Istanbul gittim

We arrived around 4 or 5 am and attended the morning call to prayer at a very old mosque built in honor of Muhammad's friend Abu Ayyab al-Ansari.

                               Afterwards we had a huge breakfast at a nearby restaurant.

This picture is from a huge panoramic painting depicting the conquering of Constantinople by Fatih Sultan Mehmet.

                                                     A portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet

                                  Guys making balik ekmek (fish sandwiches) on a boat.

                                                  The finished product was quite tasty.

                                                                   The spice bazaar

The Lonely Planet guide said that Turkey had cherries the size of babies' fists. Up until this point, I hadn't found any particularly large cherries. However, this one comes close to the claim.

Below are pictures of Hagia Sophia (meaning Holy Wisdom), first built as a church in 537 AD during the time of Constantinople and later used as a mosque. It is now a museum. Scenes from the movie "Argo" were filmed here!

Below is the interior and exterior of the Sultan Ahmet Camii (popularly known as the Blue Mosque).

                                             
                                              Below is the exterior of Hagia Sophia. 

 

We ended the day with dinner with the wonderful family that was generous enough to this trip for us.