Istanbul Day 2: A Whirl Wind Tour

Our hotel offered us a free half day private tour guide.  While we expected him to "tour" us through his cronies' shops, we hoped he would at least orient us.

In four hours, Baris, a state certified tour guide, provided a semester Early European History course, took us through Istanbul's most significant Church, Mosque, and Byzantine ruins, and still squeezed his friend's rug shop.

We started at the Hippodrome, Constantinople's primary venues for Chariot races during the fourth century.  The area includes an Egyptian Obelisk, carved 1, 500 years before Christ, a Column of Constantine, and a Column of the Serpent.  I squeezed through a dozen tour groups to get my pictures.

Baris snuck us around the flood of tourists into the Blue Mosque where we took our shoes off, covered our heads, and entered one of the world's most gorgeous mosques.  In just seven years the architect completed this impressive site.  The opulent interior speaks immediately upon entering.

We again skipped the line at Hagia Sophia, the patriarchal church of Constantinople - turned mosque by the Ottomans, then turned museum.

Next, the underground Cistern, a vast underground reservoir consisting of 336 columns that dates back to the sixth century.

Baris insisted we learn about Turkish rugs from a local dealer.  We drank apple tea and watched his friend conduct a symphony of color.  The dealer would describe a type of yarn and three men would walk into the room with four rugs which they would proceed to toss on the floor.

We quickly walked through the Grand Bazaar and ended tour at the Spice Market.  At this point, we were ready to bid farewell to Baris.   We relaxed at a small local restaurant and headed to the docks for a Bosporus Cruise Tour.  This 19-mile-long waterway separates Asia from Europe and allowed us to see just how massive Istanbul really is.  I think I passed all 15 million Istanbul residents in the tunnel leading to the boat.

After the tour, we bought spices and belts.  We ended the day atone of Rick Steves' favorite restaurants.