Following my conversation with Altug (the hostel owner) the night before, I decided to first explore Sultanahmet, the part of town where you'll find the main tourist attractions or major sights of the city.

I also wanted to see other parts of town, but Altug told me that once in Istanbul, you really have to visit Ayasofya and the Topkapi Palace, both located in the historic peninsula on the European side.
So we headed to Taksim square, which was only a ten minutes walk from our hostel in Cihangir, and had breakfast at the square, while looking at the Ataturk monument.

We had Simit, which is a circular bread typically encrusted with sesame seeds, often regarded as the turkish bagel. I loved simit; just one was enough to give me all the energy I needed for the first half of the day. Simit is sold by street vendors who either have a trolley or carry the simit in a tray.

A simit trolley at Taksim square.

After our breakfast at Taksim square, we took the funicular from Taksim to Findikli, the hazelnut station. I call it the hazelnut station because Findikli is the turkish word for this kind of nut. I learned that when I went to the grocery store and read the label on a candy bar. From Findikli we took the tram to Sultanahmet.

 The public transportation system works really well. It's impressive how easily you can go from one place to another within a couple of minutes in such a huge city. Where I live (Panama City, Panama), it's so complicated to move around and the public transportation system is horrible. So, it was a nice change for the routine.A tram Jeton (token) can be obtained at the stop and it's not expensive, with one jeton costing 2 TRY (Turkish lira), which is approx. 1 USD.  

The first picture I took from the Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Camii (turkish word for mosque).

The sequence of views of the city during that first tram ride is unforgettable to me. Going out of Findikli station to see the Bosphorus and the Asian side from where we were standing, while we waited for the next tram that would take us to the historic peninsula; the first views of the Galata bridge and the Yeni Camii (New mosque) through Eminönü and skipping a heartbeat while seeing the minarets of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque from the car, and all with the distinctive bell ringing sound of the tram in Istanbul when you arrive to the next stop.

Hagia Sophia is enourmous and sparsely decorated on the outside, but it sure is something special. It is said that this building changed the history of architecture. I'm not a savant of the topic, but I surely have never see anything like it in my life.

Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya in Turkish) is perhaps the most important landmark in Istanbul and it's history also tells the history of the city.
The current building's construction began between the years 532 and 537 and was commanded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. It was the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years until the Seville Cathedral was completed, in 1520.

After the Ottoman turks conquered Constantinople under Sultan Mehmed II, the church was turned into an imperial mosque and four minarets were added to the structure. 500 years later, Ataturk, the founder of the turkish republic, turned it into a museum and so it remains until our days. The entrance fee is 30 TRY, about 14 USD.

In Ayasofya you'll se fine examples of Byzantine mosaics. This one for example represents Christ Pantocrator, one of the most widely used religious images of Orthodox Christianity.

Ayasofya, with its massive dome, is considered to be the epitome of Byzantine architecture.

The Mihrab (which shows the direction in which muslims have to pray) and the minbar (the pulpit where the imam delivers sermons) are beautifully decorated.

Every detail in Hagia Sophia is simply sublime. There's just so much richness everywhere, it's a true feast for the eyes.

Ayasofya was undergoing renovation during our visit.

My brother and me inside Ayasofya.

The medallions show the arabic words for Allah (on the right), the Prophet Muhammad and the first four caliphs.

My marvelled face inside Hagia Sophia.

One perspective of the massive dome and one of the chandeliers.

Ayasofya is just breathtaking.

I was impressed the minute I entered Hagia Sophia. My neck kept turning with the sights of the pendant chandeliers, the medallions, both the christian and muslim details inside the edifice, the mosaics and the collection of calligraphy as a part of the exhibition.

Ayasofya is always crowded, but it wasn't an impediment to stop and stare at the marvelous wonder of architecture that this place is.
 It's not only a reason for turks to feel proud about, but of the entire humanity, because there's such a unique mixture of elements from the Byzantine and Ottoman times that is nowhere to be seen, but here.

Another depiction of Christ Pantocrator in the upper gallery of Ayasofya.

A depiction of Virgin Mary. The two images that are right next to her represent people that donated money for the construction of the church.

Exploring the upper gallery, I peered on an opened window and saw a different perspective of the Blue Mosque. The result was this picture.

Happy self- portrait inside Ayasofya.

On my next post, I'll continue writing about my first day in Istanbul, as a part of my Istanbul travel diary.
Keep reading!

Astrid

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