Second day of sightseeing in Istanbul

Hi Guys, Ham here. 

Yesterday was a busy day of sightseeing. First, we went to the famous Blue Mosque, then to the Hippodome where they used to race chariots in the olden days, then on to the Basilica Cistern, which is an old underground water storage. In the afternoon, we went on a cruise on the Bosphorus which was awesome, then to the Grand Bazzar. Finally, our whole tour group went out for dinner to a traditional Turkish restaurant.

This is the Blue Mosque. It was built about 200 years ago. It was supposed to be taller than the much older Hagia Sophia, but it wasn't possible, so the Sultan's architect added extra minaret towers to make it look talker.

 

This is one piece of stone that was taken by the Ottomans from Egypt to Istanbul to show the world that they ruled over Egypt. It sits in the Hippodome which is a open area that was used for sport like chariot races. 

.

These 2 photos are from the the underground cistern. Slaves made the cistern and were later killed so the slaves could not tell anyone where the cistern was. They were worried that someone would try to poison the town's water supply.

These photos are from the Topkapi Palace, which was the main home of the Sultan.  The Crown Jewels were there, and they looked ( and probably were) very valuable. We were could not take photos in this spot.

There were guys on the roof for an unknown reason ( crazy right?).

After lunch we went on a boat cruise for a couple of hours on the Bosphorus, which is that water the separates Europe and Asia. This is a Summer palace for the Sultan. The Sultan has a lot more. 

Today were are travelling 650km from Istanbul to Pamukkale, so no updates until tomorrow.

Ham out