Have a day and a half to spend in Istanbul. What should I see/ do.?

HAGIA SOPHIA is incredible, although you haven't much time spend at least 4 hours here. The first stone was laid in 532 and finished in 537. The famous mathmatic scientist Anthemius was one of the two foremen, he used his genius to build it. It has resisted all earthquakes and has not been duplicated anywhere. ( It is because of this 'beauty' that I in my later years have built my house with 'Moorish Doorways' and ideas.) You can look up the history, which is special, before you go.to Istanbul Then go to the mosques, the Blue Mosque is also magnificent. Topkapi Palace, (and the Harim room) is a great place to go, there is also a movie of the same name, get the video of this fun and interesting movie, it will show you the center of Istanbul. Also, get the video of "Lawrence of Arabia", it shows history of Turkey and the mid.east, made in 1961. What a good time you should have. The restaurants are marvelous, eggplant salad is a good starter, called patlejan salaata, there is a soup called 'Ishkembi" only in Turkey can you get it, I made it for a dinner party in USA and my husband said he'd divorce me if I made it again. I did and I am. I and my gourmand friends enjoyed it. It takes hours to make, I make for 100 at a time, and freeze it in portions. Oh don't forget to go to 'The Grand Bazaar', is huge and fascinating, you can buy almost anything there, and bargain the price down, down, down,' Kapali Chashir'. I am spelling phonetically for pronunciation. I must go back there before I pass on from this world...

you decide on greater time!!!!! I propose you a million) Hagia Sofia 2) Blue Mosque 3) Grand Bazaar 4) Topkapi Palace 4) Walks around the previous city ... in case you decide directly to have a seem to Istanbul

Have you seen the Archeological Museum? It's amazing.

Have you eaten at the Sultanamet Kofteci? It's delicious.

Have you visited the Grand Bazaar? It's huge.

Have you taken a boat around the Bosphorus? It's refreshing.

Have you visited Dolmabahce Palace? It's beautiful.

Have you gone to Taksim? It's lively.

Have you seen Bebek at night? It's fun!

Here are some previous questions about what to see in Istanbul and their relative answers. There are some pretty good answers that can give you an idea.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuS7F...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiBon...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aojmt...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag46K...

Enjoy your stay.

P.S.

Whatever you do, arrange for some time to go on top of Galata Tower.

You'll get an 360 degrees view of Istanbul and its most major places.

The view is magnificient.

According to me, it's the best you can get.

I would see the Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, and the Aya Sofia. They are all in the same general area, and are easily walkable.

The old city with its museums, mosques and the Topkapı Palace would be ideal for a short visit. They are all near each other and you can see more than one in a short time.

Enjoy your visit.

visit Ortakoy, take a boat tour around Bosphorus and enjoy the fabuluous views, then take a walk between Ortakoy and Bebek..

in the night, go to some "raki - balik" restaurants in ? . (i dont know best places(meyhane) in Istanbul either)