Grand Cevahir Htl And Conv Ctr Istanbul

... Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Yerebatan (an underground reservoir with columns, VERY impressive), the palace of Constantine, now being excavated, the columns of the Hippodrome, the Hippodrome itself ... Obviously this is a standard set. But this is only a set of useless words as long as you don't go PERSONALLY to this very Hagia Sophia to be surprised, give a whistle and stay there for the whole day. Just like with other "standard" sights of ...

... when traveling are the most fun. I could have been a borderline rug smuggler! Forget law school, I'd just go back and forth between Istanbul and home.<br><br>Of course, that was maybe the best thing, he said he knew I couldn't lie because I was going to be a lawyer... "You can't lie, it is illegal. And I know you, I see you, I know you will do the right thing." Can't lie because I'm a lawyer, Ha! This guy really was shady and crazy!<br><br>Oh man, it was an entertaining final ...

... best part was the ferry ride over to europe... the water is like glass right before the boat starts then when it gets going its like an overflowing spring, constantly bubbling and refilling itself. i love it... what i felt was indescribable but its something very emotional because its all so beautiful. on the ferry ride back to asia, a haze had settled over the skyline so it gave the city an air of mystery.... mystery is always ...

I'm being lazy because I have been to Istanbul before...and it's still a fantastic city to visit. The Blue Mosque, Hagya Sofya, the bazaars, the cobble stone streets, etc. The new bit for me was visiting Topkapi Palace, which I had missed the last time I was here. It is a huge complex that served as the residence of the sultans for over four centuries. Though it lacked the grandeur ...

... reaches out calmly, lane after lane after canal after bridge. The sky is large, horizons wide. There are no new buildings in the heart of the city. Anything new would be completely out of place. The resident ghosts of tsars and princes would cringe at the chrome and glass that gets tossed off as modern and classy in the newly-styling Chinese cities. This is a home of real old-money. No chintzy new-dollar brashness here. Golden spires and spheres, beaten brass, wink in the sun ...

... Sultan which turned out to be one of the oldest buildings in the district and had just been bought by two Canadian women and had just opened the week before. After finding another place to stay (I'll let Hannah or Halle describe our current digs) we had to go back to the Modern Sultan where the owners invited us to join them in their "Beer Sunday" afternoon which led to spending the entire day and evening with them in their not yet ...

... Turkey is extremely easy. Things are labeled, most Turks speak english, and they don't write in Arabic (which helps heaps). On top of that, they are a friendly bunch and you can always just ask for help. The things that I'm not so fond of are the prices (duh), the tourists (more specifically, the type of tourist this area seems to attract), and the distances. Compared to where I have come from, this country is BIG!!! I kinda forgot about that. I have covered ...

... and offered fast track entry to the Mosque by a man who's cousin happened to work on the worshipers only door and who, by an amazing coincidence!!! had a carpet shop just around the corner. We tried to hide from him when we came out but why oh why is Dean so tall and noticeable? Once we had escaped from said shop, after many admiring comments obviously, we found ourselves in the Arasta Bazaar but soon realised ...

Today we did a lot of things I had wanted to do. The first thing we did was go to the Topkapi palace. The whole thing was like a piece of gold! It was built by Mehmet II as a house in the backyard of the Aya Sophia. It was built in 1464, and also home to Selim th Sot, who drowned in a bathtub after drinking to much champagne. After that, we went to have lunch, that I was not particularly fond of. It was filled ...

... we tracked it down and wandered around it trying to find the ladies' entrance. Finally we gave up and just went in. We entered a domed atrium with a fountain in the middle and an ornate seating arrangement around it. We were taken by the hand by two ladies who took our shoes, gave us some sandals to wear and led us upstairs into a galleried area where we were given kikoys to wear. We then had to cross the atrium again and were lead into the hamam. We ...