Sultan Ahmed ordered his mosque built (1609) with six minarets — the same number that Mecca had at the time.

 You can’t go inside a mosque during Friday prayer time — we were there just before. We toured the mosque and as we came out, men were washing their hands and feet, a ritual done before entering a mosque and praying. The Muslim’s Friday noon prayer time is like the Christian’s Sunday morning, or Saturday Sabbath for the Jews — the most holy part of the week.

 The beautiful cascading domed ceiling of the Blue Mosque.

Our next stop is the grand Hagia Sophia.

Built between 532 and 537AD  by Emperor Justinian, this Byzantine architectural masterpiece is known for its massive dome and was the largest church in the world for almost 1000 years.

 The Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople (aka Istanbul). Mosaics and paintings depicting Christ and The Virgin Mary were plastered or painted over as Islam does not allow for the use of images of people or animals.

 After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, Turkey became a secular state, the Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum, and the Christian paintings and mosaics were uncovered.

Another historical and magical structure in Istanbul is the Basilica Cistern, built in the 6th century it shows just how seriously the Romans took their water systems.

 336 columns support the domed ceiling of this underground cistern. While the cistern has a capacity of 100,000 tons of water storage, it currently holds only a few feet and some big fish. Wooden walkways have been added so that the cistern can be explored by foot.

  The beautiful columns in the cistern are of varying types of marble and their capitals are inconsistent — some are Corinthian and some are Doric. It is believed that the columns came from around the Roman Empire in a sort of recycling effort. Interestingly, there are a few Medusa heads used as bases of columns — they are placed sideways or upside down. The mythological character Medusa was said to be able to turn people to stone with a single look. The Roman builders of the cistern may have placed the heads any way but upright to negate Medusa’s spell!

For intrigue and drama it’s hard to beat Topkapi Palace. More of a small town than a palace, Topkapi was the official residence for the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years, and at its busiest housed 4000 people.

 This stone path led into the Harem. Returning to the palace with the spoils of of war, the sultan would ride his horse through this door where he would be greeted by “the ladies” and shower them with gold coins.

 The Harem hung out in this room until summoned by the Sultan. The women were guarded by eunuchs; the Sultans did not like to feel threatened. The eunuchs that guarded the harem lost all of their genitalia, others that performed some secretarial duties were simply castrated. They weren’t the only threatening males — when a sultan died his oldest son took power; the new sultan would then have all of his brothers killed to secure his position.

 Housed in the Imperial Treasury at the palace you will find religious relics: Mohammed’s vest as well as a tooth and a hair from his beard, the staff of Moses, King David’s sword, and this 86-carat diamond — the 7th largest in the world.

No trip to Istanbul is complete without a visit to the colorful Spice Market!

  A great place to buy souvenirs, tea, spices, or the famous and delicious Turkish Delight candy.

 The colors and smells are a party for the senses!

Pack your bag — next stop Israel.