Hippodrome (Atmeydani) Istanbul

8:20 start after our day yesterday, was quite difficult, but being the intrepid travelers we were up and ready and raring to go.....well sort of, in between huge yawns.
An organized tour today with Turista tours. Our GED was a young woman who spoke quite good English but a strong Turkish accent.
first site was the Blue mosque. What an …

Today my mom proved that she has alot more energy than me.
Especially when it comes to Museums and Church's....My mom is very thorough, and if there is a plaque that shares a bit of information on that ancient relic, or history on that monument... it is there to be read, and my mom will not pass it by. She is like a walking encyclopedia, which …

Greetings from Istanbul! :)

It was my first day in Istanbul and after having breakfast in the morning, we went to our hotel terrace to get a glimpse of the breathtaking skyline views of Istanbul and to enjoy the sun. It was +22ºC and really warm. Luckily for us, our hotel is situated just a stone's throw away from all the top sights and …

Another port we didn't know what to think of until we got there, loved it! So neat how a city is split into two continents Europe on one side and Asia on the other. We went on a dinner cruise up and down the Bosphorus River, castles, palaces and fortresses lined both sides. Some which are now hotels and consulates. Now the food on this dinner …

Today is Thanksgiving, and even though I'm not in the US, I want to start by saying what I’m thankful for. I’m thankful that I had the foresight to put good insoles in my shoes. And my dear friends and family of course of course, but I’m pretty serious about the insoles right now.

So there are 35 people in my tour group. …

Por cuestiones de logistica - era complicado llegar al este de Ucrania - tuvimos que hacer escala en Istanbul, asi que decidimos aprovechar y quedarnos ahi un par de dias. Fue una excelente decision.

Dificilmente en otra situacion hubieramos decidido ir a Turquia. El primer dia llegamos alrededor de mediodia, y decidimos baniarnos y …

We are exhausted and in dire need of sustenance. Fortunately for us one of the icons of Turkish cuisine, Sultanahmet Köftecisi, which literally means Sultanahmet Meatballs, is right on our route. This renowned restaurant opened in 1920 and has been imitated all over Turkey. In spite of the fact that it's smack in the very middle of the tourist …

Today was a stroll out relaxing day in Istanbul for us.
We roamed in the tram, ate Doldorma Ice Cream on streets, had cheese burger and ayran (turkish lassi) for lunch, went to Islamic Museum, Mosaic Museum, sat in parks, smelled the flowers in the gardan of Blue Mosque, did a bit of souvenir shopping........ and had lots of fun !!!

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What a better way to send off 2012 than exploring Istanbul all day?

Our first stop for the day was Topkapi Palace, which served as the imperial residence for the Ottoman household for 380 years. It was built in the 15th century by Mehmed II and was abandoned in the 19th century, when the family relocated to the Dolmabahce palace, across …

So in the matter of hours, we moved from a third world country (Uganda), to a developing country. And boy was there a difference. My first few hours of being in Istanbul resulted in reverse culture shock. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was almost like being back home as we drove along the highway from the large, clean, advanced airport.< …

... of great Singaporean Hawkers chicken rice. The turkish coffee is particularly brilliant. Rounded out by exploration of the obelisk filled 'Hippodrome', which is where the sultan used to play hungry hungry hippos with his harem, and a relaxing boat trip ...

... right past it without ever knowing that we were right there. We had to double back. The city of Istanbul had built up around the hippodrome and it was now just a park surrounded by asphalt streets. The only thing of interest in this ...

... . Must have been a fascinating scene back in the day... I left the palace with a new enthusiasm for Istanbul and Turkey in general, so I headed to the Hippodrome, which is now a track-shaped road with some ancient obelisks and pillars in the middle of ...

... to hide her distaste of Turkey.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_JGshLjDYI We ended up back near the area around the Hippodrome and decided to eat at a restaurant called Omar's. We were just passing by when the attractive man out ...

... towards Mecca and the decoration inside. More than that it is the serene atmosphere of the place. From there we saw the Hippodrome and the obelisk from Eqypt and then the Pudding Shop which was used in the film Midnight Express....we then had a ...

... a whole is a very clean country. I don't know if this was always the case but we were blown away at how clean Turkey was and Istanbul in particular was a real surprise. I just expected a city that big would be a lot dirtier. We found accommodations ...

... column at one end as the last vestiges of its former glory. The previous day I actually spent 10 minutes walking around the Hippodrome searching for it. I felt kind of silly but I was expecting it to look more like a colliseum with walls and seats. ...

... a seat of power for the Romans and, of course, the centre of the Ottoman Empire. No longer officially the capital of Turkey, Istanbul remains the cultural and economic heart of the country and no visit to this region could leave it off the itinerary. ...

... cloudy and then rainy... Next we made our way into the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art right next to the Hippodrome and located in the palace of Ibrahim Pasa, a close friend and brother in law of Suleyman the Magnificent.  Ultimately, ...

... collection that my camera couldn't quite cope with, excepting the photo of JC below. Onwards and westwards to the hippodrome, the elongated semi-circle of an ancient racetrack in Roman times and now a collection of obelisks and columns ...