Sultanahmet

I flew in to Istanbul from JFK, arriving around 9:30am. I quickly exchanged some money and took a look at my transportation options. The airport is located about 10 miles west of the heart of the city and there looks like some theoretical way of taking a train into town, but I opted for a taxi. My destination was the Sultanahmet "district" of town. This is basically the area of the old city surrounding three major monuments, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia and the Topaki Palace. These buildings are located on a point of land known as the "Golden Horn", the last stop between the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. Historically this is the heart of Istanbul, and therefore its business is now primaily tourism. Having said that I really did enjoy the area, the carpet salesmen were very aggressive, but for the most part it was a great area to walk around in, with convenient services and plenty of things to see. Much smaller in total area then I would have guessed. So... let's start with some maps.
Map Map Map
A view from the patio of the Hotel Ararat
My first lodging in Istanbul was the Hotel Ararat which was very conveniently located next to the Blue Mosque. The views from the rooftop patio were very nice, esp. at night. Each of the rooms in the hotel had been painted by a local artist in a similar style to the nearby Hotel Zoe.
Detail of the Blue Mosque from the Hotel Ararat
The Blue Mosque
 Between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia is a nice little park that always had a fair amount of people in it. The park had a couple fountains and very well maintained plantings. The ownly downside is that this was the heart of the renegade carpet hawkers. They usually started off by asking where you were from, would claim to have a friend in whatever town you mentioned, etc. etc. I had lot's of people ask about my shoes etc. Somone asked me if I was Japanese...most thought I was German. Eventually I discovered that if I said I was Canadian I got the least attention, some "merchants" abruptly turned away when they heard that.
Blue Mosque near sunset
 Right behind me is a little cafe which contains a small internet kiosk where I did most of my email, esp post 9/11. They were open 24hrs a day and charge 3mil lira for 1hr of access. That was about $2 at the time.
Most people ask if these are prayer benches. Nope, just benches. Lot's of "free range" cats hung out here to take advantage of the tourism.
Pool in the middle of the Sultanahmet park
Streetcar line on Divanyolu Caddesi This is about 10yrds north of the Sultanahmet rail stop. This area was amazing clean, with small shops and lot's of restraunts. The legedary "Pudding Shop" is to my immediate right, but it's not much to look at.
Obilisk In the Byzantine period there was a large Hippodrome in the middle of the area now known as the Sultanahmet. Most of the Roman public activities were held here. For those of you who have been to Venice, the golden horse/chariots on St. Marks were taken from this Hippodrome. The sight is now a tree lined park. This Obilisk is just about in the middle. It was taken from Egypt by Constantine from the city of Luxor. It sits on a 4th century base.
Fountain of Kaiser Wilhelm II This fountain is located at the Northeast corner of the Hippodrome, just adjacent to the tomb of Sultan Ahmet I.
Notice the detail on the inside of the dome.