Dean Christakos

I did, however, get to see the remains of the Buceleon Palace, which was the Byzantine Emperor's palace by the sea, where he would embark directly onto his ship to cross the Bosphorus:

The interior is accessible but in horrible condition, requiring one to crawl through an opening, only to find it strewn with garbage and mattresses used by the homeless. Many of the columns are intact, however, making it an interesting place to visit:

On my way to visit the old church of Ss. Sergius and Bacchus (the "Little Aya Sofya" Mosque), I found it under major restoration and wasn't able to visit that, either:

However, on my walk back, I came across a 19th century Greek Orthodox Church still in use, just northwest of the aforementioned mosque:

Note the walls indicating "this is a protected fortress" that surround the church, reminiscent of the church of minority religions in both Amsterdam and Xanthi. According to two of the church members I met there, this church is one of 12 in the neighborhood south of the Grand Bazaar, though liturgy is only held at one of the 12 each Sunday, owing to the declining size of the Greek community.

See my flickr archves of Istanbul for more pictures, including the underground Cistern, interior pictures of Agia Sophia, and the Blue Mosque.