I was at first a bit sceptic about going on a bus tour in Turkey. I have always looked at Turkey as a ticking bomb, politically and religiously. My interest for history and my wanderlust pushed me forward though. There are so many historically important places in Turkey and I could spend many weeks there if I had time and money. My route was not that big though and I can not remember all the names of the different towns. I will try to give you idea of how the route went.
My route: Istanbul-Gallipoli-Canakkale-Troia-Bergama-Izmir-Kusadasi-Pamukkale-Konya-Ankara-Istanbul.
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
Inside Hagia Sofia. It is hard to imagine that this building was constructed in the year 537. It has been used by christians as a church but also the muslims as a mosque. Sadly the Ottomans destroyed a lot of the old christian relics and mosaics in the church when they took the city. The round spot on the floor (lower right in the picture) was the place where Byzantine Emperors was crowned. Definitely a place you must see whenever you are in Istanbul.
Some of the old christian mosaics have been uncovered.
The Basilica Cistern is the biggest cistern in Istanbul and it was built in the 6th century. It was a very interesting place. Come to think of it, it was as if I walked into the underworld :-p
View of the Bosporus strait and the bridge that connects Europe and Asia. The Ottoman Palace is the vantage point. The palace is not as interesting or as old as Hagia Sofia but still got some historic value. This was the place the Ottoman rulers greeted foreign envoys and diplomats. It is pretty huge and it takes a while to go through it and especially if you look at every nook and cranny of the place.
Part of the palace.
If you want to see these places then be ready to stand in line for a while.
The next part will be about my visit to one of the biggest and most deadly battlefields of the 1st world war.
Have a nice day :-)
