welcome to Istanbul turkey’s most famous city i have finally arrived here after nearly a month of traveling around the country and it’s so good to be here my eyes are looking a little tired i know i’ve been making too many of these videos in quick succession after istanbul i’m going back to the UK for a break so don’t worry about me right behind me already many people hundreds in fact fishing in the early morning which i would have thought right in the city centre on one of the main bridges that connects two of the most central parts of istanbul an activity like this would be illegal but no I’m now crossing one of the main bridges which is known as galata hot pursuit fishing all the way along here in fact you can barely find a space to get a view because there are just so many people with their large fishing rods in the way [Music] you can see the views of the other side where I just came from across the bridge here Galata Tower which I will visit maybe later on in this video or in the next one and show you in more detail my accommodation is actually very close to that Tower the water does seem precariously high I’m not sure how normal that is for Istanbul so having walked a fair distance I’m now here finally at Hagia Sophia or aya sofya often considered one of the greatest historical buildings in the world first built as a church in 537 and then converted into a mosque in the 15th century when it was taken over by the ottomans and then finally in 1935 Ataturk turned it into a museum [Music] have you ever wondered what an ancient church converted into a mosque looks like then aya sofya is the perfect living example although it is a museum these days and almost anymore the echo which I’m so used to associating with churches and the hard floor instead of a carpet and even stained glass windows all with ottoman and Islamic designs now which is quite bizarre to see to be honest because I’ve never seen anything like that before the two religions coming together so spectacularly [Music] [Music] [Music] bringing here baked potato and she mixed together with salt and butter and then you add on your different salad so they came through with this one as yogurt and cheese makes me some kind of Eric I think I’m sure spicy tamartian ones and olives on the salad yeah [Music] upon exiting aya sofya directly in front of you will be these very pleasant gardens and one striking building and perhaps with one of the most photogenic in the whole of Istanbul which is the blue mosque or the sultanahmet camii which holds the tomb of sultan ahmet on the north side [Music] [Music] after visiting is off the end the blue mosque you can just walk a minute or two to the Basilica cistern another one of Istanbul’s most famous attractions we built during the 6th century under Emperor Justinian I’m now back here in my Airbnb on the other side of the bridge and after visiting the Basilica cistern I actually went to another place the Topkapi Palace and only 60 lira to enter I said only I think that’s actually quite expensive but it was my favorite place out of all the attractions I visited today the rain really started to come down so I didn’t film it and flock myself along the way it was the living and working place of the Ottoman Empire Sultan’s courtiers and eunuchs between the 15th and 19th centuries essentially it was the home of the Ottoman Empire with his large population the palace was like another city within the city of Istanbul and by the early 17th century there were actually around 10,000 people either living or working in the palace and it’s rumored that many game of throne esque stories took place there there’s also great views of the surrounding Istanbul you can see the sea of marmara you can also walk around to the side and see the bridges crossing over so I’ll see on the next video stay tuned for the Grand Bazaar the oldest mark in the world [Music] Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4VOTRvfhA
