We were in Istanbul for three full days not counting the day of arrival nor the day of departure. We woke up rather early on our first day despite having slept only a few hours. It was jet lag no doubt. It didn't bother us one bit. We've always known there was no use fighting it and we didn't force ourselves back to sleep when we couldn't. Thus, we got up, got dressed, had breakfast, and left the hotel to explore the city earlier than everyone else.

It took us a while to take the metro train since the ticket machine dispensing fare cards didn't seem to work. There were other tourists having the same problem with the ticket vending machines. Luckily, there were very polite and friendly attendants around to help. Shortly thereafter, off we went on our adventure. We were some of the first to arrive at the Aya Sofya that morning. Actually, we were glad we were because by the time we left around noon, the line to get in was endless.

It is said that the Aya Sofya beats all the other sights in Istanbul because of its religious, historical and architectural importance. It was commissioned by the great Byzantine emperor Justinian, consecrated as a church in 537, converted to a mosque by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 and declared a museum by Ataturk in 1935.

We decided to buy the Istanbul Card and it paid for itself after we visited the Aya Sofya, the Topkapi Palace, and the Archaeological Museum. We could have visited more attractions for free with the card had we had the time.