Turkiye - Much More Than I Expected - Part One - Istanbul

 My trip to Turkiye (Turkey) began because of my fascination with the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia and the desire to see and experience them is why I initially booked a trip to this surprisingly beautiful country.  If someone had asked me to describe the country, I would have said that I believed it to be mostly dry, arid land.  I was very wrong.  I was initially surprised by the sheer size of Istanbul.  It is huge with a population of over 18,000,000 currently and rising.  As you would expect with that number of people, there is traffic but their infrastructure is excellent both in the cities and the countryside with public transport, great roads and highways and beautiful bridges. 

The second surprise for me was the amount of agriculture in this country.  They have orchards filled with peaches, cherries, hazel nuts, olives, figs and citrus and seem to grow everything from cotton to squash and more. There are miles and miles of rich and fertile farmland - an unexpected surprise for me!

Istanbul - As I mentioned a city of enormous size both in population and land and separated by the Bosphorus River.  The history of Istanbul, formerly Constantinople is so vast and complex having been attacked by many and conquered by some.  I realize I need to divide this blog into sections because there is so much about Istanbul!  Believe it or not, I am posting only a few of the sites in this amazing city.

Landing in Istanbul

The Grand Bazaar

Dried Eggplants and Peppers for Sale

The Galata Tower

Another view

 

Yummy!

 

 

 

Suleymaniye Mosque seen from the Bosphorus River

     

 

There is so much history with many of these photos.  I'll be brief...The Galata Tower was built during the Byzantine era and destroyed by the crusaders. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.  The Suleymaniye Mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1500's and was built by a famous Turkish architect named Sinan. 

A Whirling Dervish

A Mosque on the Bosphorus

This and below are inside the Suleymaniye Mosque - just stunning!

The Hagia Sophia - Greek Orthodox, Christian, destroyed several times and now a mosque but frescoes of Jesus, Mary and the seraphim inside are being restored.

The Cistern Basilica originally used for water storage - What a beautiful place!

A statue of Medusa in the Cistern Basilica

Part of the ancient wall

A partially restored fresco from the Hagia Sophia

An ancient aqueduct

The gates to an Asian inspired palace on the outskirts of the city