We spent seven days in Istanbul, a city both modern and ancient. Our hotel, the Empress Zoe, was a converted 15th century bathhouse in the heart of old Istanbul which is called Sultanahmet. The hotel was filled with period style objects and the rooms open into a central courtyard where breakfast and WiFi are served, and we highly recommend the hotel. Other posts have already described the Great Hunt, Eating in Istanbul and a Turkish Bath. This post describes the other sites and activities for the week. After so many tours we pieced together a rough nutshell history of Turkey and some thoughts about modern Turkey so if you have time, go read that now. Our first tourism stop was Tuesday at the Hagia Sofia, a dome of amazing proportions when you consider it was built in 500AD. It was the largest religious dome in existence for the over one thousand years (until St. Peter's in the Vatican was completed in 1600) and remains the second largest today. It is one of the most impressive historic buildings ever not just because of the stunning architecture but because it has served as both a church and a mosque. Today with its museum status you can observe the artwork and influences of both Christianity and Islam. Nearby is the Blue Mosque, built by the Sultan who conquered Constantinople. This is considered one of the top five working mosques in the world today and receives a steady stream of visitors who come to pray. It is a beautiful building both inside and out. You can also visit the remains of the Hippodrome, which at one point dominated the city. The most significant item here for us was a section of the serpent victory pillar of Platea. As you recall this was built by the Greeks using the bronze of the weapons seized from defeated Persians and the names of the proud Greek cities who participated were engraved on this. Wednesday we toured the Topkapi Palace. We saw the harems and the royal chambers. A military band came to play in full Ottaman costume and they really set our blood pumping! The treasury is simply jaw-dropping with jewel encrusted swords and goblets and well, jewelry, including the famous Topkapi Dagger. At the end of it all is a killer view over the Bosphorous and the Golden Horn. We then headed back to the Blue Mosque for services (more on this later) and off to the Grand Bazaar. Thursday we had cooking class all morning and then four solid hours of road school. The kids are doing a great job staying on track with the curriculum. Friday on an early start we saw the Cora Church museum - one of the few structures left dating back to the Byzantine Empire; filled with ornate golden mosaics  - and then we shopped the spice market, then cruised down the Bosphorous to within sight of the Black Sea and stopped for a waterside fish sandwich lunch. We returned by car to walk through the Takshim shopping district and see a bit of modern Istanbul which was more along the lines of a European city. We then headed back to the old town and went beneath one of the seven major hills of Istanbul, which have been hollowed out to make room for giant underground water cisterns. Saturday we met up with Gina’s friend Selen and her lovely daughter Leila; she and Katherine - both Mathletes from David Kramer's class - were happy to see each other again. It was a great day. We stepped into a large waterfront mosque to admire its architecture and stopped in at a pretty little café on the water for lunch. We then wandered up the street, watched the swimmers, and then entered a museum in the former home of a Turkish private collector. To our surprise and good fortune it was hosting a major exhibition and we were able to see a number of treasures, including the original sword of Sultan Mehmet II (well worn and all business) and the top head of one of the serpents from the Platea victory pillar. I was also much struck by an exhibit on dome artwork – the museum has built a mini-dome about 30 feet high, where projectors display up close the dome art from 22 different domes around the city, going all the way back to the 6th century. You can tour all of this great art in just 15 minutes of lying back and appreciating! Saturday evening we were ready for the hammam and our Turkish baths! Sunday we traveled to Cappadocia. Everyone we met in Istanbul was curious about and friendly toward foreigners; this is a place where we felt warm and safe at all times. The worst a tourist has to endure here is an aggressive set of street vendors who are in hard sell mode. If you can ignore this and perhaps learn half a dozen words of Turkish to be polite, you will feel right at home and ready to experience a city of unparalleled contrasts, history and energy. The picture gallery below includes many more pictures from the week in Istanbul, from tourist sites to street scenes of daily life.