June 14, 2002 - Istanbul

(part 2)

There was just so much to see in Istanbul that I couldn't stop taking pictures...hence the breaking up of the first day into two parts.  I made it to the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofia, the Basilican Cistern, the Archeological Museum, and the Topkapi Palace.  Another evening with tired feet but well worth it.

The main gate leading into the Topkapi Palace

The beautiful grounds inside the palace walls

Beautifully decorated buildings were all over the grounds

More decorative Islamic scripts adorns this doorway

Another amazing building

The palace grounds and the Treasury in the distance

The entrance to one of the first rooms in the harem. Contrary to popular belief, the harem is not where the Sultan would lock up all of his wives. He lived there himself with his wives and his entire family. When a new Sultan came into power, everybody had to move out.

Amazing tile work

An ancient painting adorned this wall

An immaculate fireplace

One of the heavily decorated domes in the harem

More decorative tile work

Simply amazing artwork on the interior edge of this arch

Musicians would enter this balcony and play for the Sultan and his guests

A hallway inside the harem

A two-tiered balcony in the harem

One of the many many sitting rooms in the harem

Interestingly decorated door

Even the corners of the ceilings were spared no expense

One of the larger domes inside the harem

Intricately detailed cubby holes...I have no idea what they were used for

One of the bedrooms in the harem, I think

Beautiful windows and tile work

Many more elaborately decorate cubby holes

One of the larger sitting rooms inside the harem

Stunning stained glass window

Another view of the sitting room

A view of the palace walls from the harem

A very small portion of the exterior of the harem

A view of the Asian sidse of Istanbul from the palace grounds

A view of the Bosphorus and a massive suspension bridge in the distance

One of the more georgous domes in a random building on the palace grounds

A view of the Suleymaniye Mosque from the palace grounds

Another intriguing building on the palace grounds

And another building that I found noteworthy

I found this great view of the south side of the Aya Sofia on my way home