I have attached a couple of Istanbul maps so you can get an idea of ow the city is laid out. It surrounds the the confluence of the Bosporus Strait, the Golden horn, and the Marmera Sea.
The Golden horn is really an inlet of the Bosporus, but is referred to as a separate area. It has played an inportant part in Turkish history, as a port for Roman, Greek, Genovese, Byzantine and Ottoman fleets. In history, the "owners of Istanbul", have tried to block the straits to keep invaders from coming in via the Black Sea by putting chains across the narrowest point. Smart invaders have taken their ships via portage arounn the blockage and put them in the Golden Horn to defeat the blockade. Anyway this is the overal layout and few of the places we visited are marked on the map.
We went to the Hioppadrome the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace which are all closely located.
The Hippadrome was a horse/chariot racing venue built by the Greeks and Romans. There is not much left know but a lovely boulevard. The Ottomans tore it down. It is very crowded with tourists and vendors trying to sell something to the tourists. A few views of us and the little left of the hippodrome.
On to the Blue Mosque.
The locals call it the Sultan's Mosque. It got its name from the blue walls and tiles decorating it.
It is not as blue as it was, some of the blue paint has been removed. It was dark inside so we had a tough time getting pics, but we have few and Anne tried the movie function of our camera to get to sweeping views of the size, etc. We are not great at this yet, but we hope it gives you and idea.
Quick Facts
| Names: | Blue Mosque; Sultanahmet Camii; Sultanahmet Mosque |
| Type of site: | Mosque |
| Dates: | 1609-1616 |
| Architecture: | Ottoman |
| Architect: | Mehmet Aga |
| Status: | Active |
| Location: | Next to the Hagia Sophia in central Istanbul, Turkey |
| Phone: | (0212) 518 1319 |
| Open: | 9am-6pm, except during daily prayer times (about a half-hour, five times daily) and midday on Fridays |
For more info on the Blue Mosque:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque
Across the courtyard from the Blue Mosque is the Topkapi Palace, whcih has home to the Ottoman sultans for most of their reign. More info on Topkapi can be found at:
http://www.anadol.com/topkapisarayi.htm
We toured all the courtyards, the harem, the sultans quarters, etc. The kitchens are closed due to restoration, but are supposed to be quite impressive. Remember there were 10-15,000 people housed here. That's a lot of folks to feed.
The ceramic tile work of the Ottomans is just amazingly beautiful. Most is in areas too dark to photograph and no flash is allowed.
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