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ISTANBUL
Very ancient settlements have been
found on this site, but the history of Istanbul generally begins around 660
BCE, when King Byzas established Byzantion (Latinised as Byzantium) on the
European side of the Bosphorus. The city experienced a brief period of Persian
rule at the turn of the 5th century BC, but the Greeks recaptured it during the
Greco-Persian Wars. Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and
then the Second Athenian Empire before gaining independence in 355 BCE.
Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in AD 73. In 324,
Constantine won the Battle of Chrysopolis and effectively became the emperor of
the whole of the Roman Empire. Just two months later, Constantine laid out the
plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. As the capital of the
Eastern Roman Empire, it grew to the point that, when Rome declined in the 5th
Century, Constantinople became the world's largest city. It remained largest
until its own decline in the 10th Century. But it came back to again become one
of the world's largest cities as it remains today with a population of
13,800.000.
As we approached Istanbul
onboard the ship, we were able to see the 3 major attractions we ended up going
to see. From left to right: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Topkapi
Palace. |
A closer view of the
Topkapi Palace |
Fatih Sultan
Mehmet Bridge connects Europe and Asia across the strait called
The Bosporus which leads
to the Black Sea. The tiny island in the foreground has a famous building
on it called the Maiden's Tower. |
A closer
view of Maidens Tower
with the big bridge in the background |
Maidens Tower At Night, very
pretty. It's the only thing on this little island, and there is a resturant in
it where we had dinner. After dining here, we were treated to one of their
frequent traffic jams on the Sultan Mehmet Bridge -- at 10PM. They seem to
have traffic jams all day long in Istanbul. |
Once our ship docked,
we got this view from our veranda of the 3 major attractions again, but this
time from the opposite side of the hill, so from left to right they
are: the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. |
Topkapi Exterior |
Sublimely ornate window
from inside the palace looking out. (Same window is pictured from the
outside in the above photo.) |
Treasury
Rooms No photos were allowed, so we don't have our own shots of the
magnificent jewels such as the
Emerald Dagger
made famous in the movie "Topkapi", or the Kasicki (Spoonmaker's)
Diamond, fourth largest in the world. at 86 carats! But you can click on
these links to see them. So beautiful! That photo of the diamond is about
life-size. |
Topkapi Interior 1 |
Topkapi Interior 2 |
Topkapi Interior 3 |
Topkapi stained glass
window |
Topkapi tile painting |
Still more Topkapi Palace buildings
with Bader
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We did take videos of the extensive palace
grounds, but their size does not allow me to keep them on my website. So
this link covers the grounds as well as giving a good overview of the palace,
including the treasures and the harem.
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Hagia Sophia - closer
exterior shot |
Hagia Sophia Interior
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Hagia Sophia - close-up of gold
pulpit and stained glass windows |
This is the view from our
lunch restaurant, Metropolis, on a pleasant street near the Topkapi
Palace. |
Also at Metropolis, a
Turkish beer cheer |
The entrance to the
Golden Horn (like
Vancouver's False Creek, but much bigger). Our docking location was right by
the Galata Tower. |
We walked across the
Galata Bridge which
led us to this mosque (which we didn't go in) It is right next to the
Spice Bazaar
(a.k.a. Egyptian Bazaar) where we were headed. |
Inside the Spice Bazaar, a
Turkish candy shop. We couldn't go to Turkey without trying some
Turkish
delight, a rosewater-flavoured candy. |
Caviar and nut
vendor |
A last view of the Istanbul
skyline with the 2 beautiful mosques we visited |
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