Istanbul

[VinnyD]

Rūstem Paşa Camii is wonderful. A little oasis of quiet.and beauty. One of several mosques in Istanbul by the great architect Sinan Paşa.

[ben_hanscombe]

In Istanbul don't miss the Chora Church/Kariye Museum by the city wall; one of the world's best preserved byzantine churches. Better mozaics than Hagia Sophia. A great day is to take a taxi there and then walk to the center after seeing it.

The Chora Church, like most everything else in Istanbul, was covered in scaffolding when I visited in April. A lot of its mosaics invisible. Still worth visiting, though. The boat ride along the Golden Horn is a fun way to get there.

[Electrolyte]

How do you get that stuff home?

Well, I think I flew BA business on that trip and had an extravagant allowance of three suitcases, but it did fit easily in one suitcase with lots of room to spare. And my bags were stuffed with all kinds of other loot.

One of several mosques in Istanbul by the great architect Sinan Paşa.

The grandest being Suleymaniye, the largest in Istanbul, which is also walking distance from the Neorion (but up a steep hill).

[Electrolyte]

The Chora Church, like most everything else in Istanbul, was covered in scaffolding when I visited in April. A lot of its mosaics invisible. Still worth visiting, though. The boat ride along the Golden Horn is a fun way to get there.

Mixed reviews on TripAdvisor about the renovation. Sorry. Don't know why they have to do this. Everything was in great shape when I saw it.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_ ... anbul.html

[VinnyD]

That's his greatest in Istanbul, but the Selimiye mosque (and complex) in Edirne (the former Adrianople, by the Bulgarian border) is really his masterpiece.

But in a way I like the Rüstem Paşa as much as any of them. It impresses with peace and quiet (and tiles) rather than with grandeur.

[ben_hanscombe]

Rūstem Paşa Camii is wonderful. A little oasis of quiet.and beauty. One of several mosques in Istanbul by the great architect Sinan Paşa.

Also under shitloads of scaffolding when I visited in April. Closed to visitors, and nothing to see from outside.

Süleymaniye, which I loved for its peace and quiet and its view over the harbour, was scaffolding-free.

[Electrolyte]

I thought no one was going to Turkey because of security concerns. Sounds like it's actually because of renovations.

Didn't know about Selimiye. Never been to Edirne. I'll put that one on my list.

[Boinkity_Boink]

I'd been Turkey several times as a backpacker and always stayed in Sultanahmet, i.e. tourist central. So when bringing the family several years ago, I thought I'd get us something a teensy bit off the beaten path, but still close to the tourist action. So I booked us an AirBnB in Beşiktaş in Istanbul. A long hike to Sultanahmet, but a reasonable tram ride away. Very convenient to ferries to Asia. Safe area with tons of restaurants, most of them with outdoor seating packed with Turk dudes with long hair in a bun and hippy Turk chicks who looked like they hadn't bathed in perhaps 36 hours. It was a good decision, my choice of location, that is. If you want, I might be able to dig up the AirBnB we stayed at. It was actually a small hotel of 4 studio apartments.

[Chip_Oatley]

That sounds good, BB.

[Boinkity_Boink]

Yeah, we'd book there again if we were doing Istanbul for 4-5 days again.

[Electrolyte]

I'd been Turkey several times as a backpacker and always stayed in Sultanahmet, i.e. tourist central.

Yeah. I stayed at the Buyuk Ayasofia hotel directly in front of the Haghia Sophia in the late 1980s for about $10. Those days are long long gone.