On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Winter Wren
It was a beautiful, clear and temperate day on the last full day in Istanbul before our son continued on his world travels by crossing the Bosphorus to Asia. He wanted to see some of the remaining sights in Istanbul.

I did a morning run from our apartment to Sultanahmet as the sun was rising. I captured this morning view of the Galata Bridge and the Galata Tower from the Sultanahment side of the Golden Horn.

Our son likes to experience the cities he visits through walking, so after returning back over the Galata bridge to the apartment and having breakfast, we walked back to Sultanahmet to visit the Topkapi Palace. Here is the entrance to the Topkapi Palace grounds.

The part of the palace that we saw was a series of beautifully landscaped courtyards and separated buildings like this one.

Some of the side buildings have been converted to contain displays of various Ottoman treasures like this jewelled dagger. Other buildings displayed cutlery, utensils and table settings from different periods. Perhaps the most interesting museum contained an astounding set of holy relics. The various artifacts included the staff of Moses, the sword of David, beard hairs of the Prophet, the bridal veil of Fatima and 2 separate footprint castings of the Prophet.

A beautiful fountain and reflecting pool for one of the buildings. I think the minaret behind is from the Sultan’s private mosque.

The center of the pool was a great bath and shower combination for these 2hooded crows!

A throne room/audience chamber. The tile work in some of the rooms was exquisite.

We didn’t come close to seeing all of the Topkapi Palace, it would take a full day at least and my son wanted to see the aqueduct and city walls as well before leaving the next day. It was a very long walk from the palace to this section of the Aqueduct of Valens here. A road goes through some of the lower arches here.

An even longer walk took us through the “real” Istanbul outside of the tourist areas to reach our final destination – the remnants of the Constantine Walls. The walls are under restoration generally, but unfortunately you cannot enter (at least in this section) or stand on any of the battlements. That didn’t apply to the gulls enjoying the setting sun here. My son finally agreed we had done our fill of walking and we took the subway from the nearby stop, transferred to the tram and then back to the apartment.

