I do what I want to: Sultanahmet area, Turkey (English version)

At last I did some tourism in Istanbul, after nearly a month we had some visitors, that is the best time to take the chance and visit things around.

Probably most of you would have a touristic skyline of Istanbul: mosques, minarets, Bosphorus, Golden Horn crossed by the Galata Bridge. Well, that is what I was looking for after all this time. So take your confortable shoes and start by deciding how much and how long do you want to take visiting the buildings that make this particular skyline. Luckily, most of the touristics sightseing are very close to one another, but there is so much to see, it is so huge that "luckily" is translated into: "Well now I know what public route I should take tomorrow".

The first thing you have to take into accountance is that mosques that are used for prayers would be closed during those times (Blue Mosque, Little Aya Sofya, Suleymaniye, New Mosque...) and that Aya Sofya has a closing time. The second thing would be that you'll probably have to queue for a while; we didn't because there was a public holiday and less people around (this is around the 24th of september).

Aya Sofya with its 1500 years of history is an impressive building. It is surrounded by gardens and in front of it is the Blue Mosque. Built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian as a church in the year 537, it was converted into a mosque in 1453 and in 1935 Ataturk turned it into a museum. There are multiple places to stop for hours just to look at the mosaics, the doors, the views... It is curious to find the sultan's signatures around a Christ mosaic.

Once out, we had the opportunity to take photos by the Kaiser Wilhelm's Fountain while prayers were finishing at the Blue Mosque. Both buildings are very different inside and out. One is a museum while the other one is mosque. We just couldn't agree on which one we liked best. When we entered the Blue Mosque, women had to cover their heads and wear tunics if needed and we all took our shoes off (this ritual is repeated in every mosque out of respect). The building was order by Sultan Ahmet I, now you won't see the blue tiles that once gave the mosque its name. The vibe is completely different but still impressive.

In the same area you find the Basilica Cistern. This underground structure was also an idea of Justinian the emperor in 532. The position of the 336 columns has an hypnotic effect. These columns are simple except from the "column that cries". There are also two columns with a Medusa's head, none of them in the position you would expect.

Last, there is within the area a small mosque called Little Aya Sofya built in 527 (before Justinian decided to built Aya Sofya) as a church and around 1500 was turned into a mosque that is used up to date. Smaller and simpler than the other two, it keeps its solemnity, a peaceful place.

Yarin