Istanbul from a Professional Amateur
I am certainly over 39 (49) but my college age kids might debate that
I am cool.
I am the host of the Amateur Traveler. The Amateur Traveler is an
online travel show that focuses primarily on travel destinations and
what are the best places to travel to. It includes both a weekly audio
podcast and a twice monthly video podcast. I left my job as a VP of a
Silicon Valley social media company to do consulting, podcasting and
blogging.
I focus predominantly on travel.
My favorite cool city would be Istanbul which I have covered on my
show – http://amateurtraveler.com/tag/istanbul-travel-guide/ [1]
My top things to see are:
1) Topkopi Palace – original palace of the Ottomans which holds the
crown jewels
2) Grand Bazaar – very touristy but still a site to see
3) Hagia Sofia – ancient Christian church that impacted the design of
Ottoman mosques as well
4) Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) -beautiful grand imperial mosque
5) Spice Bazaar – very phtogenic
6) Saint Saviour in Chora – jewel of an old Byzantine church with
wonderful murals and mosaics
7) Walls of Theodosius – built in 413 AD
8) Ortaköy – beautiful little town at the base of the Bosporus bridge
9) Bosporus cruise – cruise up to the fortresses built my Mehmed the
Conqueror and his father
10) Istiklâl Caddesi – pedestrian street where the old European embassies were located
Chris Christensen is a Cool Old Guy who operates Amateur Traveler and can be reached via the website at http://AmateurTraveler.com and on http://Twitter.com/Chris2x