Before I get ahead of myself and delve into Spain, I wanted to share a few more street shots from Istanbul.
The skyline of Istanbul is marked by the pointed minarets of mosques. There are somewhere are 3000 mosques in the city. The Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque) at the center of the old city, the Suleymaniye with its Ottoman architecture, Yeni Cami (New Mosque) beside the Spice Bazaar surrounded by flocks of birds, too name a few. Even the Hagia Sophia, which was once a basilica then a mosque and now a historic museum, combining the elements of both backgrounds. Throughout the day I could here the call to prayer from various mosques in whatever neighborhood I happened to be exploring, the voices of the muezzins blending, yet each voice distinct.
The Topkapı Sarayı (Palace) was the seat of power for the Ottoman Sultans for duration of their reign, over 400 years. The Topkapi is located on the Seraglio Point, overlooking the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, as well as the Bosphorus. The architecture is a dazzling array of arches and gates, patterns and gilt separated by gardens with geometrical designs and mirrored pools. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards interwoven with smaller buildings and enclosures. Nearly 400 of the rooms were devoted to the Imperial Harem, with a complex with intricacies of its own. 
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