With the tour group in Istanbul 16, 17 October

After gallipoli we had two nights left for the tour and we spent them in Istanbul. Unfortunately Istanbul was just as it was on the first day of our tour when we went on the Bosphorus cruise - rainy and overcast.

The tour must go on so first stop was the Topkapi Palace in the Old City, Saltanahmet. Begun in 1462, it was the former residence and seat of government of successive Ottoman sultans. It eventually became a miniature city with mosques, libraries, stables, kitchens, schools, the imperial mint, treasuries, barracks, armouries, government offices and audience halls. At it's height it supported a population of nearly 4,000. There are many rooms full of fantastic exhibits to visit (no photos please).

The Divan, the council chamber where the viziers (ministers) got together to discuss state affairs.

The rooms are all very plush inside the palace.

Beautiful marble columns hold up the colourful arches.

Tiles abound.

A Pavilion in the intimate Fourth Courtyard.

A pool on the terrace filling up with rain water.

Beautiful views of the city, especially if the weather was clear.

Inside the Bagdad Pavilion built by Salton Murat IV to celebrate the conquest of Bagdad. It is decorated with blue and white 17th Century Iznik tiles and doors and cupboards are inlaid with mother of pearl and tortoiseshell.

The Tree of Life.

Wall tiles.

Ceiling and wall tiles.

The Revan Pavilion. 

No shortage of gold decoration either.

Love these tiles of Ottoman horsemen.

Now for the wonderous Hagia Sophia, Constantinople's Great Church, built in AD 532. It was later converted into an Ottoman mosque and is now a museum. The Greeks named it Hagia Sophia, which means 'divine wisdom'. This photo was actually taken a day or two later when the sun was shining.

The interior is massive. You can't capture the vast space in a photo. It was designed as a classic Basilica with a central nave flanked by columns and narrow side aisles.

One of the Christian mosaics above the apse is Mary with the infant Jesus and dates from the ninth century.

All the lamps were oil burners. The calligraphy are Otterman additions.

Part of the interior narthex.

Emperor Contantine, Mary and Jesus and Empress ...guess who? - Zoe.

The impressive main dome is 57 metres high and 32 metres in diameter and appears to float on four enormous arches. It is an amazing architectual achievement.

The Ottoman fountain outside was used for ablution (ritual cleansing before prayer) when the Hugia Sophia was a mosque.

Next stop, the underground cistern, a vast reservoir dating back to Byzantine Emperor Justinian's reign in the sixth century A D. It can hold 27 million gallons of fresh water and had 336 columns to support the brick ceiling. Most were recycled from earlier Roman ruins. Water would have filled the space half way up to the ceiling.

Carp swim in the water just like in the Roman times.