Sightseeing Istanbul and surrounds

Photos 

Since our hotel was only a couple of blocks from Sultanahmet, everything was nearby including public transportation, which could take us much farther out - to Rumeli Hisari to the North and IST airport to the West.  Our photos tell the story; for locations see the map below.

Historic sites of Istanbul

Must see sights were: Hagia sophia, the shrine of Christianity for a thousand years, later a mosque and now a museum; Blue mosque, famous for its blue tiles inside; Topkapi Palace, just west are the remnants of Hippodrome; Basilica Cistern, Sulemaniye Mosque on top of the hill; in between were Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar.  Walk across the Galata Bridge to Galata Tower; then take tram or bus to Dolmabahce Palace, and further north to Rumali Hisari castle near the second bridge to Asia (Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge)  Cross the Bosporous to the Asia side and view Maiden's Tower.

Tidbits:

Turkey (as well as the city of Istanbul) lies on two continents - Europe and Asia - separated by Bosporus, a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway.  It forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates the much larger Asian Turkey to the East from smaller European Turkey bordering Greece and Bulgaria to the West.

Five of the most well-known transcontinental cities are Istanbul, Atyrau, Orenburg, Magnitogorsk, and Suez.  Istanbul itself is primarily in Europe with recent growth happening on the Asian side.  Most sightseeing and historical sites are on the European side, as seen in the map above.

During World War II, Turkey remained neutral and kept the Bosporous, connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, open for all naval vessels to pass through,  This made Istanbul THE place for espionage.  Spies from all over the world - including double agents - made Istanbul home.  No surprise then that the 1963 James Bond movie "From Russia with Love" was filmed with Istanbul as a backdrop.  Watch it to find many sights you'd want to visit - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2dozje_james-bond-from-russia-with-love_tv (starts at 25:30)

Airfares on state-owned Turkish Airlines are at times ridiculously low - to the point that other airlines just can't compete and complain about it.  The Airline boasts that it flies to more destinations than any other.  Their service is a tad bit better than other European airlines, and food is novel.  All our flights were on time (except one, which got cancelled and gave us an extra day in Istanbul.)  But that's is just based on my one data point.

Unlike any other airline so far, their in-flight announcements began with "Ladies and gentlemen and dear children..." - nice touch I thought.  Wonder if any children were listening!
- On the other hand, on Egypt Air, announcements began with a muslim prayer with a picture of a mosque displayed on TV screens.  That was followed by the usual announcements first in Arabic and then in English.

Government spends $1 billion annually to maintain mosques in Turkey - entry is free to everyone - one way to promote Islam in this secular country.  During daily six prayer times (only two of those fall during tourist hours), only Muslims are allowed.  Other tourists must wait until the prayer is over, and even then allowed only up to the barrier inside.

Depending on the Mosque, you are either provided paper booties to put on top of your shoes, given plastic bags to carry your shoes in, or you can hand carry them as long as you don't put them down.  Exit is usually from the other side.