21 September, Istanbul Turkey

Another day in Istanbul. The goal today was to visit some of the main tourist attractions here. This is a bit more complicated than it seems. Istanbul is the world's fifth most popular tourist destination and when you are here that becomes obvious. For the main attractions you have to queue and for religious sites there is a further complications. Muslims are called to prayer five times per day and no visitors are allowed in mosques during that time. So our first target this morning was the world famous Blue Mosque (The Sultan Ahmet Mosque). This incredible  structure was built in the 1600's during the Ottoman Empire period.

After queueing for about an hour we were finally at the entrance to the mosque. The ladies had to don scarves to cover the hair, and we were all required to take our shoes off.

It was all worth it though, to see this incredible space and its dome, completely covered in intricate mosaic patterns is a stunning experience.

We spent about 30 minutes here before moving on to the adjacent Hagia Sofia. The current building which was built around the year 530 AD (yes that's around 1500 years ago) was built on the site by the Roman Emperor Justinian on the site of an earlier Greek structure called Hagia Sofia which is Greek for "Holy Wisdom". Most other structures which date this far back are only available to us as ruins but this building is still in fantastic condition. It is amazing to stand inside it and to realise it was built 500-600 years before any of the great European cathedrals.

After the defeat of the Crusaders and the rise of the Ottoman Empire this once Christian church was converted to a Mosque, and it served in this role from the 1330's to the 1930's when it became a museum. Once again, standing inside the building fills you with amazement that there were artisans who could build such a structure 1500 years ago.

There are lots of signs of restoration inside. Apart from scaffolding to reach the dome there is also a lot of work to restore the Christian mosaics which were destroyed or covered up during the Muslim takeover.

After negotiating the queues and working our way through these great monuments it was time for a break. Istanbul has fabulous restaurants and on arriving I noticed they have fantastic pastries etc. so we found a nice place for a coffee and a treat.

Our final visit for the day was to the Basilica cistern. Once again a structure dating back to around the 530's. Built again by the emperor Justinian the cistern was built as an underground fresh water storage. Water was delivered here by aqueduct and stored underground.

Once again, we were amazed by the size and workmanship of this incredible structure. It is difficult to believe it has stood here for 1500 years. Istanbul gives you a completely different perspective on antiquity and history.

Tomorrow we are booked on a boat cruise of the Bosphorous Strait - a great way to get a different view of the marvellous city of Istanbul.