Whew. I spent 5 hours today exploring the Topkapi Palace, the home of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th through the 19th century. It's no wonder the regents of Europe regarded the Ottomans as the pinnacle of civilization. Opulent doesn't begin to describe the palace, even now. Here is a sitting room, sideways (Got to figure out why these photos won't appear upright.)

The palace museum is vast, set on the confluence of the Bosporus and the Golden Horn, so the views are amazing. But much of the palace now lies outside the museum. This part of Istanbul is full of imperial buildings and gardens that have been taken over by the town. This park, for example, was once palace gardens, and the statuary is still there for kids to play on.

After recovering a bit, I set off for a walk and promptly got lost, of course. Somehow, I ended up at the "New" mosque, which is only 400 years old. I rested inside the courtyard and watched people get ready for the afternoon prayers. Mosques have washing areas, where devotees wash their hands, faces, and feet before going inside to pray.

Near this mosque is a huge nest of narrow lanes lined with shops and Friday, apparently, is shopping day. I braved the jammed streets and promptly got lost again.

I ended up in a specialized market, where you can buy any kind of small animal or bird and food for it, too. The grumpy man with the jars is selling leeches for medicinal purposes. The yellow pods on the right open up to some bright red seeds. I have no idea what the pods are, but they're eye-catching.

Tomorrow I'm going to ride the ferry up and down the Bosporus. My feet are ready for something else to cover the distance.

I'm sitting on the rooftop terrace of my hostel in Istanbul, looking at the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and the moonlit Bosporus. The call to prayer has just started up from both of these mosques and a couple of others in the vicinity. It would be very atmospheric if the hostel's sound system wasn't playing retreads of 80s punk music.

I'm footsore and weary after  a very full day seeing all the obligatory sights, including the jaw-droppingly amazing places I just mentioned. Any self-respecting tourist would tell you all about the historic and cultural treasures I've seen.

But I know that you really want to hear about the food.

Here is lunch. I didn't really know what I was going to get, apart from vegetarian "kebap," but it turned out to be this excellent pureed eggplant dish. The red speckles on the onions are pomegranate flakes, which are a popular seasoning: very slightly tart and sweet.

Pomegranate is also used to make a popular drink, fresh squeezed as you watch.

I's a good thing that I like eggplant. because it's the foremost vegetarian option. I had it again for dinner, preceded by this traditional puffed bread with yogurt dip. The bread is hollow inside and crispy when you break it off.

(Don't ask me why this photo is sideways or why I can't rotate it.)

Oh, yes, I was going to give up drinking out of respect for Moslem culture, but here in this tourist quarter of oh-so-cosmopolitan Istanbul, full of barely dressed Aussie girls, I don't feel too scandalous having a beer with dinner.

Okay, you can't entirely escape culture. When they were digging around under the Blue Mosque, they found the remains of the 4th-century Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors. Fragments of the legendary mosaic floor were still there and were restored and moved to a museum. You can see the Greek and Italian influences in these delightful remains, even though they're sadly fragmentary.

More culture tomorrow, when I join the throngs at the Topkai palace.