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Exploring Istanbul

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  DAY 2 Exploring Istanbul Sunday, April 26, 2026 “We'll explore Istanbul's more recent past and present today, beginning with the Istanbul's opulent Topkapı Palace. Next, we're off to the New District's pedestrian-friendly Istiklal Street with its Art Nouveau facades, restaurants, and trendy boutiques and free time for lunch on your own. Finish up with a scenic cruise of the Bosphorus strait and its panorama of grand palaces, colorful neighborhoods, and bustling waterfront activity.” As an add on at the end of the day, myself and 3 other tour members hopped on a crowded city bus and took it out of the main city to go see a surviving example of Byzantine mosaics in a place called Kariye Camii.  It was originally a church called St savior in Chora, (originally built in the early 4th century, extensively remodeled with the mosaics in 1315-1321) but today it functions as a mosque-museum.  The mosaics tell the stories of Mary and Jesus, as believed by the Byzantines....
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Historic Old City

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  Day 1: Welcome to Turkey Sat, Apr 25, 2026 In the morning, I set out on my own to go to the Cisterna Basilica. It  is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul.  This one was  built in the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Justinian I to provide water to the Great Palace of Constantinople. We meet our group at 1 p.m. at our hotel in Istanbul's historic center. Shortly after, we'll take an orientation walk and visit the exquisite 400-year old Blue Mosque, named for its brightly colored tiles. Then we'll tour one of the world's great treasures: Hagia Sophia, for 1,000 years the grandest domed structure on Earth.  Then we walk to the Grand Bazaar for some orientation a free time in a crazy busy maze like shopping area that use to be part of the sil road.  I found a quiet coffee house and rested.  We'll end our day getting acquainted with one another over dinner at a local restaurant Nergis Galata, which...
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Traveling Again! Turkey bound

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 April 23, 2026 I’m headed on another Rick Steves tour (maybe my 9th?).  This time to Turkey.  I’m going to do the blog a little different this time so I can spend more time touring and looking around in the country.  So the plan of what I’m going to do each day is to copy and paste the description of each day from the Rick Steves itinerary and then adding pictures below.  So a lot of the words will not be my own. If we do something off of the actual plan, of course I will add that.  Today Thursday, I am flying for the first time on Turkish Airlines directly from Chicago to Istanbul. I hear that they are a good airline to fly on.   I’ll let you know. (Here is my review-Just average as an airline goes, but the food was good).   Tomorrow Friday April 24, I arrive in Istanbul at 545am and hit the tourist train immediately when I take a food tour at 1000am.  This isn’t part of the Rick Steves tour, but it is  run by people they know. it shou...
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