First stop this morning is the Hagia Sophia, which is a true highlight, but closed on Mondays. As we round the corner, I see that the line to get in is doing the same…and then some! So after walking further, and taking Michael’s suggestion, we purchase tickets for the “Hop On, Hop Off” sightseeing Istanbul open-top bus. The bus route extends far beyond what we might see in our walking and tram travels, so we use the opportunity (and rainy weather) to get a better understanding of neighborhoods, etc.
The bus gets underway and we quickly get our bearings as the first area is one we covered by foot late last night. Then we head over into areas we wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and are treated to viewing a very long section of the the city walls that surround Istanbul. Containing 11 fortified gates and 192 towers, the outer wall is six feet thick and 28 feet high and separated from the 39 foot high inner wall by a 66 foot moat. Those guys weren’t messing around! The walls stood for over a thousand years until they were breached in 1453, under the reign of Constantine IX, who was last seen fighting on the walls and then disappeared. Sorry for no pictures, but rain made them really bad.
After the 1 1/2 hour ride ended, the line for Hagia Sophia was still pretty bad, so we headed over to the Arasta bazaar, and using Stacey’s tip (she and Dani were in Istanbul the week before), I walked straight into a store called “Elite” and checked out all the well-made counterfeit designer bags. Yes, indeed, I helped to support the Turkish economy there. We meandered in and out of a few more stores, then back to check on the entrance queue.
At last! Not much of a line, so we purchased tickets and headed into the church. The structure we toured was actually the 3rd version, the previous two having been burned to the ground, inaugurated by Emperor Justinian in 537. The church was converted to a mosque in 1453, but has been a museum since 1934.
As you can see, it’s an impressive building to this day, and the inside is incredible, filled with gold-leaf murals and beautiful chandeliers, carpets and marble:
Done with all the mosques, we head very indirectly back to the hotel. I am bushed, and decide I am in for the evening!