# 1 Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya)

And finally. The number one thing to see in Istanbul is the Hagia Sophia!!!

Even if you don't go inside, which has long lines, and many tourists-

you MUST get your picture out front. 

It was/is one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. 

It was the largest, and only of it's kind for over 1000 years before anything close was built again.

It is incredible. Dedicated in 360. 

It is so hard to imagine all the history that this building has seen.

It is without a doubt, the crown jewel of Istanbul.

I could go on, and I initially uploaded WAY too many pictures for this post, so I had to cut it down. 

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Inside the grand dome

This is an excellent shot of the Christian artwork next to the Muslim.  

No place on earth quite like it!

The marble on this doorway was so worn down. This is the stuff I love.

Noah and Miles waving from inside

more pics, and more pics

Another shot of Miles, receiving the usual adoring attention from many strangers

Love my boys

A different view in the main hall

This is the coronation square-where they crowned the Emperors

Just the three of us!

(we never took Porter and Ronan inside, I know. bad parents)

oh well, we made sure they saw the outside though.

They are not so much in the "being good at museums" phase right now! ha.

the floor was perhaps my favorite thing

I absolutely love the marble patchwork that resulted 

from years of different repair jobs I suppose?

this is my favorite ceiling. it is in a hallway from the main dome out towards the baptistry. 

I really am digging the orange/turquoise color scheme here-

don't know why, but I am just loving it right now!

another side view

Mommy and Miles on a different visit.

At least we gave the baby some culture!

My favorite arches

There is a GIANT door that is pretty awesome

I love all the ancient symbols.

One last view of the inside.

It is just beautiful, inside and out and has incredible history. An architectural wonder in it's day, and still today. It's unbelievable that it is still standing like it is! 

We feel very lucky that we were able to see it, and mark it off the bucket list of things to see in life!

And there you have it. 

Our Top 10. 

We have had such a great experience here in Turkey. We've seen so much, and it was hard to pick our ten favorites. A great city that we would recommend to anyone!!!

# 2 Carpet Shopping at the Grand Bazaar

If you ever come to Istanbul longterm (and even just for a visit), there is a good chance that you might catch "rug fever". We did not really come expecting to buy any carpets. We caught the fever though, and ended up with FIVE! And we love them all.

Carpet shopping is an experience all of it's own. We happen to have gotten the hookup with "THE" best carpet guy at the Bazaar! He's fantastic, and we have become fast friends. Turkish rugs are famous around the world, and we decided that we did not want to pass up the opportunity to handpick some amazing ones at terrific prices. We also decided to take the plunge and buy several after deciding that there is a good chance that much of the FS housing we live in will not be carpeted. With most of the posts also being furnished, we decided that they were a great investment that we can take everywhere that will make our houses feel like Home. 

The best part about Carpet shopping, (in the Grand Bazaar, definitely not in the US)  is that the kids love it too!This is perhaps the one and only store I can 

honestly say that my kids are excited to go to, and I'm not stressed to bring them!

As I have mentioned numerous times, the Turks LOVE kids. They carpet guys let them climb and jump and run to their hearts content! My boys can't wait to start climbing, the second we get there!

And, when you are sick of climbing-sometimes it is nice to just snuggle up on a pretty rug and relax!

(Miles has literally learned to crawl on Turkish rugs, and we love it!)

Hakan and Miles, they are good buddies

Now, for some pics of the ones we picked

Above, and below is an upclose of a Turkish Prison Rug. We loved the colors in this one, and the design. Noah especially loved the small print, and with the border it is a nice masculine rug-yet girly at the same time! Prison rugs are kind of rare, and we both loved the idea of it. They teach prisoners how to do this, and it can take them years to make a finished product. I love the idea of someone who might have really screwed up their life, still being able to make something beautiful out of it!

This brown one has no dyes. It is all just different colors of sheep for the wool! We think it is a great basic piece that can go and blend with anything.

If you haven't noticed yet, I love bright colors. Most of the rugs we got have lots of great colors. I love this about them mostly because then I can change whatever decor I want around them, but there are so many colors that it will still most likely go.  This is the only big "medallion" rug we got, compared to the others. It is so hard to get a good picture of some of these rugs, because they look really different depending on the light.

this one has some great yellow and green tones, that will go with some of the furniture that we have in storage, but still have a lot of the same colors that make them go with the others we bought.

Now this rug was the very first one we bought. I really love all of the ones we found. Which is fantastic. But this rug is probably my favorite if I had to choose. I absolutely love it! (Noah's favorite is the prison rug I think)

another closeup-again, so different depending on the light

Now this last rug, was kind of a quick decision, and I realized I never 

took any photos of just the rug! So this is the best you'll get-

But this one has some fun yellow and orange, and I loved it the second I saw it. 

