View from the window of the Antique Hotel.

Looking straight down from the window.

The terrace view at breakfast. This is the Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque).

Kıztaşı (Marcian Column) from the front veranda of the Merve apartment.

View from the back patio of our apartment.

Our apartment.

Streets in Sultanahmet. This is part of the old city – the municipality of Fatih. The Fatih peninsula includes most of the historic buildings of İstanbul.

Cobblestones. (I accidentally shot my foot once again.)

There are apparently two heritage tramways in İstanbul. This one is the Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway (T5) which travels along the major shopping street, İstiklal Caddesi, in the Beyoğlu district.

İstanbul Üniversitesi. There are several universities in Fatih.

Everywhere renovations and some complete knock-down-rebuilds.

Some locals.

I only had one day of rain. Even the locals took cover.

Public rubbish bins. They hunt in twos. You can see the normal less conspicuous cover behind the underground bin just being emptied.

As for everywhere else, I only saw some of the historic area of Fatih and almost nothing of the rest of İstanbul. This mosque is not on the simple tourist brochures. I think it is the Şehzade Camii.

Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar).

Traditional wedding gift from the groom’s father. Check out Justin and Didem. We all helped Daryll spend his money here in the Kapalıçarşı (and did some damage of our own).

Lots of clothes shops in Eminönü behind the Kapalıçarşı.

Bozdoğan Kemeri. Remains of the Roman Valens Aqueduct.

Yerebatan Sarayı (Basilica Cistern). This is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns under İstanbul.

Head of Medusa on its side.

There are always locals.

The Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultanahmet Square) is where the Roman circus was located. Little of the exterior structure remains.

Three monuments marking the race still remain in the square, namely, the Örme Dikilitaş (Walled Obselisk), the Yılanlı Sütun (Serpent Column) [no photos] …

and the Dikilitaş (Obelisk of Theodosius).