day 2

our luggage arrived around 9 in the evening - so we wasted much of the afternoon on day 1 just waiting for our luggage to arrive... but once we showered and put on fresh clothes we were out the door to a local brew pub - apparently a new thing on the Istanbul bar scene - to toast the arrival of our clothes.

We got an early start on day two and caught a ferry to old Istanbul - the part that had been known as Constantinople. We toured the Topkapi Palace - the palace of the sultans and the harem - the photo above is from one of the ceilings in the harem - which means private place - but anywhere from 300 to 500 concubines did live in the harem to serve as the wives of the sultan, the princes as well as for court officials.

We spent hours touring the buildings and grounds, which stand in the shadow of the Hagia Sophia, our next destination. That Hagia Sophia is amazing - it was rebuilt in 414 - i think it maybe on of the oldest buildings i have ever been in. Aside from all of the beautiful tile work that is being exposed from under the plaster that was put over it when it was claimed by the Muslims and made into the mosque after being a church for a thousand something years - the shear size of the dome is just something to be in awe of.

After taking in the views we went across the street to the Basilica Cistern - built by Constantine to help solve water issues - it was built using columns from other buildings - apparently they also salvaged some medusa heads - so the big attraction was two medusa heads - one which was upside down and one which was on its side that support two of the columns. But just seeing the structures and knowing that the cistern has existed for almost 2000 years was the real attraction - people lowered buckets down into the cistern to bring water back up to their homes and sometimes they even caught fish in their bucks - many fish remain today swimming in the underground well... they look well fed - there's now a cafe down there as well and they have a stage were small concerts are held in the summer - it's pretty darn cool.

We then wandered through the old streets to the grand bazaar just to have a peek - we're saving the shopping until the end of the trip - it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as i thought it would be - put it is really hectic and people try to get your attention at almost every stall - we came out and made our way through the maze of old streets down to the spice market where we picked up a box of lukum - turkish delight - there are so many amazing smells - i'll be sure to bring home spices for everyone to try.

back on the ferry we relaxed and took in the views - we were exhausted at this point - but the walk home nearly killed us - we went a little off track - and it was all uphill - after a day of being on our feet - it was the last thing we wanted to be doing. We finally got home, took cold showers, and Zeynep took us out for a night on the town. We went to this amazing restaurant on the top of an old apartment building - we had amazing views of the city and the food was wonderful - Russ took the plunge and tried Raki - a turkish anise based alcohol - you mix it with water - but even then i don't think i could drink it. After dinner we went basically to the party street - there were hundreds of people out walking, eating, drinking on the main strip of Beyoglu - a little like Hollywood Blvd or Times square - minus the cars and plus a lot more people and action. We wove down narrow streets filled with cafes and bars until we found Zeynep's favorite dive - beers were cheap, the guns and roses was blaring, and there was plenty of people watching. After a round of cheap beers we went back out to find a more trendy bar that had amazing views - it was a great night out filled with amazing views of the city.