The disadvantage of being located so perfectly in the city centre is that you miss out on the sights in the various suburbs. To counter this, Tim went on an evening stroll to the outskirts to tick off some of the “nice to see” destinations on our list.
The main attraction would be the aqueduct of Valens. This trip to what was for over a 1,000 years the capital of the Roman Empire was lacking in Roman sights.
First stop on the hike was the The Bayezid II Mosque built around 1500. Not being an expert in Ottoman mosques, this one looked a lot like the other mosques from this era and so was the next one, the Şehzade Mosque. It was built in memory of the son of Suleiman the magnificent in 1543.
The park in which the mosque and the aqueduct are situated was cut in half by the Attaturk boulevard which went under the aquaduct. So it is a miracle that the aqueduct still exists today. It was built by emperor Valens in 373 and was part of the 268 km long water supply system of Constantinople.
Making my way to the Golden Horn, I ticked off a late Byzantine monastery, which surprise surprise, was converted into a mosque. Just around the corner was another little mosque on a platform with fabulous views of the several surrounding hills with mosques, the Golden Horn and the Galata neighbourhood on the other side .
Moving downhill towards the water and the Attaturk bridge meant navigating several highway crossings for a nice view over the bay. After some more dodging and running, the boulevard was reached for a pleasant stroll along the water. The sky was turning an unnatural pink, probably because of all the iftar bbq fires being lit.
As someone who fasts during the evening and night, Ramadan seems like an inefficient way to plan your meals, but to each their own.
As the hike was nearing the 8km mark, I was doubting whether it would be better to call it quits and take the tram home, but decided against it and would give the Hagia Sophia another go.
The square was once again filled with people picnicking and afterwards going into the Hagia Sophia, I tried to nonchalantly join their queue but my camera, two tripods, 360 camera and a filter bag gave me away as a tourist. So back to the Blue Mosque once more to take some 360 shots. After another 26,000-steps day it was time for home and a last night sleep in Istanbul
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