Topkapi Palace and More Old City

I'm up before seven but we don't make it out of the room until 8:45 or so. So much for getting to the palace when it opens. 

We take are time and enjoy breakfast. 

The place is a close walk. 

Our walk takes us by some old walls. 

The main palace gate. 

It's aligned so you can see the blue mosque when exiting. 

We start at the kitchens but you can't take pictures in here. The kitchen is broken in to multiple sections for different foods. These are domed shaped sections with chimneys in the middle.

I'm allowed to take a picture of the ceiling. Some stoves do have individual chimneys. 

They have an impressive collection of China that was used. This is a result of controlling the Silk Road to Europe. Later as they adapted more western foods they have dishes from Russia, France and German. Then we move on to the treasury. 

Crap more stuff closed. Again no pictures in here but we do get to see the dagger and the 76 caret diamond. There is an impressive array of jewelry as well. On to the gardens. 

Views across the water from the gardens. 

We stop at the chamber of sacred relics. Again no pictures in here. The highlights include Moses' staff, weapons, footprint and hair of Muhammed, relics of John the Baptist and the golden case of Hirka-I Saadet (blessed mantle). We work our way to the harem. 

This chamber was for visiting diplomats if I remember correctly. Finally to harem. It's a bunch of connected courtyards and chambers. 

More work being done. 

Some detailed stain glass in a bedroom. 

Another bedroom. 

Main courtyard. 

At this point we are spent. We find a lunch spot on my app that is close by. I verify its really there with maps so we aren't surprised again. We get there and they have a rooftop terrace.

Meets with olive oil. 

I really like the beef stew. The eggplant underneath is smoky. 

Sultan chicken rolls are underwhelming. 

The new mosque is a short walk and it also will take us near the spice bizarre.

Covered arcade along the way. We are definitely out of the tourist area. Food is cheaper here. 

The spice market is more interesting than the Grand Bazaar. We head out towards the mosque and pass a bunch of meat vendors. I should have taken pictures but it was a zoo and we were just trying to move long. 

We pop out in a square and see the mosque. At least this scaffolding isn't blocking too much. 

We have seen similar carved entries but not decorated in gold. They usually plain. 

Nice interior. 

We take some smaller back roads and see what I think of as more everyday life. 

Tons of shops around here. 

As we head to the Süleymaniye mosque, I find a pair of flip flops for $5. 

I guess I have my pool and beach wear now. 

It's an uphill climb to the mosque.

I'm not sure what they sell but it is covered with everything from the Blues Brothers to Michael Jordon. 

When we arrive I let Aparna know it was built on the highest hill here. 

There are nice views from the gardens. 

It's hard to tell with the shadows but this entrance is just carved. Only the marble gives it color. 

Stain glass shots for Aparna. 

This decor in this mosque is different. It's much less ornate as you move away from the center dome. It also uses more black. 

In the corner of the inside. I haven't seen accents like this before. 

From here we walk to the aquaduct. It's mostly downhill from here. 

The road goes through the aquaduct. It's a terrible pinch point for traffic as the lanes are cut in half. 

We are tired and decide to get an Uber back. We get picked up and drive through the aquaduct. 

Crap I notice people walking on top. I would have found the energy for that. Oh well. 

After resting up we head out for dinner. I take some back roads to avoid all the vendors. 

I wonder if this door was ever straight. 

The restaurant has a terrace. We will have eaten all our meals on terraces today. 

This is as much of a sunset as I can get. 

The blue mosque looks good in the light. 

We try to order white bean soup but it's sold out. I forgot to take a picture of the lentil soup we ordered instead. 

This bread is bigger than the one at lunch. 

Pita pizza

Eggplant and meatballs with pita. 

There's the food - a lot of pita and eggplant. 

An old fashion radio at the restaurant. 

Nearly a full moon tonight.