped out. It has two levels that you can visit and is definitely worth seeing.http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia.htm
Our final "stop" was the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts which is right across from the Blue Mosque. There was a nice collection of carpets in there as well as many embellished Korans among lots of other items. We liked it but all the other sights we saw should be higher priorities for anyone visiting.
There were many women dressed in very conservative religious clothing but many were not as well and I was not uncomfortable in my regular clothes. Of course the conservative clothing some of the women wear is remarkably similar to the habits the nuns at Immaculate Conception Elementary School wore when I was young. Revealing, sexy clothing would be a bad idea, however. The nuns wouldn't have like that either.
I would highly recommend getting to Istanbul is you get the chance. It really is a fascinating city. Of course, for us in Europe it is a lot easier and cheaper and we can reasonably go for four days like we did. It was fascinating to have visited both rome and Istanbul within a few months of each other and be able to compare how these two major relitions threat sacred buildings and objsts. My impression is they are treated in remarkably similar manners.
Addendum: I need to start taking notes instead of relying on memory when writing up trip reports. I just read this one and realized I had left out seeing the very impressive mosiac floor of a an old palace. I'm not sure when we saw it but maybe it was between the Hagia Sophia and the museum. In any case, it is not hard to get to, doesn't take much time and is not expensive so it you are in the area, go have a look. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Palace_Mosaic_Museum
Jessi drove us to Frankfurt International at about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 29th. So the flight was fine and we got to Istanbul about 1 p.m. which is an hour later than German time. We knew we had to take the metro and then the tram and it was all really easy except in the middle of the tram ride there was some kind of announcement. I figured something was wrong and the Turks motioned for us to get off and we switched to a different tram and rode into the city and got off at the stop for our hotel which happened to be at a park. We went to sit in the park and get our bearings when the first rug salesman immediately approached us. Half the population of Istanbul seems to be trying to make a living selling tourists rugs. They are generally quite nice if perisistent. We never look at anything or go into any shops because we don't want to buy anything and I think once you look it is nearly impossible to get away without buying anything. That goes for drinking tea too; they offer tea and if you accept it you will need to buy something from them. He did tell us where our hotel was which was only about a two minute walk away and we got there about 3 p.m. We think we got pretty lucky with the Hotel Hali http://www.halihotel.com/. I think I found it on Tripadvisor.com and we thought it was a great place to stay. It is within easy walking distance from all the major sights, clean, cheap and the view from the balcony off the breakfast room was fabulous.
Some other street salesman had told us something about the Cathedral Cisterns being closed the next day so after we dropped our bags we went over to see them. We didn't know what to expect but it sounded like something good to do when you didn't have a lot of time and it was. Apparently this big hole in the ground with many columns was built as a giant water tank. They have built walkways through it and you can wander around in the cool, dark dampness and look at the columns and the fish swimming in the shallow water below the walkways. When we were in Istanbul the weather was very pleasant but this would be a great thing to do in summer when it is really hot outside. Personally, I won't go to Turkey in the summer. http://www.istanbultrails.com/2008/06/the-basilica-cistern-the-coolest-spot-in-town/
After the cistern we walked over to Hagia Sophia but it was already pretty late and it would close at 5 p.m. so we decided to see it some other time and went over to the Blue Mosque. All of these sights are just a few minutes walking from each other. On the way there we bought some of the worse grilled corn we have ever had and some so-so chestnuts from a street vendor. These guys were everywhere and maybe some of them have decent corn but the corn we bought was cold and dried out so we never tried it again. The Blue Mosque was closed for prayers (no tourists allowed then) and so we went back to the main drag and had a doner while we were waiting. At the mosque we had to take off our shoes but there were plastice bags to carry them in and the entire place was carpeted. I used a scarf but I did notice some other women did not. The Blue Mosque was nice but the room that was marked for women looked rather not surprisingly pretty second class to me. My general recollection is big, domed, round, beautiful and peaceful. It is a lovely place but there isn't that much in there to spend time looking at since it is really designed for prayer.http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-blue-mosque.htm Outside of the mosque is the Hippodrome which now is basically a park but used to be used for chariot races among other things. There are several ancient artifacts here that are pretty underwhelming particularly the snake sculpture with the heads missing. And one of the obelisks sure looks like it's been touched up. http://www.travelsignposts.com/wordpress/turkey/things-to-see-in-istanbul/the-hippodrome-istanbul We walked back to our hotel through a circuitous route that took us through some pretty crummy looking areas and got back at about 6:30 p.m. feeling like we had already seen some interesting stuff.
