We began our first day in Istanbul with the Topkapi Palace, the palace of the Ottoman sultans. Unlike western rulers, they had no one to impress, and no sense of monumental architecture for its own sake. So their palaces were private, built for their own pleasure.
As in previous visits, no photos were allowed inside the treasury, so you will have to take a look at the internet for that. Unlike our previous visits, the kitchens, which fed 5000 people including the royal household three times a day, were open. But again, no photos. The harem, the private apartments of the sultan and his wives and concubines was open, and had many more rooms available for viewing than before.
This is only a sample of the tiles found in a single room of the harem.
This is the sultan's bedroom.
The bars on the harem windows.
The most favored wives and concubines had rooms on this courtyard, which has a view of the city.
Then off to the kitchens, with these chimneys.
After our visit to the Topkapi, we walked to the Cisterns, which provided ancient Istanbul with water.
What many people do not realize when they visit the Cisterns, is that when they were in use, the water level was just below the ceiling, so none of the columns except parts of their capitals were visible. The columns themselves were scavenged from ruins and other buildings. That explains why the medusas are upside down and sideways.
Fish!
Then it was out of the dark and into the light, with a walk through the Hippodrome to the Blue Mosque.
The chains here and elsewhere were a reminder to the sultan that he was not above God, requiring him to dismount his horse to enter the mosque.
On this visit, something about the light made the Blue Mosque's interior appear more pink than blue.
The view Blue Mosque from our hotel that evening, with it's lights welcoming the masses to Ramadan prayers.
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