Mat & Kat's big bike trip
Day 98 Istanbul
Today we visited the Basilica Cistern, a huge Byzantine underground reservoir made with cobbled together Roman pillars. It's beautiful and atmospheric.
Then we headed to the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) which sits right across the road from the Hagia Sophia. It's old and beautiful - and free! Just like our last mosque visit we got to interrogate a volunteer about the mosque and Islam in general. We'd noticed illuminated birds circling above the mosque at night, it turns out they give them food and water. Mystery solved.
After a quick wander into the grand bazaar we had a coffee and snack at a cafe where we forgot to ask prices so got charged exorbitantly. We used our travel cards to catch a ferry across the Bosphorus to Kadıköy and had a MUCH cheaper lunch on the Asian side.
Our travel cards also took us up to the Grand Çamlıca Mosque, Turkey's biggest mosque which was completed in 2019. We could see it about from where we're staying, even though it's about 10km as the crow flies. It can hold up to 63,000 worshippers (and can accommodate up to 100,000 in case of an earthquake or tsunami).
We headed back across the Bosphorus from Üsküdar and crashed out at the hotel.
Love, Kat & Mat x
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