After we rested up in the hotel a bit we went back out in the dark to see the Blue Mosque at night. Lit up, it might be even more spectacular. We went back to a restaurant we had seen earlier and I had fish and KH had some spicey meat. On the way back to our hotel we stopped and bought an bottle of red wine at a little hole-in-the-wall market. We are not picky, but it was the worst wine either one of us has ever had. It made me understand the term "rot-gut". My advice: in Turkey stick to the beer.
Unfortunately, that night the guy in the next room talked on the phone until late but we were tired enough we mostly slept anyway. I need to always remember to bring ear plugs when traveling. And at 5:40 a.m. we heard the first call to prayers but it wasn't too bad and we both managed to go back to sleep.
Breakfast upstairs on Monday (included for the 50Euro price of the room) was simple but o.k. There was white bread something like Italian bread, yogurt, tomatoes, olives, cheese, jelly, honey and hard boiled eggs all served buffet style A server brought you coffee or tea. I had coffee the first day and it tasted like instant to me. My advice: in Turkey stick to the tea.
After breakfast we walked over to Topkapi Palace. This place was more interesting than I had anticipated, actually quite astonishing. We went through the harem which costs extra but there is a good chance we'll never get back so why not. There are also very famous "treasures" like a giant diamond and a bejewelled dagger on display. But the greatest part for me was that there is a reliquary there which I hadn't anticipated containing, not only muslim relics, but also Moses' rod and St. John the Baptist's arm and skull! Whoa, ho, boy was I surprised! Moses' rod looked like it had been varnished and looked pretty fake. St. John's bone pieces were encased in gold or gold colored metal and decorated as seems to be typical of these types of relics. The reliquary for the arm and hand were arm and hand shaped with an opening so you could actually see the bone inside.http://www.mgr.org/JdBRelics.jpg Not only were these wonderful relics in their own right but it was also very interesting to see them along with all the muslim relics and to note how similar some things are. There were lots of pieces of the beard of the prophet and someone obviously had the foresight to save them. There was also am imprint of his foot in some clay and his cloak too which had been carried into battles several times as a good luck charm. And a bowl he used which I thought was odd to be kept as a relic. In the reliquary there was a guy who was reading (it sounded like chanting to me) from the Koran the whole time we were there and apparently there is someone (I assume male) there doing that whenever it is open. We spend a good half day at the palace and it is definitely worth seeing especially the relics. When we got there in the morning it was relatively peaceful but by the afternoon it was pretty jammed so go early.
After that we wandered over to the train station where the Orient Express used to operate because KH was interested. It only had a couple of tracks and was much smaller than the stations in Europe but I think it is not the majore station in town. We were going to take a boat trip the next day and KH wanted to check out the location so we walked down to the harbor and along the way I bought an ice cream from a window. The guy made scooping the ice cream into a theatrical presentation including ringing a bell and getting some ice cream on my nose. With all the antics he actually broke my cone and had to start all over. I think they do it to try and attract other customers.
The harbor was interesting but it took us some time to find the place where our boat would leave in the morning. We wanted to take the regular ferry but there are other trips available and several guys came up to us trying to get us to take the other trips. There are vendors all along the docks. and along the way KH had a fish sandwich which was pretty good and also bought some very bizarre pickeled vegetables including cabbage and I think carrots that were in a spicy red liquid in a cup. When I first saw it I thought it was some kind of jello. I thought it was o.k. and KH said he enjoyed it. There were guys on big boats in the water grilling fish and selling it from the boats too.
We walked briefly through the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and then through a more modern and very crowded shopping area outside. Eventually we stopped because I wanted a doner and we sat outside on miniture chairs to eat. We walked through part of the Grand Bazaar just to see a bit and stopped to sit on a bench in an upscale street in a nice neighborhood. There we saw the only bad salesman we saw in Turkey selling candy on the street. He didn't say anything or approach anyone, just waited for customers to come to him. On the back to our hotel we stopped at a Dia Supermarket to get a candy bar and another of hopefully better bottle of wine.
That night we went to a hamam. We've been to hotel hamams many times but this was a public one so we had to pay 35 Turkish lira to get in and were separated by sex. In the hotels you leave on your swimming suits and go together. Here you are separated and get a towel to wear. It was crowded and had sorts of a "cattle call" feel to it. While I was lying on the hot marble slab in the middle someone poked me and I thought, What, I know someone here? but it was just one of the ladies who worked there wanting me to move so she could scrub someone down. When I met KH in the reception afterwards I said it was weird experience and he agreed. We wouldn't do it again and I was glad I hadn't paid to get a scrub/massage. I think that was also the night we stopped at a bakery and each had one of the amazing sweets they have that seem to be soaked in honey.
