Turkey the land beneath the HalfmoonAsia Minor famous ancient cities naturalbeauty and ottoman splendor stonewitnesses of a glorious pastwe begin our journey in Istanbul GoldenGateway to the Orient this city was oncethe center of the old world and stillreflects two and a half centuries ofhistory today this turbulent metropolison the Bosphorus is Europe's connectionwith Asia Minor the Turkish capital oncehad sonorous names such asConstantinople and a PI's ants thisgateway between Europe and Asia is notonly the biggest city in Turkey but alsoa melting pot of cultures and it's worthmore than just a flying visit it does beexperienced to the full it's afascinating world between oxidant andOrientGreek colony Roman Imperial City andcapital of the Osman Empire Istanbul isfull of colorful and dramatic historyhere oriental charm unites with aWestern Way of life on the banks of theBosphorus next to the galata bridgethere is a great deal of fresh fish forsale and following time-honoredtradition water cellars and colorfultraditional costume offering drinkingwater for saleon the opposite side of the galatabridge on the banks of the Golden Hornis the yeni Kamiya mosque with a largenumber of domes and minarets built oneon top of the other plus a number ofprecious glass windows the grand Basarais a city with inner city through alarge gate there is a labyrinth ofcorridors that were built over manycenturies this enclosed market containsmore than 4,000 shops within itsseemingly endless halls and it'spossible to buy almost anything here avivid world full of aromas of the Orienthere the city is alive everythingrevolves around selling and it's atraffic-free zone the six slenderminarets of the Sultan Ahmed mosque riseup proudly into the sky and dominateIstanbul silhouette a masterpiece ofIslamic architecturethis building with its step domes andhuge proportions is an impressive sightit's more popular name the blue mosquewas derived from its covering of 21,000valuable blue wall tiles from its Nickeight years in construction the bluemosque was consecrated in 1617 it wasthenEaston Bulls brand-new religious symbolclose by is another of the city'simpressive landmarks the Hagia Sofiathere are several legends about thisbuilding and its creator constant in itsdome and walls were once covered withgolden mosaics that made the building aunique historical monument in 1453 oneof the world's most extraordinarychurches was transformed into a mosqueby sultan memphis and it is now animpressive museumthe oval dome as its centerrestored mosaics that depict Jesus of ahighlight of each and every sightseeingtourthe

Yelverton system once providedconstantinople with its water supplyemperor justinian had this subterraneanreservoir built it contains eightythousand cubic meters of waterthis mighty gate is the entrance to thesplendid world of the Turkish Sultan'stop copy the former center of power ofthe Osman Empire the third court leadsto the harem the living quarters of thewomen and concubines the amazing wealthof the Osman monarchs is still evidenttoday evidence of the power andinfluence of the Sultan'syoua number of earthquakes and firesdestroyed many sections of the palacebut much of it can still be visitedtoday on the city's 3rd hill and visiblefrom all directions is the Suleiman acomma a the most beautiful mosque inIstanbul and the city's largest aahsmanikin building complex this aqueductwas most certainly in use prior to theOsman Empire and it's one of the city'smost impressive achievementsfor a thousand years the ancientTheodosian walls sure fended off allthose who attacked the city from themammarra sea to the Golden Hornyenicall a the carson of seven tarsformed part of the city's fortificationsthe fortress was large in a courtyardwas built according to the mostup-to-date specifications that the 15thcentury had to offer of its buildingsonly the remains of a mosque of survivedmarkets are still held in front of theold city wall as in bygone times eventhe construction of a new Street has notput an end to this traditionalattractionlater the Byzantine emperors had theirpalaces built in close proximity to thewallbeyond the city wall at the end of theGolden Horn is a destination for hisnanak pilgrims the mosque in thepicturesque village of heyop containsthe grave with the highly revered Abu alal ansari the color bearer of theProphet Muhammad only after they'vecompleted the customary washing ceremonyare the men allowed to enter thisreligious place of pilgrimage thereligious connection to Alyce propheton the magnificent banks of theBosphorus the dome Abacha palace shinesout in all of its ancient splendorsolemnly guarded by a clock tower and acontingent of soldiers Dorma bocce isthe city's third largest Sultan's PalaceIstanbul's regal buildings are thosebeautiful heritage of Oz manicarchitecture the magnificent