More Istanbul Sightseeing

This morning we set out for another full day of the sights. We got on a commuter boat with Jale, the wife of our host Chetin. She was on her way to her job at HP in Istanbul and we all got on the same commuter boat. She got off on the first stop on the European side. We got off on the second. Upon arrival, we hopped on the tram and took it three stops to the Sutanahmet neighborhood and the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya Mosque and the Underground Cistern. We arrived around 8:30am and nothing was open yet, so we went to a park nearby to take photos of the Blue Mosque's exterior. While doing that, a number of schoolboys asked us to take their photos. Of course we complied!



Later, we saw the Underground Cistern, the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque. It was all incredible. This photo, above, is of the dome of the Blue Mosque. We also went to the Grand Bazaar, but I wasn't so impressed. It was like a massive shopping mall. The Spice Market was much better! Below is a tripod shot of the underground cistern before I was reprimanded for using the tripod (they're not allowed in many public places). I managed to get one shot - it was about a 20 second exposure and I clicked it off just as the cistern police came to tell me that it wasn't allowed. I took about 15 seconds to clarify my transgression, then waited until the shutter closed before putting the tripod away. But I got the shot! Also below is a tiled image from above the inner doorway to the Aya Sofya Mosque.