Istanbul Day 2

The weather was cold and we pulled out our jumper. The Taksim metro station was at walkable distance from our Apartment. We took Funicular from Taksim to Kabatas and from there Tram to Blue Mosque stop. We took one IstanbulKart Metro Card which could be used for up to 6 people. It saves time and money for multiple trips.

We began our walk at the Blue Mosque which is quite an impressive building. Both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are in the same vicinity, and there is a lovely park with bloomed Tulips between the two where one can sit and drink them both in. Next was At Meydani (Sultanahmet Square) which refers to a park that was once the Hippodrome of Constantinople. It was a race track in its heyday that served as the sporting and social center of the city. We then went to the Hagia Sophia(H.S). The H.S. was rather an architectural feat with the huge domes. It was first a church, then a mosque, and is now a museum. It is the pinkish looking building below, and is quite stunning. The inside has paintings, and domes, and some renovation work.

We finished our architectural sight seeing with at Bascillca Cistern with some Ottomon attire photos. We had Simit smeared with Nutella innumerable times. We could have finished Topkaki Palace the same day, but its closed on Tuesday. So, we walked towards Grand Bazaar. Talk about instant stimulation that just doesn't stop! The colors! The merchandise! The shop keepers yelling at every tourist walking by! It was quite the scene. We bought Turkish delight ,dry fruits and souvenir. The price you pay depends on how hard you can haggle.

After the Grand Bazaar, we headed for the Spice Market. In my personal opinion, I actually loved the Spice Market more. It felt more authentic middle eastern! All sorts of spices, dried fruits, and baklava were very tempting. We reached our stay late evening.

Tip: Its better to buy 5 day Musuem Pass which saves time and money, For just 85TL(Turkish Lira), it gives you access to most of the sites mentioned here along with a few others within 120 hours after its first use. Available at the ticketing office of any participating museum, it also saves you a lot of time since you won’t have to line up to buy tickets at every site. These museums are popular so lines can get pretty long.