Visiting the splendours of Istanbul: the ‘Hippodrome’, the scene of the chariot races and the centre of Byzantine civic life with its Serpentine Column, Egyptian Obelisk, the Walled Obelisk and the German Fountain; the ‘Blue Mosque’ (Sultan Ahmet Camii) famous for its blue tiles, Aya Sofya Camii (the ‘Basilica of Saint Sophia’, the 6th century church of divine wisdom, one of the greatest marvels of architecture of all times) and Hagia Sophia Museum; the ‘Topkapı Palace Museum’, world famous imperial residence of Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years with its superb and unrivalled porcelain collections, the Imperial Treasury, and the Basilica Cistern. Promenade in the Covered Bazaar, the historical shopping centre with nearly four thousand shops and labyrinth alleys.