I think that the pattern for some reason reminds me of the

 flooring pattern in the house I grew up in? maybe that's why I love it?

Anyway, we now have small, medium and large rugs that should fit all sorts of spaces and that are all fun and different but have many of the same colors to go together. All of these rugs are also amazing quality and will be passed on to the kids. We have had such a great time learning all about them, and really growing to love such a traditional Turkish item. 

Now we have such great memories of shopping for them to take with us, along with the rugs!

# 3 Dolmabahçe Palace

 A view of the gardens with the palace in the background

(right at the tail end of the tulip season)

The Dolmabahçe Palace is the newer of the Sulans' residences. It was built to be much more in the style of the Western Palaces at the time, like Versailles. It is huge and beautiful, and extremely ornate. 

It has an absolutely incredible spot right on the Bosphorus with terrific views, 

amazing staircases and GINORMOUS chandeliers! 

And what would a Turkish palace be without some of the largest 

and most beautiful Turkish rugs adorning the whole thing?! 

Giant Hereke rugs are everywhere!

They don't allow photos inside, so I'll give you a sampling of how beautiful it is on the outside.

This building of this palace is largely credited with the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. 

I can see why. I'm sure it cost a pretty penny to construct!

This fountain is so beautiful

It is hard to get a "far away" shot of how big this is-because it is enclosed by a large wall on one side and the water on the other- so this is just a shot of one corner

The Imperial Gate

 Just a reminder of why I love Turkey-

This is me chillin on a nice cushioned bench up under the shade right by the start of the line with Miles. 

Everyone else was standing in the hot sun winding down the stairs and into the garden. The guards saw me with the baby though and immediately had me come up to sit and relax in the shade until the rest of our party got to the front. Nice! I am really going to miss all of the "Baby Perks" I get here! 

Turkey is SO awesome that way.

A different side view-tried to get more of the entire scope of it

We never took the other boys here (incase you are wondering why they are not in the pictures)

You must get a scheduled guided tour for this palace, and it seemed like more effort than it was worth to bring them along and keep them well behaved. 

A pretty awesome statue in the gardens-

who doesn't love a lion squishing a croc?

Us on the back stairway-with a fantastic view of the water in the background

This was such a close battle for my favorite building in Istanbul.

What can I say though-it reminded me too much of Versailles…

and it's no secret how much I love that place. 

A terrific experience, well worth doing-but just need to plan ahead to make sure you can get the tour scheduled at a time you want. We wish we had been able to take even more of our guests to see it-

but again, next time we'll be much better planners!

# 4 Topkapi Palace

Porter, Miles and Mommy outside the Main Gate

(Ronan was at school this time)

Topkapi Palace is one of the big "Must See" sites on many tourists agenda. As for the palace itself, I enjoyed it-but the main draw that ranks this baby at number 4 

on our list is their collection of crowned jewels! 

There are two main palaces that the Sultans lived in throughout the centuries. 

Topkapi and Dolmabahçe Palace (being the later of the two-and still to come on our countdown)!

Topkapi was built in 1459, and used until 1853 

when they moved the principal residence to Dolmabahçe Palace.

Topkapi definitely has more of the "Aladdin" type feel,

 compared to the other-so it is really fun to see them both and see how history shaped them.

Here is Porter in front of the Council Chambers

One of the magnificent ceilings inside the chambers

One of the others

Here is Porter outside the Treasury.

This is my whole reason for loving this place!

They unfortunately wouldn't allow pictures inside, but let me assure you-

there is a HUGE assortment of the fanciest thrones, pencil cases, 

flasks, swords, daggers and jewelry that you might ever see! 

They are a collection given and received from tons of other famous rulers throughout history, plundered from conquered nations, and just some sparkly trinkets to make themselves feel good, I suppose! 

They wouldn't allow pictures of the real thing, but here is a photo I snapped of a replica for sale at the Hagia Sophia gift shop! This dagger is one of the most famous pieces in the collection.

 This was very similar to many of the pieces in the collection though,

 so let me just tell you-there are golfball sized emeralds a plenty! Craziness.

You can pay extra and tour the Harem. 

The rest of the photos are from that section.

There is a special pathway leading through the Harem that the Sultan went on. It was all decorated up in different designs along the way. I enjoyed this section. 

Seems that the "Chevron Stripe" has been in style 

much much longer than most people assume.ha!

Miles and the Tiles

(This is one of my favorite pictures of my boys in Istanbul!)

Fancy fireplaces coming out their ears...

Me, standing by a truly original "Turkish Toilet"!

A beautiful Olive tree ceiling 

Beautiful doors

Gathering place in the Queen Mother's apartments.

 Overall, Topkapi is a very unique place, that has many other cool features that we never were able to explore. It is the kind of place that could take you days to tour and see everything. Kind of like Versailles I think. For our part though, these are my favorites. Enjoy!