Istanbul is a city steeped in layer upon layer of history. In this video we're going to show you around
the heart of historic Old Istanbul. It's a part of the city called Sultanahmet and it's here that you find a concentration
of the city's top sites. There's a lot to experience in Istanbul and you don't want to just skim the surface. In fact one of my favourite places
is literally hidden beneath the surface. Yes, in Sultanahmet you can truly
see Old Istanbul from top to bottom. You'll see exactly what I mean later in this video. Wow! Some of the sites stretch outside the Sultanahmet district but everything is within about a ten minute walk. So you can squeeze in a lot of sightseeing and experience everything in this video
in one amazing day. Let's start at Istanbul's world famous Grand Bazaar. It's absolutely immense with over 4000 shops selling everything from colourful lights
to chess sets to shoes and slippers. It's also a great place to find suitcase-friendly souvenirs like Turkish eyes, Turkish towels, and Turkish coffeepots. Dating back to the 15th century, the Grand Bazaar is sometimes called
the world’s oldest shopping mall. Arguably, it's one of the world’s largest
and most intricate mazes as well. Ooh…look at all that! The Grand Bazaar feels like a maze of just organized chaos. There’s a lot of people. Goods everywhere that you look. People selling things. And this crazy energy that you feel is being channeled through these narrow passageways that go every which way
forming a kind of labyrinth. When you’re here do not miss looking up at the ceiling. It’s constantly changing and get a look at the colourful painted designs
that will remind you of the history of this place. The energy inside the Grand Bazaar is frenetic and it’s easy to lose track of time as you wander
through aisle after aisle after aisle. These are really cute. Yeah…little baby ones? Cute for kids. There’s something for everyone from jewelry
to magnets to all sorts of different textiles… and all kinds of different hats. In case you want an Attila the Hun hat. If you're feeling hungry, stop by one of the
nearby food stalls for a quick break. We enjoyed some Turkish pide and freshly squeezed juice, which you can see more of
in our Turkish street food video. When you have a full day of sightseeing,
it's always nice to slow down the pace for a few minutes, enjoy some food, and have the chance to people watch. A huge flock of birds appeared overhead too,
which was really neat to see. After leaving the Grand Bazaar, follow your nose
into the neighboring Spice Bazaar, which is an Ottoman-era marketplace. It’s a short walk away, with people buzzing about everywhere. The Spice Bazaar is, of course,
where you find all sorts of spices. Colourful, beautifully displayed. But it’s not just spices here. You also find dried fruits and candies
and loose-leaf teas and it’s fun to just walk up and down and see how everyone is displaying their goods. And of course the smell is amazing in here too. The Spice Bazaar was completed in the 1660s and back in the day it was the last stop for
camel caravans that travelled the Silk Road. Today, like then, you can get a variety of spices, dates and nuts and absolutely gorgeous teas. I love the way they look and I’m sure
they taste just as delicious. The Spice Bazaar is also a great place
to stock up on baklava and Turkish delight. About a kilometre away from the Spice Bazaar
is one of my favourite places in Istanbul: the Basilica Cistern. In a city full of fascinating historic sites,
it can feel a little overwhelming to know where to prioritize, especially if you're short on time. Well for me personally, this is
one of my top recommendations. It is breathtaking. Oh…it feels humid. Yeah, really humid. The air is thick. Yeah. Wet, heavy, thick air.
-Yes! The cistern was built in the year 532
using 336 marble columns, many of which used materials recycled
from older temple ruins and structures. The imposing columns that support the vaulted ceiling
are placed in 12 rows of 28. The entire space is roughly the size of two footballs fields. Okay…this is insane. This is amazing! Yeah! Wow! I’m kind of in shock. The Basilica Cistern has also featured in
blockbuster films like From Russia with Love and the adaptation of Dan Brown’s book Inferno,
starrring Tom Hanks. We’re underground in the Basilica Cistern and when you first arrive and you descend down the steps, you feel this shift in the atmosphere. The air gets wet and thick, and even now standing here, the floor is slippery and there are little water droplets hitting me. And this place was built as a water reservoir in the 6th century. And they believe that all of these columns were built using recycled materials from structures
that were even more ancient than that, which is difficult to comprehend. And the water storage capacity here is about 100,000 tons. This incredible amount of water
was delivered via 20 km of aqueducts. This history is mindblowing enough
but it's what happened to the cistern next that I find most interesting: it was completely forgotten about! It wasn't rediscovered until 1545 when a researcher was told by local residents that they could get water by lowering buckets
into a space beneath their basement floors. They could even catch fish through their basements floors! The researcher was obviously intrigued
and finally found a way to access the cistern through one of the locals' basements. Even after this monumental discovery,
the cistern wasn't treated with any reverence: in fact it became a place for people
to dump garbage, even corpses. It’s hard to describe exactly what it feels like
to stand in this cavernous, ancient space underneath the ground in Istanbul. It has this crazy mood with the lights dark
and this music playing and knowing the history of where you are, this is a total highlight for me. Just indescribably amazing. At one end of the cistern, which, by the way,
