The Basilica Cistern, pictured here, was built around the same time as Hagia Sophia, around 532. Its columns were reused from a variety of ruins in the area. Carp still occupy the waters.

Supposedly, during the early Ottoman period, this became a good spot to dump a body.

One of the ubiquitous men pulling carts struggles up the hill on the outskirts of the Grand Bazaar.

The bazaar had a few more signs of life today than it did last Sunday.

I thought that I might pick up a few spices in the spice market, but I think I'll have to go back when it's not so crowded.

I found a tiny little kebab place, staffed by a friendly waiter, and a more friendly cook. This was the salad that they gave me. It was a spicy sauce to be put on bread that was more similar to salsa than salad.

This simple meal was one of the best that I've had on this trip. Bulgar, lamb, peppers, onions, fennel, lettuce, and tomato. I put a bit of everything on the pita, added a little of the salad, and rolled it up for my dining enjoyment. It was cheap, too.

The friendly cook, who was laboring over hot coals, insisted on taking my picture enjoying the meal that he prepared.

i hopped off the Golden Horn ferry at the last stop, and walked about a mile and a half to get to SantralIstanbul, one of the city's contemporary art museum. I discovered a great exhibit on 20th Century Turkish art in the simple, but elegant museum, which is housed in a former power plant.

After the museum, I walked back the mile and half to the ferry stop, and then waited 45 minutes to take this gondola up a neighboring cemetery hill. The wait was not worth the trip, especially since at the top, I discovered that there was no wait to go down. I would have happily walked up the puny hill, and taken the gondola down for the experience.

The view was pretty impressive at the top.

On the way down, I descended through the cemetery to the Eyup Sultan Mosque.

The Eyup Sultan Mosque is an important pilgrimage site, and the plaza out front was packed with worshipers.

The area around the mosque is full of mausoleums like this one.

The great city walls, constructed by Theodosius II, still stand in tact, for the most part.

The neighborhood around the walls, Kasim Gosim, is particularly colorful.

A small gate in the wall provides one of the few means to penetrate the barrier.

The palace of Constantine Porphyrogenitus pokes out of the neighborhood.

While the Ottomans saved the Byzantine churches, they let the palaces fall to ruin.

I'm sure that most of the houses around here have panoramic views, but on the ground, it's nice to get a brief glimpse out to the Golden Horn.

Not a bad spot to dock a boat, this was where I awaited my ferry to take me back down towards the center of the city.

Another view from a ferry, this one is from up the Golden Horn, back towards the Fatih Mosque (right), the Suleymaniye (center), and the Hagia Sophia (left).

I nice supper snack, this bread, which was stuffed with potatoes, was tasty, and made for me over an upside-down-wok-type device in the open air.

Yes, another day spent looking at mosques. This is the Little Hagia Sophia, which was also built around the same time as its larger cousin. As the name implies, this one is much smaller.

The interior of the Little Hagia Sophia is as intimate as the larger Hagia Sophia's is vast.

This worker is taking advantage of fact that there is always a nice breeze under the arcades around the mosques.

The Book Bazaar is located in the shadow of another enormous mosque, the Beyazit.

Cool shade is also provided by the walls surrounding the mosque courtyards.

The Beyazit Mosque was one of the first grand mosques to be built by the sultans. It is far more ornate on the interior than anything that Sinan produced.

Another Sinan design, the Sehzade Mosque was the architect's first major mosque in the city.

The Sehzade Mosque must have been well used, as the worn marble threshold makes clear.

The fountains in the mosque courtyards are still actively used, and seem to be important meeting places.

The interior of the Sehzade is evocative of Sinan's later grand mosques to come. I was sitting in the back when prayers began, and stayed there inconspicuously throughout the ceremony. It was a powerful experience to see and hear the mosque in action.

Every surface in the mosque resonated with the sounds of the imam's melodious prayers.

The Aqueduct of Valens is an old Roman artifact that now serves as a huge traffic obstruction.

I made a trek to see this mosque, which was built as an ancient church, only to discover that it is closed for renovations.

Istanbul is composed of layers of history built on top, or crammed next to each other.

I made a twenty minute walk out of my way to visit the Fatih Mosque, only to discover, once again, that it is currently being renovated. The tiny glimpses that I got looked impressive, though.

From a distance, it's pretty hard to tell that the Fatih Mosque is being renovated. This does not help those who see it in the distance, and are intrigued enough to make their way to see it (I'm speaking from experience).

Corn on the cob is a popular street snack. The setting's not so bad, either.

These bobbing boats serve what has become my new favorite street food, the local fish sandwiches. Throw in a backdrop of the Suleymaniye on the hill, and I can't resist.

