Day Two in Istanbul

Looking out at the Marmara Sea from our rooftop cafe

Looking down the street from the cafe

Looking up the hill to a mosque from our rooftop cafe

After a nice breakfast, ready to hit the town

Blue Mosque from a distance

Main entrance to Topkopi Palace

Walking the grounds in historical Topkopi Palace

Topkopi Palace

Looking out at the Bosphorus from Topkopi Palace

One of the amazing things we saw in the Palace

This wall was amazing, and I loved the spires in the background, Topkopi Palace

Check out the tile work!

Archeological Museum

Amazing to this American that I could walk right up to this and touch it.  No ropes, no glass.

Amazing sarcophicus

Archeological Museum

From the ceiling of the Hagia Sophia

From the upper level of the Hagia Sophia

Gail looking out at the Hagia Sophia from the upper level

Random shot outside the Hagia Sophia

Rewards for a hard day of sight seeing

Amazing calligraphy art

Our hotel, I highly recommend it

Random shot from the Grand Bazzar

We hit the ground running on day two.  We wanted to get out before the throngs of tourists, field trippers and bus loads of blue hairs took over the town.

First we sprinted down toward the Topkopi Palace.  I took a wrong turn of course, and we took a round-about way to the palace, but on the bright side, we found the Archeological Museum, which was on our list for the day.  We had purchased a three day pass which ended up being a good deal.

Topkopi Palace is amazing.  It's huge, and you could spend days going through it.  If those walls could talk!  We spent about three hours checking it out, then headed to the Archeological Museum.  Amazing exhibits there!  And to think that much of it came from that immediate area is mind boggling.  What really blew my mind is that very few pieces are roped off or glassed in.  You can literally walk up to one of the sarcophigus and put your hand on a piece of history.

Next, we moved on to the Hagia Sophia.  The pictures above don't do it justice.  I don't have time to write the history, but I recommend you google it.  Imagine, this incredible structure has withstood wars, earthquakes, weather and time.

After all that sightseeing, we were ready for a nice meal and a glass of vino.  We sat in this swank alley cafe with our table just a couple feet from the sidewalk.  With the Blue Mosque in the background, we ate, drank and people watched.

We were pretty much beat by this point, but mustered up enough energy to take a spin around the Grand Bazzar for an hour.  Very interesting place.

After all the walking and fresh air, we were done.  Back to the room for a couple of episodes of Modern Family on Hulu, and nighty - nite for the King's.  Much to do tomorrow!