Travel: Turkey-Istanbul II

Second day in Istanbul was the day of exploring Sultanahmet area.

Sultanahmet area often called the heart of old Istanbul. Major attractions and landmarks are in this district.

The Hippodrome  was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople. Today it is a square named Sultan Ahmet Square- Sultanahmet Meydanı

Walled Obelisk

Serpentine Column

Obelisk of Theodosius

 Sultanahmet Cami

also called the Blue Mosque  because of the blue tiles decorating the interior walls.

  HagiaSophia

Orthodox patriarchal Basilica, then a mosque, and now museum .

 

The Deësis mosaic

Marker of the tomb of Enrico Dandolo

The Empress Zoe mosaic

The Comnenus mosaic

Southwestern entrance mosaic

 Basilica Cistern- Yerebatan Sarnıcı

One of the many ancient cisterns that are present in the city of Istanbul.It was built in the 6th century AD by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I.

Medusa heads

Topkapi Palace and the Harem

Was the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years.

 

 

 

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A short lunch break at the restaurant -Sultanahmet Köftecisi Selim Usta

Izgara Köfte

Kapalı Çarşı

We spent the afternoon at Grand Bazaar- one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world.

In the evening, we enjoyed the city panorama from one of the Istanbul's tallest buildings-Istanbul Sapphire.