Although I try to sample as much of the food as I can, I've become addicted to these sandwiches, known as "balik ekmek," or "fish and bread." I could not resist getting one for dinner.

Lemon juice and salt are provided on the tiny tables. Nothing else is needed.

I'm not the only one addicted to these sandwiches. The tables were crammed with locals.

I can't imagine that it's easy to cook in these boats, but I guess the guys have had enough practice.

I couldn't resist snapping another photo of the New Mosque, which isn't so new (it was built in the 17th Century).

The New Mosque's arcade has some blue tile work that is vaguely reminiscent of the Timurid tile work that I encountered in Uzbekistan.

The mosque is in an extremely busy district, but the courtyard was surprisingly peaceful.

The Galata Bridge seems to be the most popular fishing spot. It's funny to see these people with enormous fishing poles pulling up sardines.

Istanbul has a huge population of ferrel cats. I sometimes hear them serenading me at night.

This guy sold me a kilo of tasty cherries for $2.

The quay in Eminomu becomes an open air market at night.

We made our all the way up to the mouth of the straight at the Black Sea. This little fishing village was close to the Black Sea, and had an old Byzantine castle overlooking on a point up above.

We stopped at the town pictured in the photo on the top of this post for swimming. Like an idiot, I forgot my swim trunks on my hotel bed. These people were avoiding the crowds at the beach.

I caved in, and got some ice cream at a fishing village on the asian side. This one had vanilla, chocolate, and caramel.

This little village had what seemed like one fish restaurant per inhabitant.

Right around here, on the European side, a house just sold for $120 million.

This is a famous Turkish military academy. Some names with dubious reputations graduated from here. It's a nice setting, though.

Before this bridge was built in the seventies, the only way that Istanbullus could reach the different parts of their city was by boat.

A view towards Uskudar, on the asian side

The Dolmabahce Palace, pictured here, was built in the 19th Century, and soon replaced Topkapi as the sultan's preferred residence. Ataturk ended up moving in when he took power.

The Dolmabahce Mosque became the sultan's home mosque, too.

Dinner: a lamb dish, served in a white-hot terracotta bowl. I'm not sure this was the best choice after a hot day, but it was pretty good, once it stopped boiling.

The entrance to the church/mosque/museum is through these buttresses.

The narthex gives visitors a taste of what's coming. From here, you can glimpse the enormity of the space inside.

I walked around the space before stepping into the middle, trying to get a sense of its dimensions before being assaulted by its grandeur.

Stepping out into the center of the basilica was overpoweringly awe-inspiring. Is that descriptive enough?

Photographs really can't capture this space. Fortunately, however, there are plenty of scale figures around to give a sense of proportion.

I kept stepping back and forth center and the aisles, trying to relive the moment when I first stepped out there.

Fortunately, the Ottomans only painted over the old mosaics. The massive medallions with arabic script were added in the nineteenth century.

The original mosaics were uncovered when Ataturk made the building a museum.

Nothing brings back great travel memories like a video of a mosaic.

I can now understand why every Ottoman architect built mosques vaguely reminiscent of this building.

Sinan spent his whole life trying to top this building. I don't think he was ever able to do it, and it must have been incredibly painful for him to live in this city, and see Hagia Sophia every day.

If I had seen nothing else on my trip to Istanbul, this would have made it worth it.

"Look, kids! Another mosaic!" The exit is on the opposite wall of this passage. A mirror was conveniently positioned over the exit door to remind visitors to look back, lest they miss this last mosaic.

Those of you who know me well will know that this is my worst nightmare: a disgruntled clown, smoking a cigarette. I had to close my eyes as I snapped this picture.

My friend and I grabbed a beer at a rooftop restaurant with a view.

Meze: couscous, an eggplant dish, and some local anchovies (not salty).

The next course: these were stuffed with meat, and were covered with a yogurt sauce.

Local calimari

Fresh sardines. These were ridiculously delicious.

The streets in this neighborhood are filled with tables. This was the view from our ours.

Within the Topkapi Palace's outer fortified walls is this old Romanesque church.

No, this is not a teleporter. It's a fireplace in the harem.

The main courtyard of the harem, this was the realm of the eunuchs.

The light is filtered through a skylight with stone tracery onto this brilliant green wall.

Several layers of detail

I'm not sure why Mehmet the Conquerer didn't choose a more picturesque spot for his palace. This is in the inner court of the palace, back outside of the harem.

There's always a cool breeze under these arcades.

This passageway surrounds a building that houses some ancient Muslim relics, including Mohammed's sword.

The view from an overlook on the Palace grounds. Over towards the right, you can see the Galata Tower, and on the left, you can see the Suleymaniye.

From overlooks around this tea room, the Sultans had a view all the way up the Bosphorous, and out across the Sea of Marmara.

