This turned out to be a pretty comedic adventure! The moment he set
off, his pace was so fast that I had to jog to keep up. Off we went, a
man with a trolley followed by a woman jogging behind - past fancy
restaurants where holidaymakers were having a drink. I couldn’t stop
laughing at the absurdity of it all. Picture this: me, giggling like a
child, trying to keep pace with a man hurrying to deliver a bike
through the winding streets. Before long, we arrived at my hotel, and
I was still chuckling as I imagined the whole scene as a cartoon.
Chapter 6 - Istanbul: Where Empires CollideThe sun came out, and after dropping my laundry, I joined the queue
at the Basilica Cistern—finally manageable now that the cruise liner
had departed. The Basilica Cistern is most likely one of Istanbul's
most captivating historical marvels. Descending into its cool depths
felt like entering a forgotten palace. Built in the 6th century to supply
water to Constantinople’s Great Palace, the cistern stretched 140 by
70 meters, supported by 336 marble columns. Two bore Medusa
heads—one upside down, one sideways—silent sentinels of myth and
mystery. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453, it continued to supply
water to the Topkapý Palace. However, it gradually fell into disuse and
was forgotten—except by local residents who still drew water from it.
Above ground, I turned my attention to the city’s skin—the Walls of
Constantinople. Built by Constantine the Great and expanded by
Theodosius in the 5th century, they encircled the city like a protective
embrace. Double lines of stone, nearly impregnable in their prime,
had saved Byzantium from countless sieges. Even after the
introduction of gunpowder siege cannons, which contributed to the
city's fall to Ottoman forces in 1453, the walls remained effective.