Our tour guide brought the group outside of the Blue Mosque and showed us some lesser monuments. The structure below is actually a fountain were people used to be able to wash before prayer. It is outside of the Blue Mosque.

Outside of the Underground Cistern entrance this pole shows the distance from Istanbul to these famous cities. Constantinople (Istanbul) was once the cross roads of the ancient world.

I expected to be somewhat caustrophobic upon entering the Underground Cistern however it was extremely cavernous and spacious. The Entrance was simply a winding staircase that went down a few floors.

The pillars are illuminated by lamps and the boardwalk is wide and sturdy. 

Throughout my entire trip I've been in wonder of ancient world. How did they build something so efficient and beautiful?

Some of the pillars were more special than the others. The one depicted the head of medusa.

The symmetry and simplicity of the structure makes the atmosphere of being underground surrounded by water less creepy. The water was actually very shallow and had fish.

The tour guide let us spend about an hour and a half in the Cistern. Then we walked out, crossed the road, and hurried to the Topkapi Palace.

The palace is more a miniature city. The walls surrounding it are thick and the gates tall. The paint and colors have been preserved well. There are many many smaller buildings and gardens inside of the gates. Each building served a separate purpose and is now used to house specific artifacts.

The one unifying theme between the numerous buildings is the opulence. So much detail on even the smallest of structures.

Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photos inside of the buildings. But just past the building above were the inner quarters of the royal family. There are more gardens and buildings. It is now home to many Islamic relics including Prophet Muhammad's (SWT) beard, Khadijah's dress, and the gutters of the Kaaba. As well as many other things.

Never forget to look up! Some of the domed ceilings are inlaid with gold and detailed artwork.

This a view just inside the gates. The palace overlooks the sea.

Below is a picture of the entrance to the palace from the inside.

This the arabic writing engraved on the gates. It is on both sides of the gold.

The palace is extremely vast, to completely explore it, it would take two entire days. Unfortunately my mother and I were only able to see a few exhibits. On our way back to New York we have another long layover in Istanbul. We plan on exploring the palace and its artifacts then. 

Look out for the 3rd blogpost about my trip to Istanbul.