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!

Ah, this building certainly needs no introduction...



The Sagrada Familia church is the creation of Antoni Gaudi, the Barcelona-born architect who sadly passed away from an accident just a few years into construction. The church, nevertheless, would go on to be one of his most iconic works.

In fact, it Barcelona wouldn't be Barcelona without Gaudi's works. Barcelona = Gaudi.

This building below is another of Gaudi's works called the Casa Mila, where he drew his design inspirations from elements from the sea.



Most of Gaudi's work were inspired by nature, as he felt that if nature built things in a certain way, it probably also meant that that would be the most sturdy, most logical way of building things.

Pictures of Gaudi's Park Guell showcases more of Gaudi's architectural style, built between 1900 to 1914...





Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the iconic lizard (I mean... dragon) in the park... Still, here's a picture of it I got from the internet...



Apparently the famous figure was severely vandalized in Feb last year by a group of youths. Sigh.... Fortunately it has been restored.

But of course, apart from Gaudi, Barcelona being an old city also has other works from other great architects, such as this one below which is the Palace of Catalan Music, a concert hall built between 1905 and 1908



Barcelona was also host to the 1992 Summer Olympics. Below are 2 pictures of the Olympic stadiums. If you enlarge the picture below, you probably can see the word "Barcelona '92" inscribed on the metal structure.





The stadium was built on high ground so you get to see Barcelona from the top.



Interesting thing was, on the very day we arrived at Barcelona, it was Easter Monday. Now, in most parts of Spain, Easter Monday is not a holiday. With incredible luck, it IS a public holiday ONLY in Barcelona. Now this was really a bummer cos this was actually the only day we got to be in Barcelona and pretty much everything was closed. BUMMER!

Valencia is the 3rd largest Spanish city. The 2nd is Barcelona, and the 1st is Madrid.

We didn't stay in Valencia for long as well. However, we did get a chance to explore part of the city.

This is the City of Arts and Sciences, which is built as a cultural centre for both the sciences and the arts. Hence, within this 'city', there is an IMAX theatre, a science museum, an oceanographic park, a garden, an operahouse and a performing arts theatre. Quite impressive.



This picture below shows the traditional Valencian costume. You have to pay to take a picture with them.



The Estacion del Norte, which is the train station steeped in history. If you enlarge the picture you can see that it is decorated with images of oragnes. Valencian oranges are quite famous and Valencia is, of course, one of the biggest producers of oranges.



A bull-fight stadium and fortunately we didn't get to watch a bull-fight (the season isn't here yet).



Like this person who scribbled grafitti on the poster, I don't have a good feeling about bull-fighting. But, that's a whole 'nother...



The Valencia City Hall.



The Valencian market which unfortunately was closed when we visited.



Yummy paella from its place of origin - Valencia.



It may look plain, but it's really delicious with generous servings of juicy, succulent squid. Note how huge the lemon is. Apart from oranges, Spain produces huge lemons as well...

As one moves from the north of Spain to south, the landscape changes as well. The south of Spain is near to the Atlantic ocean. Hence, in Alicante, the sea-front is one of its main attractions.

Alicante was only a stop-over on this tour, so we didn't get to explore the city very much. Nevertheless, here are some photos.

The Alhambra Palace palace and fortress complex of the Moorish monarchs of Granada in southern Spain. Hence, It's full of Arabic architecture styles. A very beautiful palace.



But of course, when Spain was returned to Catholic rule again, the palace was redecorated to the include Catholic elements.



For example, this patio known as the The Palace of Charles V, was commanded by Charles V, the Roman Emperor, who wished to establish his residence close to the Alhambra palaces.

By the way, on a side note, the man in this picture is Paco, the tour guide in the Alhambra. I would say one of the best local guides we had. Very funny man, very pasisonate about his work.



Nevertheless, this picture of one of the rooms shows a typical situation in which different cultures are reflected in the interiors which in turn reflects Spanish history of Muslim and Catholic rule.



Probably the most iconic picture of the Alhambra.

Sevilla is is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla.

The Sevilla City Hall which is at the Plaza de Espana.





The Cathedral of Sevilla:





There is a bell tower that is 34 stories high:



Apart from the morning exercise, the view from atop was amazing.



We were lucky to be at Sevilla on Good Friday, which marks one of the most important days in Semana Santa (Holy Week).

Read more about the festival here. I must say again, we were really lucky to be there as this is an internationally renowned and very important festival in Sevilla.



We caught a glimpse of the statue of the Virgin Mary being carried onto the streets - the most significant figure in the entire processoion.



Tapas for lunch. Kinda like Spanish 'dim sum'... You get the idea...

We visited Cordoba after that. Cordoba was founded in ancient Roman times. It is declared... you guessed it... UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

In fact, Spain has one of the worlds highest congregation of World Heritage Sites.



Main attraction in Cordoba is the Cathedral of Cordoba (The Mezquita). What's unique about this cathedral is that different sections of the church actually reflects different eras in the history of Cordoba, from Roman conquest to Islamic conquest to Christian. Hence, within the same big building, it's both a church and a mosque.

Took many photos inside. However, the photos are all not clear. You can find clearer pictures here.