Tanzania : 14 hour layover in Turkey - Afternoon : Topkapi Palace

Finished with the Blue Mosque, we walked to Topkapi Palace. It is so great that all the grand attractions are within walking distance. Unfortunately, Hagia Sophia Museum was not part of our itinerary and it was just opposite the Blue Mosque. In the free city tour program by Turkish Airlines, it was either Hagia Sophia Museum or Topkapi Palace on each day. I suspect because there is an entrance fee, so it is an either-or place. In front of Topkapi Palace, I saw some food stalls selling the famous Turkish bread, which is exactly the same ones I had for breakfast this morning.

Sorry that my panorama photo looks weird with some of the people's faces cut off. Well, they were walking. But the Palace still looks grand. The entrance is TL40 but I got in for free. Remember, everything in the city tour is free. Hehe. 

The Topkapı Palace or the Seraglio is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was one of the major residences of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years (1465–1856) of their 624-year reign. As well as a royal residence, the palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments. It is now a museum and as such a major tourist attraction. It also contains important relics of the Muslim world, including Muhammed's cloak and sword. The Topkapı Palace is among the monuments contained within the "Historic Areas of Istanbul", which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, and is described under UNESCO's criterion iv as "the best example[s] of ensembles of palaces [...] of the Ottoman period. 

The name of the palace was Saray-i Cedid-i Amire until the 18th century. The palace received its current name during Mahmud I's reign when the seaside palace, Topkapusu Sâhil Sarâyı (Cannon Gate Palace by the Sea) was destroyed in a fire, its name was transferred to the Palace. In Turkish the current name of the palace, Topkapı, means Cannon Gate. Source from Wikipedia.

I love it when I am visiting a UNESCO place. It is definitely a place worth visiting when it falls in the category of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tanzania : 14 hour layover in Turkey - Morning : Hippodrome of Constantinople, Blue Mosque

The flight ticket was purchased 5 months ago in March 2016 from Skyscanner.com at a price of GBP1,149. That came to exactly RM6,722.99. That made my heart bleed for a few days. I purchased a multi-city ticket (my trip this time involves Tanzania and Romania) with Turkish Airlines because that was the cheapest airline then. A few months later, Ethiopian Airlines came in cheaper by RM1K. *Heart bleed again*. Lesson learnt : Never check the price of the flight ticket again once purchased. The details of the flight are:

020916 : Kuala Lumpur --> Istanbul, Turkey transit 14 hours --> Kilimanjaro, Tanzania arrive 2 days later on 040916 at 1.15am local time

140916 : Kilimanjaro, Tanzania --> Mombasa, Kenya transit 55 minutes (not required to leave plane) --> Istanbul, Turkey transit 3 hour 25 minutes --> Stockholm, Sweden

021016: Stockholm --> Turkey transit 3 hour 20 minutes --> Kuala Lumpur arrive 031016

Due to the long transit of 14 hours, I started to research on what I can do in Istanbul. Many websites have offered information on what one can do in 24 hours. Looks like such long transit is common with Turkish Airlines. Then, I stumbled upon an offer by Turkish Airlines that provide FREE city tour for international transit of more than 6 hours but less than 24 hours. You can opt for a city tour or a hotel stay. No questions needed further - I am going for the city tour because everything is FREE including food (breakfast and lunch). Need I explain more to convince you? This post will tell you where I went in Istanbul. And also the next post too.  

020916 - The date of my trip arrives. Turkish Airlines has some very delicious meals. I got 2 meals - dinner and breakfast. They were very filling. Plus, I watched 3 movies with very good sound system. Slept a bit. It was not freezing cold.