The individual buildings read like pavilions in a park. I always thought that I would build something like the Louvre for myself, but now I think the Sultans may have been onto something. I'll have to consider this.

This tower stands over an important meeting room. Around the other side of it is the unassuming entrance to the harem.

The owners of this house really need to take better care of it. It's all overgrown.

I got a good seat on the ferry going to Kadikoy. This is a view towards the Galata Tower that I climbed yesterday.

Kadikoy has a much more quaint fishing village feel to it. Up on the hill, there are narrow alleys with markets spilling out, or packed with tables for al fresco dining.

This was the first time I had seen a real fish market this whole trip. I know these sardines were fresh because they were still jumping around.

This is another type of fish that I saw on the end of the fishermen's lines. I don't know what it is.

Meringue peeps.

Finally, I can easily eat the fresh fruit!

I ordered a sampling of vegetable dishes at Ciya Sofrasi, the famous restaurant that I had been excited to try. Clockwise from the top, there was a Kale dish with peppers, another dish with what looked like kale, but was called something else, a bean dish, and some bulgar pillows with tomato and basil. In the middle is yogurt. The bulgar was the best part.

My meat course: I think that I could best describe this as stuffed peppers, but that doesn't really do the trick.

A view back to where I ate. This was supposedly the best Turkish food around. I haven't had much Turkish food in my life, so I'm not a good judge, but it was pretty darn good food.

I'm at a loss for words on this one. This was the most popular attraction on the docks in Kadikoy.

A view from Kadikoy back towards Thracian Istanbul. To the left of the little lighthouse, you can just make out the Topkapi tower, the Hagia Sophia, and the Blue Mosque. To the right, you can barely see the Galata tower in the distance.

The sun setting over the Galata Tower. I had actually tried to plan this trip to get some good light on the shores, but I waited too long, so I caught the sunset instead.

The bounty from the Kadikoy market: a kilo of cherries, and one enormous peach.

I have a feeling that Sundays at the Grand Bazaar are not quite as boisterous as other days.

I was happy to see that everything was closed here when I walked through. I needed a break from fighting through crowds today.

Unfortunately, the Suleymanye Mosque's exterior spaces are in the midst of renovations, so I wasn't permitted into the forecourt, or the gardens. It's a shame because I had been really looking forward to seeing them.

I was, however, allowed inside, and I was sufficiently impressed, as expected.

The Suleymanye was built for Suleyman the Magnificent by his court architect, Sinan, in 1557. Sinan was responsible for a whole slew of important buildings in this city. This mosque, which is enormous, is simply, but meticulously detailed. Although its construction was an incredible engineering feat, it remains understated on the interior.

This was the mosque that I was most looking forward to seeing in Istanbul. I plan on going back a few more times while I'm here. The great thing about mosques here is that they're free.

The gardens on the other side of this wall were inaccessible due to the renovations. They look pretty nice from here, though.

Not all of the markets were closed today.

Olives! I must be close to the Mediterranean now.

This is a great city for wandering around, exploring different passages, getting happily lost, and spotting a familiar minaret in the distance.

For lunch today, I sought out the waterfront for fish sandwiches. I haven't had fish since my first skewer in Xi'an, and I was really excited for this.

Delicious. Fish fresh out of the water. A bottle of lemon juice was provided.

After lunch, I crossed over to the other side of the Golden Horn to check out what was traditionally the more diverse part of Istanbul. I encountered this condition a lot today: The upper floors are cantileverd over the street to bring in more light. in this case, they are canted at an angle so that the apartments deeper in the block can still get some light and views. This usually works well, until everyone of the block decides to take up the air space over the street, and the buildings on either side almost touch at the top.

The Galata Tower is an old landmark that dates back to Roman times, although it's been rebuilt a number of times. It was once a lighthouse.

Now, the tower functions as a place from which tourists can snap panoramas of the city. It might be worth going back up here when the light is better. In the foreground is the neighborhood of Galata, and the Golden Horn is the body of water behind it. Sultanahmet, the old city, is on the opposite side, and beyond that, you can see the Sea of Marmara. On the Sultanahmet side, you can see the Topkapi Palace all the way on the left. The Hagia Sophia is the first mosque to right of that, and then the Blue Mosque is just to right again.

This side of the Golden Horn was always more western than the old city, and today, it's a big destination for western-style shopping.

This 19th Century mosque, on the Bosphorus, would be right at home in a turn of the century World's Fair.

Evidently, local kids like to swim in the Bosphorus, although they have to dodge the fishing hooks of the countless anglers who line up on the shores.

Hasn't this kid ever heard of a cannonball? I give him a 2.

