I have a bit of running around to do initially; things that I've put off recently such a visit to the doctor, dentist, barber etc... I need to get my bike serviced and I have a routine appointment booked at the diabetic clinic to ensure that it is fit to ride and I'm fit to ride it. I haven't forgotten that if it all becomes a bit much, I have the very tempting option of lying down very still in a darkened room - something that I've spent many a day recently aching for. And, of course, I have a week's holiday booked in Istanbul.
Istanbul has always been on my list of places to see; it's a city with a history stretching back at least 2,500 years. Colonized by Greek settlers in 685 BC, it came under Roman control in 196 AD and Roman Capital in 330 AD. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD it became capital of the Byzantine Empire and, following a 53 day seige by Sultan Mehmet II in 1453, it became a capital of the Ottoman Empire. Straddling the Bosphorus, it's the only city in the world to span two continents. Stripped of it's capital status in 1923 it still holds a fascination over Turkey and the rest of the world.This is my sightseeing list so far:
- Sultanahmet Square
- Roman Hippodrome
- Column of Constantine
- Gülhane Park
- Archaeology Museum
- Istanbul Modern Art Museum
- Topkapi Palace
- Blue Mosque
- Kariye Museum
- Hagia Sofia
- Basilica Sistern
- Cağaloğlu Turkish Baths
- Haydarpasa Railway Station
- Galata Bridge
- Galata Tower
- Dolmabahçe Palace
- Bosphorus Cruise
- Theodosian Walls
- Grand Bazaar
- Suleymaniye Mosque
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