Visit Istanbul, Turkey with the Amateur Traveler: The Grand Bazaar, a cruise on the bosphorus and a final glass of tea at the cafe Pierre Lodi to end our visit to Istanbul.
Visit Istanbul, Turkey with the Amateur Traveler: The Topkapı Palace is the old Ottoman imperial palace in Istanbul. It was built in 1459 by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and was the seat of power for the Ottoman empire for almost 400 years.
Visit Istanbul, Turkey with the Amateur Traveler: Hagia Sophia is a former basilica, later a mosque, now a museum. It dominated the Constantinople/Istanbul skyline for centuries and was the largest cathedral in the world for over 1000 years. Also visit the Basilica Cistern and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
Visit Istanbul, Turkey with the Amateur Traveler: The ancient walls of Constantinople built by Theodosius II in 413 A.D. Also see the fortress of seven towers at the Southern end of the wall (and a view of the amazing number of ships coming and going to Istanbul). Also see video of the mosque of Suliman the Magnificent.
Visit Turkey with the Amateur Traveler: The ancient ruins of Ephesus (site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), the hot springs of Pamukkale, the ruins of Hieropolis and strolling the sea side cafes of Izmir