I figured that, for the sake of research, I need to sample ice cream everywhere I go. It's very different here. They have special tools for digging it out of deep tanks, and pull it out in rather thin slivers. The texture is a little gummy, but the flavor is superb. You'll notice that I went for all five flavors here, for the sake of research.

Not far from the last mosque, this one almost has an art-nouveau look to it.

Prayers had just started when I got here, so I couldn't make it inside.

After an epic day of walking, I ended up having an early dinner at a delicatessen. The waiter told me that these were the best meatballs in the city. They were actually pretty good. The rest of the stuff was good, too, including the artichoke salad, and that red substance in the corner, which ended up being a spicy sauce for the meatballs.

If there is an open patch of waterfront, you will find Istanbulus fishing. Just make sure you don't get hooked, though.

It turned out to be a beautiful evening, with a refreshingly cool breeze.

The Haya Sophia, a building that dates back to 537, is one of the structures that I've most wanted to see. I'll explore it more, and head inside tomorrow.

Just across a public square from the Hagia Sophia, sits the Blue Mosque.

Old Istanbul was built on seven hills, and the city has a layered feel. In fact, this is the only city that I've visited over the course of this entire trip that has not been on a flat plain or valley.

Istanbul's vast mosque complexes were once the city's centers of education, medicine, social interaction, bathing, and charity.

I was able to step into the Blue Mosque's courtyard before closing time, and discovered that the actual mosque was still open, too.

The great dome of the Blue Mosque. Upon entry, visitors are given a plastic bag in which to carry their shoes. The bags were not designed for people with shoes my size.

I'm trying to pace myself while I'm here, delaying gratification, and saving some of the sites that I've really been dreaming about visiting for later days. However, it's no exaggeration to say that visiting the interior of this space was the fulfillment of a long architectural dream of mine. It was a moving experience, and I know that there are more like this to come.

This puffy bread seems to be pretty popular here. I saw it on a lot of tables as I walked around. It's really a very thin layer of bread, filled with air, and was served with a chickpea paste.

My dinner: Turkish ravioli, filled with meat, and covered with a light yogurt sauce, chili oil, and mint. My stomach has shrunk a lot over the past few days, and this was way too much for me to eat.

To my surprise, there was an entrance to an ancient Byzantine palace in the back wall of the restaurant where I dined. The palace is now completely underground, and is currently being excavated.

My hotel has a fantastic roof terrace. This is a view up towards the Hagia Sophia.

"See, they're McDonald's... I'm McDowell's. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds. My buns have no seeds." A little quote for fans of "Coming to America."

The German motorcyclist and I took a trip to Bukhara's produce bazaar. Although these bazaars may all look the same in photographs, they have each had a unique character.

After I took this photo, this woman handed me a necterine. It smelled great, and I made it look like a took a bite, but I was afraid of getting sick, so I ended up throwing it out. Who knew that I'd get sick the next day?

The women who run the produce stands spend most of their time rearranging their goods to make them look absolutely perfect.

Uzbekistan is not a place for those offended by clashing patterns.

Apologies to those who are offended by the site of meat, but for documentation's sake, I had to show the butcher area of the bazaar.

Would you care for some chicken with your salmonella?

This woman's tripe stand was very popular.

Another friendly, but unsmiling Uzbek, this man runs a horse meat shop.

This butcher was hard at work on a large animal.

A little respite from all the meat, the sweets area of the bazaar had some treats that looked pretty good.

An old soviet classic

Off to the market!

I wonder how this truck cab got up there.

This somewhat funny-looking mausoleum is called "Four Minarets." I wonder where they got the name.

Bukharan neighborhoods are full of all sorts of pipes poking out in all directions.

Only noon, and the streets are completely deserted.

Another way to beat the heat, head to a hammam. This bathhouse is 600 years old, and still in operation.

The cavernous interior was composed of a series of interconnected domed rooms, lit from above by oculi. According to the proprietors, the water and floors are heated by "underground fires." My visit here will remain one of the architectural highlights of my whole trip. It was a little too foggy for photographs, however, and way too wet for sketching.

Most of the medrassas have been converted into craft shops.

One of the persistent scarf-salespeople who would not leave me alone, this woman and her mother also sold table cloths and ceramics.

I spent my last evening in Bukhara trying to soak up all of the details of the city. I'm headed towards a very different type of architecture in Istanbul.

On approaching the ornamental details, it becomes clear that every little niche is different.

A former Kazakh weightlifter, this guy invited us over to his table, which he was sharing with some old weightlifting buddies who have become Uzbek bigshots.

I never would have thought that these guides were former athletes, but they claimed to have been competitive weightlifters. The guy in the background is evidently extremely wealthy, and very well connected in this country. I was told to mention his name if I run into any problems. Hopefully this will come in handy at customs tomorrow morning.