It isn’t very often that a cruise ship spends an overnight in a city allowing for tours on both days. Istanbul was one of those rare opportunities.

Our tour the first day had been called Istanbul 1 and had about 40 people.  It was designed to go with Istanbul 2 the next day.   Instead I booked a small group tour on the second day – also through Holland America – with only 10 people.  We prefer small group tours when they are available.

Our guide told us the population of Istanbul is 18,000,000 but that number is only an estimate because the city has taken in so many people as refugees from natural disasters and civil strife.

Five million Istanbul residents live in Asia but work in Europe. They use bridges, tunnels and ferries to cross the city.

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, has a long and rich history. Constantinople was once the capital of the Roman Empire. Constantius II had a 15th century BC obelisk sent from Egypt in the year 357 to commemorate his 20 years on the throne.  

The obelisk, named the Obelisk of Theodosius, is the oldest monument in Istanbul. Six cities around the world have genuine Egyptian obelisks.

The base shows the process of erecting the obelisk. It took 55 years to accomplish the task.

Its geographic setting made Constantinople one of the richest and most significant cities of all time. From the fifth to ninth centuries, it was one the most crowded cities on earth. 

Our next site was The Sultan Ahmet Mosque, more popularly known as the Blue Mosque. 

It was completed in 1617 just prior to the death of its patron at age 27.

It is so named because of the blue tint to the interior.

Of course, there were modesty requirements for women.  The requirement was enforced.

The mosque once had ancient rugs instead of carpet but after some of the rugs were stolen, the remaining rugs were removed.  We were told that the rugs that were removed are on tour but I was unable to find a schedule.

Men pray on the bottom floor while women pray in the side galleries.

It was impossible for us to get an exterior photograph from a distance to see its grandeur.  This drawing gives a better perspective.

Our next site was the inspiration for the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia. This was the largest building on earth for 1000 years and still ranks number five.

Hagia Sophia, or St. Sophia, was built in the years 532-537. It has been in continuous use for 1500 years.  That has helped it remain in such good condition.

It was the first basilica with a domed roof.  They did that 1500 years ago!

St. Sophia was built and served as an orthodox Christian church from its beginnings until 1453. At that time the city fell to the Turks and St. Sophia was converted to a mosque. 

The central altar is now slightly offset to face Mecca instead of Jerusalem. 

It was turned into a museum and operated that way for 80 years.  One year ago it was made a mosque again by the “hard line, right wing government in Turkey.”  Those were our guide’s words.

Turkey is 99.9 percent Muslim and he said that about 50 percent are active.  Our tour guide was part of the .1 percent.  He described himself as an Orthodox Christian.

Next, we visited the Grand Bazaar.

Our next stop was for a classic Turkish meal. It was very good.

It was almost like comfort food to see something resembling cherry jello.

Our guide, who had been so attentive and personable, was now getting phone calls and seemed distracted. Randy finally asked him if everything was okay. He then told us about his son who plays junior tennis for Istanbul and was playing in a regional match. Our guide was missing it for work and his wife was trying to keep him informed. His son won and would be playing his next singles match (either the finals or semifinals) the next day. He was hoping to catch his son’s doubles match later that day. 

We walked down the Grand Rue de Pera, hub of cultural life. Nearby is the Hotel Pera Palace where Agatha Christi wrote Murder on the Orient Express – a train route that had termini in Paris and Istanbul.  

We saw that Istanbul too has cared for street kitties.

We said goodbye to our guide whom we had enjoyed very much. He was highly educated and a very good communicator. Small group tours really are the best when you can get them. 

We returned to our ship prepared for a late afternoon sail away. We still had some interesting sights to see on our way out of Istanbul.

The Blue Mosque is on the left and St. Sophia is on the right. It is a unique (to us) landscape.

From 1460 on, the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the world from Topkaki Palace.  It was the administrative center and the main residence of the sultan.

There are more than 7000 mosques in Istanbul.  Sailing away, Randy was able to count 16 large mosques from our balcony on the ship.

Istanbul and Rome alternate as the third most visited city in Europe behind London and Paris.  We would be happy to visit again someday.

We were in Istanbul on September 27, 2023.

Next up: Mykonos