Of course, our walking that day wasn’t over as we needed to have some dinner with the rest of the family. The restaurant choice turned out to be on the other side of Taksim Square from our apartment location. The funicular helped reduce some of the additional walking, but my sports watch counted over 40K steps for the day. Dinner entrees at this spot were delicious Doner kebaps, and we were joined by this handsome gray cat who I think was anticipating sharing a meal with us. However, the cat behind was plotting mischief (I think you can see it in its steely stare here) and chased the gray away soon after this shot. City of cats!
Istanbul is a very walkable city, but also has a great public transportation system. Over our stay we took the tram, funicular and ferries multiple times as well as the subway this one particular day. Entry through the turnstiles to all these transportation modes was accomplished by a simple tap of the credit card and a modest deduction of funds. Five days was definitely not enough to see everything!
Jeffg166
The World in 2025: Paul Krugman and Azeem Azhar in conversation Friday, January 31st, at 9:30 am ET: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-world-in-2025-paul-krugman-and
Ronno2018
Great post! Walking is the best way to explore any city! So healthy too!
sab
Those cats remind me of home. Shadow on the bench, stalked by Echo.
WTFGhost
Istanbul? Was (that not once) Constantinople? Ah, well, I guess it’s nobody’s business but the Turks.
TBone
There is a pretty good movie set in the palace. The jeweled dagger is prominently featured.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkapi_(film)
Thanks for sharing a much needed getaway this morning!
Winter Wren
@TBone: Neat detail – I didn’t realize that particular dagger was featured in a film (I just thought it was a nice representative picture from the treasure museum) – I don’t think the information placard there mentioned it. I’ve not seen that film, will have to check it out!
One of the other neat treasures on display that I also remember was a bejewelled and golden cradle. There were also some other quite impractical objects like ornamental mail shirts and spears. I suppose the impracticality was at least part of the point. Quite a variety of treasures on display.
Winter Wren
@Ronno2018: Yes, walking is a great way to see a city – although the hard surfaces and cobblestones of the old cities can be hard on the feet and joints if you spend the whole day at it. We spent the following day with a much reduced walking schedule.
I do also very much like to preview a destination when starting a visit by taking an early morning run around. Apart from the exercise which I enjoy, you can pretty much scope out where you want to linger/visit later on while covering twice the area and without any crowds. It is a nice, different perspective to see a place as just a few people are starting to go about their business for the day.
On my morning run on the day of this post, I made it all the way to see an old historic light house near the palace, as well as the walls around the palace on the Bosphorus. There were also some great views of the modern part of the city with skyscrapers further up the strait. The hardest part about these “On the Road” posts is paring down the pictures to 10 or less!
TBone
@Winter Wren: speaking of impracticality, this is one of the few palaces I’ve entered. I love the details you just gave about jewels and oramental objects! The Neuschwanstein castle is not that old, but was made to look it, and the chandelier alone was breathtaking. I am so glad you got to see the amazing adventures you have shared!
Crazy kings!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle
I think at least one impractical thing will be my theme today.
Sandia Blanca
@WTFGhost: Well played!
TBone
@Winter Wren: traveler level: expert!
J_A
You didn’t mention the Great Bazzar. I hope you did go, and whoever goes next, don’t miss it.
I’m fortunate enough about having been in Istanbul twenty or thirty times in all seasons, and having walked a lot on it, not just to get it to know it myself, but also to show it to others. Your choice of neighborhood to stay was excellent.
If you ever go to Istanbul, and can do one sight only , do to the Galata Tower. You can see from there the whole city in amazing detail. If you can do two things only, the Galata Tower and crossing the Bosphorus on public ferry.
Winter Wren
@J_A: Thanks for the tips! Missed doing the Great Bazaar, but not much of a shopper. However, we were approached multiple times by people wanting to sell us rugs. My other son who joined for the trip (and his wife) did the Bazaar. Too much to do in such a short visit.
Winter Wren
@TBone: What a castle that is. Certainly impractical!
TBone
@Winter Wren: for anyone who would like to continue traveling virtually today, here is one plalace that is truly old and much more practical. We arrived by boat to tour the interior. Relaxing video tour:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wrA2KRYiVr8
Info:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Ort
Citizen_X
I have only been to Istanbul once, unfortunately. My visit to Topkapi was too brief, but I did visit the armaments museum (because I like swords and armor and such). Also, this gave a different perspective on the crusades, etc. The most impressive thing was a broadsword that was about six feet long. It had belonged to some gigantic Serbian. Obviously, though, the sword and the giant’s size did not save him; because the Turks captured it!
J_A
@Winter Wren:
I never ever bought anything in the Grand Bazaar (except perhaps coffee), but it’s a very interesting and colorful place to visit. Just taking in the huge size of the place itself is a worth going. You don’t need more than 30 minutes to get the full experience.
YY_Sima Qian
@Winter Wren: Very nice series! Istanbul is one of my favorites among the cities I have visited, just so much history across so many cultures in so many layers.
By “Constantinian Wall” do you mean the Theodosian Walls? I was not aware that much of the Constantinian Walls is left standing, & the grand fortification of Constantinople that is slowly being restored is the Theodosian Walls. I spent 4 days in Istanbul (2 of which on my own time) as part of a NatGeo tour through Türkiye 10 years ago, & the 1st thing I did was getting up early in the morning to walk the Theodosian Walls. I managed from the Golden Gate to the Gate of Charisius, before turning east to see the plethora of mosques/orthodox churches the city has to offer. I was even able to walk on top of parts of the partially restored wall, itself.
My favorite architecture in Istanbul is probably the Chora Church. A relatively intimate space w/ such amazing mosaics on the ceiling. Wikipedia tells me it has been restored as a functional mosque in 2020, it was still a museum when I visited.
Winter Wren
@YY_Sima Qian: Yes, I may have misnamed the wall section we visited. Thanks.
Geminid
The Galata Tower was built by the Genoese and completed in 1349. It was part of the fortifications they built to protect the trading colony they had established on the Golden Horn in the 1260s.
sab
Just guessing from the Topkapi Museum website, but I think the gate is the Second Gate or Gate of Salutations, that opens onto a garden. The First Gate (does it even still exist?) opened into the Janissaries parade ground.
I believe the second photo is of the library. And the reflecting pool is part of the Harem, which wasn’t just for the concubines, but was the royal families private living space.
Istanbul is a city that I would love to visit, but I am getting a bit long in the tooth for that.
Tenar Arha
@Winter Wren: Beautiful and inspiration for wandering more. Thanks for sharing your trip!