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Istanbul

Istanbul City Tour

Following breakfast this morning we were picked up from the hotel and visited Topkapi Palace, the
great palace of Ottoman Sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries, which houses an exquisite
collection of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain Robes worn by the sultans and their families, the

famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, the Holy Mantle, and enshrining relics of the Prophet
Mohammed were also featured.

Next, we saw the Sultan Ahmet Imperial Mosque, built in the 16th century known as the Blue
Mosque, due to its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles. Afterwards we went to the
ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races, with the three monuments; the Obelisk of
Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine. We had some free
time so at the suggestion of our guide we walked down to the river and Jan, Silvana and Roland
had an apple tea overlooking the city and the Golden Horn River. We then walked to a really nice
lunch place and had 3 to 4 courses of local food including a whole fish. It was fabulous. After lunch
we went to the Spice Bazaar. The air here was filled with the enticing aromas of cinnamon,
caraway, saffron and many more conceivable herb and spice. We were given Turkish coffee and
Turkish delights to try. Being a Saturday afternoon and there were a lot of people there, we were
too tired to stay on. We went back to hotel. Some of the group went to the river cruise and didn't
get back after midnight.