Sultans, Bazaars and Taksim Square, oh my!

Today was another busy day, hitting the road at 9:00 am (It was rougher than it sounds). 

First up today was the old Roman cistern for old Constantinople. Spectacular. His was the largest source of water for fountains and for houses back in the Roman days (although only a select few for running water). Check this out:

From there we walked to the Topkapi Palace, where we spent most of the morning touring around. The place was as large as a village, and apparently employed about 4,000 people when it was being used by the Ottoman sultans. It has some of the best views of the city and Bosporus strait. The attention to detail on the designs and finishings of the building was astounding. 

After the palace, we ventured quickly to Taksim Square, which is the area in Istanbul where the riots have been happening lately. The park is beautiful, and is right near the major tourist/fancy hotel area of town. Apparently there is a lot of unrest during Friday and Saturday nights, but the rest of the week is generally ok. 

After a delicious lunch of cuisine from the southeast of Turkey, and a wander around Republic Street, we took a cruise to look at the various homes of the rich and famous. Some of these places were summer houses of the Sultan's (yes, he had many) before being confiscated by the state following the collapse of the empire.

Our travel agent had actually arranged a special treat for us as we were the only people on the boat. And it was quite a boat!

Finally, we travelled to the grand bazaar. You could easily get lost in this place, with over 4,000 shops. I think Aoife was overwhelmed, which is also the reason we spent only about an hour here!

Last but not least, after a quick shower and change, our guide took us back to Republic street to a tasty restaurant where we enjoyed fish, cheese, and a glass of Raki (the unofficial national drink of Turkey which tastes like Uozo and is mixed with water).

Tomorrow is an early flight to Cappadocia - both of us are really looking forward to it. 

As we're staying in a cave (really) we'll have to see what the Internet situation is like. We're there for a few nights, but will post when we can. 

Aoife and Paul.