June 22, 2026
We had a full day before we had to board our ship, so the Joneses, Kenisons, and I (Bob was away for the day on a birding trip with a guide) planned a walking tour of Istanbul. Bob and I had previously visited Istanbul in 2010 (those blog posts begin here), and 16 years is a long time. The city felt different--in some ways more modernized, in other ways more restored to its ancient past.
We walked from our hotel to Topkapi Palace, built in 1459, six years after the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. In its heyday, the Sultan's harem lived here, along with state officials. However, it was basically abaondoned as a residence in the 17th century, although it did retain government-related uses. In the mid-19th century, the sultan moved the court out as well, but the palace continued to serve as a treasury, library, and mint. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, Topkapi Palace became a museum, which it has continued to be to the present day.
This is the Hagia Irine, originally built in the 4th century during the riegn of Emperor Constantine, making it one of the earliest Christian churches in Constantinople/Istanbul. It was one of only two churches never converted into a mosque. These days it is a museum and concert hall.
The Imperial Gate, one of three ceremonial gates at Topkapi Palace, was commissioned in 1478 and reconstructed in 1867.
A sidewalk leads from the square to the stunning Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Yep, like Sultanahmet Square). More on it later.
We enjoyed walking around the square, checking out the various vendors. Those are roasted chestnuts on the left, which we couldn't resist. As kids, we used to get them at Christmastime. I associate them with a German Christmas, not a summer in Turkey!
We took a peak inside the Grand Bazaar, entering through the Nuruosmaniye Gate:
We enjoyed some ice cream and some baklava.
Fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice is one of my favorite drinks in the world:
And here's Bob, back from his birding expedition!
After lunch, we went back to exploring the many features of the Sultanahmet Square. One my favorites structures was the German Fountain, presented as a gift from the German Emperor Wilhelm II to the Ottoman Empire in 1900. (Maybe this is why they were selling roasted chestnuts on the square?)
The base depicts, amonng other things, Emperior Theodosius and his court watching chariot races, foreign enemics bringing tribute, and dancers.
Next up, the spectacular Blue Mosque, also known as (surprise surprise) the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Up close on the outside, it doesn't look like much.
The palace grounds were pretty crowded, so we decided to exit through the Imperial Gate, which placed us near the Fountain of Ahmed III, built in 1728
We were also at one end of Sultanahmet Square, the historic Hippodroome of Constantinople. In its heyday there were horse and chariot races here.
Also on the sqquare is the Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse, built in the mid-16th century
Although we had been snacking on chestnuts, ice cream, baklava, and pomegranate juice, we had been walking around a lot and were hungry, the kind of hungry that's inescapable in a foreign country with lots of good food options.
We were hungry, but maybe not THIS hungry!
Nevertheless, we did our best not to waste too much food.
By the way, have I mentioned that there are a lot of cats in Istanbul? Apparently there are somewhere between 125,000 and 300,000 "free-roaming" (aka feral) cats in this city of 15 million humans. The city is sometimes called "Catstanbul." There is a great BBC article about the cats of Istanbul here.
One of the more dominant structures of the square is the Obelisk of Theodosius, erected in Sultanahmet Square in 390 AD but actually carved around 1450 BC and orginally erected at the Great Temple of Karnak in Luxor. In the beginning it was almost 100 feet tall, but it was damaged during transport and shortened to about 60 feet. The hieroglyphics detail the military campaigns of Thutmose III.
Even at 60 feet, it's quite impressive. Imagine it at 100 feet!
Nearby is the Serpent Column, originally three enormous serpents tightly intertwined, the heads at the top supporting a massive golden cauldron. It was cast in 479 BC of bronze melted down from weapons, armor, and shields taken from the defeated Persian army after their failed attempt to invade the Greek city-states. The names of the 31 unified city-states are etched on the lower coils. Originally placed in Delphi and dedicated to the god Apollo, it stood 26 feet tall. It made the transit to Istanbul in one piece, but the serpent heads mysteriously disappeared around 1700 AD, and today the column stands a mere 11.5 feet tall.
Next up, the spectacular Blue Mosque, also known as (surprise surprise) the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Up close on the outside, it doesn't look like much.
I'm convinced. In fact, "spectacular" doesn't really do it justice!
The courtyard includes an ablution fountain for ritual cleansing and a good view of one of the four minarets.
Here is an aerial shot of the mosque from Wikipedia. The massive courtyard has about the same-sized footprint as the mosque. The main dome is surrounded by four half-domes, each of which is flanked by three smaller half-domes for a total of 17 domes.
Stained glass windows everywhere. Not something I typically think of in connection with mosques.
It's hard to believe this gorgeous structure was built at about the same time the Pilgrims were coming to North America
All that architecture made us so hungry. How fortuitous that this ice cream shop was nearby.
Comparing the ice cream to this roasted corn is like comparing the Ritz Carlton to Motel 6.
