Le  Levant

Janissary  Band

Basilica  Cistern

Yeni  Mosque

Beylerbeyi   Palace

Tomb  of  SULTAN  MURAD  III

Roman  Aqueduct

Rumeli  Fortress ... This fortress once controlled all passage thru the Bosporus

Rustem  Pasha  Mosque

Some of the finest examples of  Byzantine  Mosaics  are the ones found here.

This was our 4th or 5th visit to Istanbul  ( and the Topkapi ).      

 LOVE  the stuff in the Treasury.       The Spoonmaker Diamond  &  I  "bonded" during our first visit...... so I have to keep coming back to breath on it.

The guards just need to  "lighten up" a bit, though.

Here's  "my baby"... The Spoonmaker  Diamond

( all 86 carats of her )

18th Century  Throne ...

 ( this would look soooo GREAT  in our living room !!! )

The famous  Topkapi  Dagger

( inlaid  with emeralds & diamonds )

What is it .... with the entire WORLD deciding that I need to learn to cook  ??!!?!

PONTIC  TOMBS    ......  This was once the capital of the Roman  Kingdom of Pontus.

These cliff-cut tombs above the town ... contain the graves of the Pontic  Kings

Hagia  Sophia

This was established in 386  B.C.  by 2 monks from Athens.                 Boy... talk about needing to be in shape to even climb up here

 ( not to mention trying to build  anything on these cliffs )

A  most unique  cemetery.      Each one of the grave sites has some sort of  image of the deceased      (  images on stone, paintings, marble busts , etc )

10th

Century

This guy played a selection of   6 different accordions .... each one smaller than the one before.           And the women led us in singing & folk dancing.

Yep .... he had it painted  GREEN .... so it was difficult to see from the air.

Indoor Pool ..... not very deep ... because he couldn't swim

Originally ... this was used as a huge lounge ... used to entertain guests.

Actually ... he was afraid of flying too.   ( He traveled to the Yalta Conference by train & car )                  This was one paranoid individual.

Playing a game on Stalin's  pool table.