Have just arrived in Istanbul. I am booked on an afternoon city tour including the Topkapi Palace.
email from mum -
As we sailed into Istanbul we could see the Topkapi and the Hagia Sophia, built in 325 and originally a catholic Church of Holy Wisdom and converted to a mosque in 1453 by Sultan Mehmet. Talk about a busy port. There were ferries everywhere. Any time you looked, there were at least a half dozen ferries of various sorts crossing the harbour from the European to the Asian side and vice versa. As we came in a couple were blowing their horn; to greet us or in annoyance I am not sure.
The Topkapi Palace Museum was awesome. Beautiful mosaic tiles on the walls and ceilings. Gold ornaments everywhere, on walls and doorways. Ornately decorated fireplaces in all rooms. Originally there were also beautiful carpets. The person in charge of the Harem, the female section of the Palace, was the Sultan's mother. She was in charge of selecting his wives, he was allowed 4 official wives, but had also his concubines. There were about 400 female family members, children and 'ladies' living in this section. The Palace housed around 4000 people in all.
After the Palace a visit to the carpet store with demonstration of how they are made. Some carpets take up to 3 years to make. The silk are the slowest as the girl making it can only work for a short time before having a rest. The strings are very hard on her fingers. Wool carpets are faster to make, the lanolin lubricates the fingers and keeps them soft. They were all beautiful from dark red or blue to soft cream in colour.
A tour of Istanbul would not be right without visiting the Grand Bazaar. A covered bazaar with over 4000 store. Some only 2x3m. Lots of souvenir items, the Eyes in various forms from pea size to dinner plate size, both dark and light blue and some in other colours. I paired up with two other ladies and we stuck together only going straight in the main 'road' and turning back when our time was up. We did a bit of barganing so a couple of items followed us home. Altogether a great experience.
Mums pics
Blue Mosque
decorated doorway
Gate to the Topkapi
Hagia Sophia
this pic from google images
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