has been open to the public since 1987, is a large column called The Hen’s Eye. It represents the lives lost during the cistern's construction. And it's a dark reminder of the enormous toll
it took to create this space. Do not miss the northwest corner of the cistern where you'll find two enormous Medusa heads that serve as column bases for those
brave enough to stare into her eyes. Their origin is unknown but they likely belonged
to a building from the late Roman period before being recycled and brought here. They are enchanting and one of the absolute
highlights of the Basilica Cistern. After all, I don't know about you, but Roman recycling
isn't something I come across every day. A very short walk from the Basilica Cistern
are two of Istanbul’s most visited attractions: the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. They're both UNESCO World Heritage Sites
and sit only 500 metres apart. The Blue Mosque is the newer of the two buildings
and was constructed in the early 1600s. It has 260 windows and more than 20,000 mostly blue tiles, which is where its unofficial but more
commonly used name comes from. The sun starting to set behind it is…
it just looks so beautiful. It feels like I’m in a stock photo right now! When exploring a city, we always appreciate information signs like this one that we found outside the Blue Mosque. I so appreciate how they have all these information…
I don’t know…pillars everywhere. I love it too. Yeah. In different languages. It’s so nice. As someone who always stops
to read these things…I’m that person. But you probably already guessed that. Once you've taken in the Blue Mosque's impressive exterior, make your way through its large courtyard,
which is the same size as the mosque's interior. Okay, we’re winding our way through here
to get into the Blue Mosque. So I have a little plastic bag here to put my shoes in. And then you need to carry that with you. Yeah and then you carry that. Nice ice cream socks. Thanks! Extra special. Couldn’t have planned my socks better. Okay…let’s go. Okay. The main space inside the mosque is huge. Unfortunately, the building was under construction when we visited but you can still see four of the original pillars,
which look a lot like elephant feet. The ornate tile work lining the walls is impressive with more than fifty different tulip designs. Direct your eyes up to the stained glass windows
on the upper level, which cast a colourful light. We couldn’t fully appreciate all of the details,
of course, with scaffolding blocking the view but saw enough to know that number 1,
this place gets a lot of visitors for very good reason and 2, we'd like to come back again
when it's restored to its full glory. Now I give this back. Istanbul is the kind of city where you can
bump into history without even trying, like this pink granite obelisk located
a stone's throw from the Blue Mosque. It was carved in Egypt around 1500 BCE and brought to what was then Constantinople in 390 CE. On the marble podium underneath the obelisk, you can see a carving of the emperor,
his family, state officials, and guards watching a chariot race from the imperial box. A short distance away is one of
the oldest buildings in the world and the site you'll probably see most often
on Istanbul postcards: the Hagia Sophia. We’ve made our way now to one of the most
popular spots in all of Istanbul. Probably the most. You can see it behind us — it’s the Hagia Sophia and originally it was built in the year 360, subsequently destroyed a couple times
and this “new” one… “New” one… …was build in the 1400s. Just the whole…I mean the history here
is just on another level. Can you? I mean… I don’t even have words. It’s just incredible. I can’t compute those ages being from Canada so… To truly appreciate the sprawling
vastness of the Hagia Sophia, it helps to see it from the air. Within the context of the surrounding city,
it's clear to see how it dominates the skyline. It’s inside, however, where you truly feel the weight
of all the history that has passed here. It was a church for 916 years and a mosque for 482. When we visited and shot this footage
it was still operating as a museum, but it has since become a mosque. When you first walk in and look up at the incredible dome, your breath might catch in your throat a little,
at least mine did. A unique and special place, it's very easy to understand why Hagia Sophia
is such a popular place to visit. When you walk inside and you look up
at this incredible dome and think about every part of history
that has passed through here, you actually get goosebumps. I feel tingles. So whether you're short on time
and need to do some power sightseeing or you can really take your time to experience
some of Istanbul's main attractions, Sultanhamet and the surrounding area
is just a part of the city that you won't want to miss. From the lofty dome of Hagia Sophia to the subterranean Basilica Cistern, this truly is the spot to see Old Istanbul
from top to bottom. We've made other videos that show more of
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque by the way so I'll link those if you'd like to see more. And if you're able, I highly, highly recommend
exploring the city more widely beyond Sultanahmet. Check out the rest of our Turkey series
for lots of recommendations on what else to see, do, and importantly eat
and even where to stay. We've made videos about the
European vs Asian sides of Istanbul, trying some of the city's best Turkish street foods, what to expect at a traditional Turkish bath, and our first time trying Turkish breakfast. You'll also find lots more over on Instagram. If you're already familiar with the sites in this video, we'd love to know which one
you would most recommend to a visitor. And if they're all new to you,
which one piques your interest most? Leave a comment and let us know what you think! We hope you enjoyed this video. Make sure to give it a thumbs-up if you did and subscribe for lots more travel adventures
around the world. Thanks for watching!
