Hi from the Galata Tower

Which is where we ended our day of sightseeing at sunset! What a way to close out day 2, looking out over Istanbul and two of the places we explored today from ground level... Hagia Sofia and the Topkapi Palace, home for centuries (in the 17th-19th c.) to Sultans, their grand queens, and concubines, eunichs, princes and slaves. There was no mention of princESSES sadly, the girls born to the Sultans weren't mentioned (booo!). But besides that sad, cold reality of life (in certain times and certain parts of the world) the Topkapi Palace was an extraordinary view into the lavish lifestyles of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. We saw every jewel you can think of, encrusting everything from baby basinets to daggers, to flasks, to thrones. Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, saphires, topaz, onyx, pearls, you name it... They made the Hope Diamond seem very lonely and almost (almost) small.
And the rooms of the palace shouted "SPLENDOR" with their dome ceilings and mosaic tiles. But to live there (unless you were the Sultan) was for most of his harem, to live a life of imprisonment. A beautiful prison, but a prison none the less. The concubines, eunichs, and princes were not allowed outside the gates, to protect the Sultan's hold on power.
I'd love to write more, because the Hagia Sofia blew me away, but it's late and tomorrow we wake up early to go to Cappadocia! I will upload a couple photos if I can from the rest of our day. I don't know if our next hotel will have internet or wireless but since it's in a more remote area I'm thinking possibly not. So until next time, love from here to you!!