We wake up early after a long night sleep. Cleo slept in the Deryan tent this night, so it was rather specious in bed.
Tim was ready at 6 AM to make early morning pictures along the Bosphorus, and brought breakfast (yoghurt, banana’s, walnuts and börek) home. Cleo and Zeno were also awake at 6, and enjoyed themselves with fancy water drawing paintings they got from a close friend. We have a busy programme today, as we’re told that the Topkapi Palace, the home of the Sultans, is huge.
Our apartment might be tiny, it’s fantastic to be at walking distance (even for a 3-years-old) to the main sites. There are no lines yet at 8:30, we just have to leave our 360 camera stick at the entrance because the security is afraid we might use it as some kind of weapon. The palace is knows for some shootings and security threats, so we’re happy they take the security seriously today.
Topkapi Palace is 500 years old, it was the administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire, and it was the main residence of its sultans. It’s huge indeed, like a village with many buildings, squares and gardens, harems and of course the living place of the sultan and his closest family members.
We get a nice insight into the life of sultans, their harem and staff. We start with the harem and these buildings are absolutely stunning with endless tiles, corridors and hundreds of rooms. It’s clear that the people in the palace had no short comings. The sultan’s mother has a huge luxurious living space too, next to the rooms of her son, the sultan. We can even visit the sultans bathroom and the treasury with the 4th largest diamond in the world, Mozes’ staf, Mohammed’s footprint and more of his beard hairs.
We also visit the other buildings of the palace, the Council, kitchen, library, the many gardens with nice views on Istanbul and special hollow trees (eaten up by fungi over the past centuries). It seems to be endless, but we have to make the most out of the hefty 50 euro entry fee. Cleo does remarkably well (with some distraction because she can control the audio guide) and Zeno fell asleep in the baby carrier. So we visit some extra museums, gardens and courtyards before we exit the main complex.
We also visit a special church, the Hagia Irene is located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace and it is the oldest church of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine). It is also the second largest church in İstanbul after Hagia Sophia. It’s remarkable how well it has been preserved taking into account that it was used as an army depot since the Turks took over.
We’re a bit tired after this huge morning excursion, and we enjoy a simple lunch in our apartment. However, we don’t have long as both our mothers recommended us to do a boat trip on the Bosphorus. And we always listen to our mothers. The boat with the most convenient tour on the sea strait only leaves once a day at 14:40. To save some energy, we take the tram. Zeno somehow always waves when trams pass by, so he will like it. And Cleo wanted to go on a tram for her whole life, so they have the time of their life.
We are on time at the boat stop, which is a good thing as the boat leaves early, leaving some disappointed tourist on the quay. On board, Tim runs up and down the two decks of the ship to take pictures of all the mosques, palaces and castles we pass. It’s very specious on the water, compared to the dazzling city streets.
After two hours, we’re back at our boat stop and we decide to eat in for the third time today, as it was a long day. We take-out some snacks from the snackbar next door, enjoy it in our apartment, and go to bed early. Except for Tim, of course, who does his bonus programme and gets sent away at the Hagia Sophia because he isn’t a Muslim. He could enter the Blue Mosque without a queue and manages to shoot some nice pictures.
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