Our hotel was across from a park and that night a couple of guys were hanging out there singing together and it was actually quit pleasant.
Tuesday morning after breakfast outside on the wow view terrace we walked down to the harbour to take the ferry. We decided to just take it for an hour and then get off and take the bus back. On the ferry we met two sisters from Mt. Prospect Illinois. Small world. The ride was pleasant enough but I didn't think it was as great as some of the reviews for it. I think the town we got off in was called Satiyer and we were on the ferry on the Bosphorus for about an hour. In the town we walked along the waterfront until we found a restaurant we liked. The menu had some stuff translated into what they thought was English and I guess it was kinda: KH ordered cigars and got chees filled pastry things and I ordered fried faggots and ended up with fried slices of sausage. Who knew?
We found the bus stop without too many problems as it was a small town. Someone motioned to me to move and I shrugged as to why and they pointed to the roof of the bus stop and there were a couple of guys up there hosing it down. We took the bus back to the outside of Istanbul for three Euros each, unfortunately it was slow because there was a lot of traffic. From the bus we switched to the tram which took us back to the Galata Bridge. We got off on the other side of the Golden Horn and took the steep walk up to the Galata Tower to see the view which was great. From there you could really see how much water from the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea there is around Istanbul. All this water and the beautiful giant mosques (and Hagia Sophia) are what make the city so beautiful.http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Sights/Beyoglu/GalataTower.html After we left the tower we stopped at a rooftop restaurant we had seen from the tower and KH had coffee, and I had tea and cookies. We happened to get a corner table directly overlooking the Golden Horn and the view was also great. Unfortunatley, neither KH nor I can remember the name of the place. After that we walked back to our hotel with a stop at our regular Dia Supermarket for apples, wine and candy. KH got us seat reservations for our flight back the next day and I checked email on the computer in the lobby.
Later that evening we walked back to the bridge to have dinner. On the way there a guy with a shoe shine case "dropped" a brush and we told him. He then insisted on giving KH's hiking boots a shine and then wanted money for it. In the middle of this his "brother" showed up and wanted to brush my Nikes! I wouldn't let him. KH and I walked farther when I said I thought it was all just a trick. About five minutes later another guy with another shoe shine case dropped another brush. We both just stepped around it this time. Between those two events I managed to trip and fall to my knees. This was not only really embarassing but also hurt quite a bit as well. Once I got over the shock I seemed to be o.k. and we walked the rest of the way to the restaurant. The lower level of Galata Bridge is filled with restaurants and we picked one with an o.k. menu and a good view and sat outside both on one side looking over at Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the spectacular skyline. And we ate some fish and had some beer. It was a really nice spot.
Wednesday was our last day and we still hadn't see Hagia Sophia so that was on the top of our agenda. The first thing I did when I woke up was to check my knees to make sure they were o.k. and I'd be able to walk because sometimes injuries like that are worse the next day. They were a little sore but fortunately o.k., thank the heavens. It was only a 10 minute or so walk to Hagia Sophia from the hotel. The building started as a church, was converted to a mosque and eventually to a museum to avoid controversy and potential violence. So in the museum are remnants of both religions which makes for a rather odd combination. Of note are several old Christian mosiacs which had been uncovered and the giant dome. There are also giant round things with arabic writing on them and places on the wall where you can tell crossses were ripped out. It has two levels that you can visit and is definitely worth seeing.http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia.htm
Our final "stop" was the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts which is right across from the Blue Mosque. There was a nice collection of carpets in there as well as many embellished Korans among lots of other items. We liked it but all the other sights we saw should be higher priorities for anyone visiting.
There were many women dressed in very conservative religious clothing but many were not as well and I was not uncomfortable in my regular clothes. Of course the conservative clothing some of the women wear is remarkably similar to the habits the nuns at Immaculate Conception Elementary School wore when I was young. Revealing, sexy clothing would be a bad idea, however. The nuns wouldn't have like that either.
I would highly recommend getting to Istanbul is you get the chance. It really is a fascinating city. Of course, for us in Europe it is a lot easier and cheaper and we can reasonably go for four days like we did. It was fascinating to have visited both rome and Istanbul within a few months of each other and be able to compare how these two major relitions threat sacred buildings and objsts. My impression is they are treated in remarkably similar manners.
Addendum: I need to start taking notes instead of relying on memory when writing up trip reports. I just read this one and realized I had left out seeing the very impressive mosiac floor of a an old palace. I'm not sure when we saw it but maybe it was between the Hagia Sophia and the museum. In any case, it is not hard to get to, doesn't take much time and is not expensive so it you are in the area, go have a look. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Palace_Mosaic_Museum
posted by Terry at 12:35 PM
