In our tour package, the two extra days in Istanbul were given free as a promotional deal. I'm just glad we clinched such a good deal. After visiting Istanbul for 2 days, I think I would really like to go back there again in future, and speand some more time to explore the whole of Turkey.

The Topkaki Palace was the first sight we went to. It was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans, from 1465 to 1853.



Just a glimpse of the extent of the Ottoman Empire, which spanned 3 continents at its peak. (much of Southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa). It stretched from the Strait of Gibraltar (and, in 1553, the Atlantic coast of Morocco beyond Gibraltar) in the west to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf in the east, from the edge of Austria, Slovakia and parts of Ukraine in the north to Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen in the south.

Impressive...



The Bosphorus river can also be seen from the palace. It is a strait that forms the boundary between the European part (Rumelia) of Turkey and its Asian part (Anatolia).



The St Sophia Museum was next. It is a former cathedral, later a mosque, now a museum. Mainly famous in particular for its massive dome, and is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.





The Blue Mosque, a.k.a Sutan Ahmed Mosque. It is known as the blue Mosque because of its blue tiles that adorn the interior of the mosque.









The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is one of the largest covered markets in the world. It has over 4000 shops and 58 streets and it's really easy to get lost in here.



Shop owners in the bazaar tend to be slightly overzealous in selling their wares, calling out to you, making small talk as you walk past. Can be rather unsettling but we realized that once you took time to talk to them, they can be really friendly people. Just have to be careful of pickpockets in the crowded bazaar.

Nevertheless, with the help of some seasoned shoppers in the group, the Grand Bazaar turned out to be a fun experience. Got some pretty cashmere scarves from there.

Here below shows a shop keeper who readily posed for me with one of his scarves when I requested :P




So there concludes my 14 day trip to Portugal, Spain and Istanbul. I soooo dun want it to end!