This will be the longest post of the whole trip, for we packed a lot in on our first day.

First below, you can see the abundant breakfast spread at the hotel.

Then we spent the morning visiting the Topkapi Palace Museum, which was the seat from which the Ottoman Empire ruled for 400 years. It was both their administrative center and the home of the sultans. I was particularly interested in all the decorative surfaces, which were many.

After a lunch at the Pudding Shop (I had falafel), we toured the amazingly enormous Roman cistern, which is adjacent to the Hagia Sophia, and was built in the 6th century by emperor Justinian. The amount of work to to dig out and support such a large pace so early in history impressed my structural engineering self.

We breezed through the bazaar to a boat to tour the bay at sunset, followed by a wonderful welcome dinner, although we are still waiting for our nephew, his wife and nine month old baby, who have been delayed due to flight difficulties. We enjoyed a delicious meal at a long table on a busy street, with street musicians jamming and the Turkish flag waving, followed by unusual Turkish ice cream.

It was a wonderful, but full day.