We began at the Hagia Sophia, which had been closed yesterday.
To me, this is by far Istanbul's greatest historical site. Construction began almost 1500 years ago, as a basilica, which it remained for close to a thousand years, until it became a mosque, and, now, a museum. Its architecture (especially the prominent dome) heavily influenced the Ottoman style of mosque which, of course, includes the Blue Mosque which sits just across the square from the Hagia Sophia (you can see it in the distance out the window below).
I remember from when I visited as a kid that my dad pointed out these cross carvings, which had been viciously "scratched" out by the Muslim conquerors, who eventually converted the church into a mosque.
Many of the mosaics and frescoes (those that survived or post-dated the Orthodox Church's iconoclast period) were covered up or destroyed. Luckily, some have been recovered, including this famous one of Jesus.
Among the most prominent additions when the Hagia Sophia became a mosque were these calligraphy panes, which I believe are the largest in the world.
Other obviously Muslim additions I identified include:
And then there are the noteworthy elements that have no particular religious association, like this leaning pillar . . .
. . . and this enormous marble urn which is actually from the Hellenistic era, so predates the building by hundreds of years!
After at least a couple of hours in the Hagia Sophia, we next headed to the Grand Bazaar to eat lunch and do a little shopping.
Melanie was looking for a coat, but the Grand Bazaar did not quite have what she wanted. So, she wanted to go back to Istiklal Caddesi by Taksim Square.
Partly because we had gotten on a tram that terminated early, but mostly because I just wanted to, we took a route that involved riding ferries across the Bosphorus: from the Grand Bazaar by tram we went to Eminonu, and then ferried to Kadikoy;
At Kadikoy we walked around a little, stopped for tea, then caught the ferry back across the Bosphorus to Karakoy--across the Golden Horn from Eminonu.
At Karakoy we took the funicular up to, finally, Istiklal. If you know Istanbul geography, the extent to which this was a detour will be obvious, but we got there eventually and Melanie found her coat. We ate dinner along Istiklal, before crossing the Golden Horn again to head back to the hotel for the night. As we walked through Sultanahmet Square, we were treated to this:
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