I just came back from Istanbul yesterday. It may have been the most amazing experience of my life. Istanbul is so beautiful and old. Its got the perfect east-meets-west cultural fusion that I think I had hoped to find in Budapest.
My friends and I flew in to Attaturk airport around 2 am on friday morning, and once we woke up spent the day exploring the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. It's so hard to believe places like that are real. My photos barely do them justice, and certainly can't capture the sheer vastness of the mosques, but here's a small peek.
Obelisisk in the Hippodrome
Ablutions fountains
Blue Mosque
Interior shot of the Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque and some lovely palm trees
The Hagia Sofia
The Dome of the Hagia Sofia
Sunday we finally made it to Topkapi Palace after having tried and failed to get there before closing the previous two days. We had been warned the day before by some tourists we met in a coffee house that it would take a while. We didn't believe them, but they were very right. The Palace is huge. The Harem was less exciting than it had been made out to be, but the jewels in the treasury were breathtaking. I wish i could have taken pictures of some of them.
Statue from the Roman/Byzantine era
Another incredibly realistic Roman statue
Trojan Horse model (Sadly I couldn't go inside)
Topkapi Palace
Entrance to the inner courtyard
Harem entrance
View of the Hagia Sofia from a restaurant terrace
Spice Market Stall
Gulls on the Ferry over to Asia
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