JULY 11TH ISTANBUL

  Istanbul, Turkey
Friday, July 11, 2008

We started this morning with a breakfast of olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, fresh fruit and hot Turkish tea and we spent the day walking into the past (7.6 miles of walking).
First we went to Fatıh University,

Fatih University

a private college founded by the Gulen Movement in Turkey.  It was a very impressive campus that emphasizes international education.  It was started in 1996 and has 8,000 students and 60 faculty.  They have students from 50 countriesıes and exchange programs with over 100 universities around the world.
Then we met our guide for the day, Nigib who took us to the Topkapi Palace.

Tokapki Palace

The stone fence around the palace is 3.1 miles long and it is one of the largest palaces in Europe.  The kitchen served 4000 people everyday and up to 15000 at festivals. It is where the Sultans lived. We saw the Sword of David, The Rod of Moses, the Turban of Joseph, the footprint of Mohammad and an 86 carat diamond among other items
Then it was lunch time.  We had two salads on our table from which 4 of us ate, and then each of us were served lamb and peppers along with bread.
Following lunch we went to the Bacilica Cistern.

Bacilica Cistern

It was an amazing water supply system from the Roman days and was used as a set for filming the James Bond movie, From Russia with Love.
Then to the Haggai Sophia- an incredible building and the Blue Mosque.

Haggai Sophia

  The beauty, age and architecture of these buildings are overwhelming. I removed my shoes for the Mosque and was wrapped in a blue garment since I had shorts on at the time.

Blue Mosque

There is no way to describe the overwhelming beauty and grandeur of what we saw today.  I remain in awe of this beautiful city with a history that dates back centuries.