My dad planned a fantastic family trip to Greece, Turkey and Italy in the
summer of 1998. Istanbul was our first
stop, which straddles the
picturesque Bosphorus Strait. My first memory of Istanbul is lounging by the lavish pool on our first day there and hearing the prayer calls from minarets all over the city - it was beautiful!
While in Istanbul, we visited several mosques, including the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent and the Blue Mosque, which are elaborately beautiful. We also toured the basilica of Hagia Sophia (which I would later study and write about in my Byzantine art class), went down into the Basilica Cisterns, took a river cruise on the Bosphorus (where we tasted the dubious delicacy of caviar yogurt), saw the mosaics in the Kariye Museum, and shopped the Grand Bazaar (so much to do in Istanbul!). Of course, we also took a tour of the Topkapi Palace. Ottoman architecture and ornamentation is extraordinarily elaborate and quite beautiful, and the Topkapi Palace is a great example of this. The museum had all sorts of fantastic artifacts on display, including jeweled thrones and swords, Holy relics, and the incredible Kasikci (spoonmaker's) diamond.
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