Tourism

Last week I finally did some tourism, after 6 months here I finally visited Topkapı Palace and Aya Sofia. Being so much time here and not visiting these 2 important historic buildings can be considered a sin!

Topkapı Palace was the palace where Ottoman sultan's lived for many centuries, it's huge palace with many rooms and a big area for the Harem.

Aya Sofia was built by the Byzantine's as an Orthodox Church, then converted into a Mosque by the Ottoman's. Today it's no longer used as a religious house and it's possible to see the christian images (recovered behind the paint) together with the muslim decoration .

I also went to Dolambahçe Palace, the sultan's moved into this palace in the 19th century, it has a really big and impressive party room, with small windows hidding on one of the walls where the women from the Harem could check out the party.

Went to the Sunken Cistern, a big underground water storage, they installed colored lights and they play classical music creati a very nice atmosphere!

Went to Galata Tower, great view and great pictures of the city!

Pera Palas Oteli, that's where Agatha Christie wrote "Orient Express"!

Went to the Grand Bazaar, filled with small shops selling carpets, jewellery, handbags, paintings, books, and everything else!

Finally I went to a belly dance show! This show was made for tourists, and actually the artist I liked more was a turkish singer that could sing in 72 different languages! He sang"Coimbra é uma lição"!!!