As anyone who's spent time walking around Istanbul will know, it's a city of hills. Giant, soul-crushing hills which suck the very life from your legs. Although we had been dreading our ascent up the tallest hill in the city, the Büyük Çamlıca, we were also excited to be done with it. After this, it couldn't get any worse!
Favored by the kings, statesmen and spies of Europe's tumultuous 20th century, the Orient Express is almost definitely the most famous line in the history of trains. It linked the capitals of Western Europe to the Ottoman Empire, with a terminal stop in Istanbul's magnificent Sirkeci Station.
The Istanbul History of Science and Technology in Islam Museum needs a new name. Look, Disneyland wouldn't be nearly as popular if it were called "The Anaheim Place of Enjoyment and Fun with Cartoon Characters Theme Park". Yes, we know exactly what to expect from the Istanbul History of Science and Technology in Islam Museum, but by the time we're done saying its name, we no longer feel like going!
There were experiences I expected to have during our time in Istanbul: eating delicious döner and baklava, visiting mosques, and ferrying across the Bosphorus. But exploring the innards of a decommissioned WWII-era submarine? Nope, I wasn't expecting that one.
Were we excited to visit the Hagia Sophia? It's just one of the most legendary buildings on the planet. The largest church in the world for a thousand years. The scene of some of history's most decisive moments. A breathtaking architectural achievement on a scale unthinkable for its day. Yes, I suppose it's fair to say that we were excited.
The lively neighborhood of Zeyrek, just north of the Aqueduct of Valens, was one of our favorite spots in Istanbul. It's difficult to reach with public transportation, and lacks any well-known sights, so very few tourists bother to visit. Not that we mind; it just leaves more Zeyrek for us!
Çarşamba is a neighborhood in Istanbul, and also the Turkish word for "Wednesday". Now, what do you suspect might be the best day to visit Çarşamba? You get one guess!
Istanbul has no shortage of old churches and mosques, and it can often feel like too much of a good thing. As our time in the city progressed, we would increasingly find ourselves saying something like, "Honestly, I think we've visited enough mosques". But what are we going to do? Simply ignore something as amazing as the Gül Camii?
At just six kilometers in length, the Walls of Theodosius can be traversed in a few hours, but there are so many sights along the way that we needed two days. Exploring the southern half of the fortifications had been a lot of fun, and our day spent on the northern half would prove to be just as rewarding.
Stretching for six kilometers from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn, the Land Walls of Theodosius II protected Constantinople from invaders for over a thousand years... until the arrival of the Ottomans and their giant cannons in 1453. The walls have survived largely intact to the present day, and walking along them is an exciting way to see a different side of Istanbul.
