Istanbul - Day 7

Graffiti in Besiktas bar area // Kebab shop + live music + cool tile floor // Baklava + other Turkish pastries // Me wearing my HK shirt because I finally left China // Museum of Modern Art

Istanbul Is Awesome

The Galata Tower is a medieval stone tower in the Galata/Karaköy quarter of Istanbul. It is a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and offers a panoramic vista of Istanbul's historic peninsula. Unfortunately, it was closed for restoration, so couldn’t go inside.

Galata Tower was the tallest building in Istanbul at 219.5 ft when it was built in 1348.

I thought this was interesting: In 1875, during a storm, the conical roof on the top of the building was destroyed. The tower remained without this conical roof for the rest of the Ottoman period. Many years later, during the restoration works between 1965 and 1967, the conical roof was reconstructed. IT DIDN’T HAVE A ROOF FOR ALMOST 100 YEARS! Come on, Turkey…

The split picture of me is half in front of the real Hagia Sophia and half in front of the miniature version from the Miniturk park.

Miniturk - Istanbul

Miniatürk is a miniature park situated at the north-eastern shore of Golden Horn in Istanbul and is one of the world's largest miniature parks with its 160,000 sq. ft model area. The park contains 122 models in 1:25 scale. It contains structures from in and around Turkey, as well as interpretations of historic structures.

58 of the structures are from Istanbul, 52 are from Anatolia, and 12 are from the Ottoman territories that today lie outside of Turkey.

Bosphorus Boat Cruise

The Bosporus, also known as the Strait of Istanbul, is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey. It forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and divides Turkey by separating Anatolia from Thrace. It is the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, by extension via the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

Two suspension bridges and a cable-stayed bridge cross the Bosphorus. The bridge in the picture is the July 15th Martyrs Bridge, and is 1,074 meters long and was completed in 1973.

Pics From Around Istanbul

I think I’ve eaten a kebab or a wrap at least once a day since I’ve been here

Qatar Airways - Safety First

We were told we could only take off shields and mask when eating. It was the longest airplane meal I have ever had. Everyone, myself included, took a good 2 hours to slowly eat and drink while we savored every minute of being PPE-free.

Hagia Sophia // Istanbul

Hagia Sophia was never really on my bucket list of things to see, but hey, when in Turkey…

Hagia Sophia was built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935 the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque.

It was built by the eastern Roman emperor Justinian I as the Christian cathedral of Constantinople for the state church of the Roman Empire between 532 and 537, the church was then the world's largest interior space and among the first to employ a fully pendentive dome.

First Day in Istanbul, Turkey

The fancy building is Dolmabahçe Palace, which was built in the 19th century. It was the administrative center of the late Ottoman Empire with the last of the Ottoman Sultans residing there. Fun fact: Dolmabahçe is the largest palace in Turkey and contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 baths and 68 toilets.