Istanbul tram

We had such an amazing first day in Istanbul. Kicked off with a visit to Aya Sofia the most important Byzantine building in the world - as the Hagia Sophia it was the heart of eastern Christendom for close on a thousand years. Yes, a thousand years!!! It was truely awesome. We then headed over the Galata bridge across the waters of the Golden Horn to Beyoglu and Taxim. Swopping tourism for commerce. We went up the Galata tower built in 1349. It's 61 metres high and gives a fantastic panoramic views of the city and across the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. It turned out that a member of our party was already well acquainted with this area due to his 'virtual' experience of Asassin's Creed!

After this we meandered our way up Istiklal Caddesi (a sort of Istanbul Oxford Street) and up to Taksim Square a buzzing transport hub and site of protests. We had seen so many beautiful things by then which I could've blipped, but this photo of young boys hitching a free ride on the vintage tram summed up the colourful and at times chaotic experience of the day.