Majestic Istanbul

I was in Istanbul only for a day unfortunately (airlines schedules are sometimes really annoying) but made sure to cover as much as possible. I focused on Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace Museum.

The old centre is really magnificent with a lot of ancient housing, palaces and mosques. It's a place I always wanted to visit because of its historical and cultural significance from the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans and closer to us Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Istanbul is a pivot and a unique city which is divided by the famous Bosporus strait separating Europe from Asia.

Let's start with Hagia Sophia or Church of the Holy Wisdom which is one of the most acclaimed monument in the world. I was anxious to see it. It was the largest cathedral for a 1000 years (only the one built in Sevilla surpassed it). It is said to have changed the history of architecture and it is indeed extremely impressive given its dimensions. It was an orthodox cathedral under the Byzantine empire. Then came the pillage of the city with the 4th crusade with the treacherous help of the Venetians which drastically weakened the empire. The cathedral became a catholic one for 57 years before becoming a mosque in 1453 when the city fell into the hands of the Ottomans. The conversion unfortunately destroyed a lot of relics as well as the altar and the bells. It was then converted as a museum in 1935.

I was unaware that the interior was being renovated so an important part was covered with scaffolding but fortunately, I still had a good view of this historical treasure. I admired the immense dome, beautiful mosaics, columns and other decorations. I was slightly disappointed by the lack of documents and relics inside, it felt a little bit empty but on the flip side it increased even more the impression of grandeur (55m tall!).

Then, I decided to go have a look at the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) on the other side of the square. It is called the Blue Mosque because of its blue tiles which gives it a blue aura at night with the lights reflecting. It was built in 1609 and possesses 5 main domes and 6 minarets with a height of 64m. I was quite unlucky again as the interior is also under renovation which explains the small number of pictures I was able to take.

Last and certainly not least, I visited the Topkapi Palace Museum. It was the residence of the Sultans. It's like going in a time machine and revisit the old splendours of the Ottoman empire. You can see the harem, the place where the Sultan was consulting with its advisors, the splendid weapons like scimitars or guns with ivory and precious stones. There is also an interesting room presenting a lot of gifts offered by foreign dignitaries and especially impressive clocks. The museum did a great job at going into details about each exhibitions and I spent several hours reading and learning about the different rooms.

And I almost forgot another great attraction: the food! Turkish gastronomy is excellent (wine leaves, mezze, Kebab and baklava) and they even have interesting wines to pair it with. I had a great (but too short) time there and I will definitely come back. Let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading.