Istanbul
is an impressive city. It is large and
beautiful. Our morning walk took us to Topkapi Palace. It dates from the 14th century
with renovations up to the 19th century. It was used by the Ottoman sultans
continuously for almost 400 years. Both the castle and the grounds are immense
and well maintained. The palace goes on and on, with 3 or 4 courtyards, and the
Harem is a palace within a palace. The display of ancient artifacts (swords,
rifles, armor, clothing) and the jewels and treasures of the sultans was
beautiful. After lunch at the market, we
embarked on a trek to meet our friends.
We bought an Istanbulcard which is prepayment for all transportation. The
tram stop is big and enclosed by turnstiles.
The card is proximity read and both of us use the same card to
enter. The tram is large – 5 long cars
together. We took it to the end stop of
Kabatas, and then we were told to take the underground funicular to Taksim Square. The
funicular looked like a modern subway that went between 2 locations. But when we exited we saw the very large
cable that pulled the car up the incline.
This area was very different from our historic neighborhood of
Sultanahmet. The Hilton, Hyatt, Intercontinental, et.al. were here. We meet our friends at the Hilton and spent a
lovely evening with them ending with drinks on a rooftop of a 9-story building
with a great view of the night city.
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