Istanbul, Turkey April 12-13th, 2012

turkish fabrics are beautiful

Church of St Sergius and Bacchus, also called little Hafia Sofia was built in  527-536 by Justinian and was used as a model for Hagia Sofia, converted into a mosque 1506-13, is now a UNESCO site. Justinian built it as a thank -you to St. Sergius and Bacchus from saving him from a probable death.

inside of church/mosque is an octogon shape in a quadrilateral

another view, dome rests of 8 pillars. was also used as model for the Rustem Pasha mosque (see below)

an abandoned byzantine/ottoman  bath

the always glorious, hagia sofia church built by Justinian, was consecrated in 537 A.D, then became a mosque after 1453, is now a museum. For hundreds of years this was the largest dome in the world.

such fun lamps

Hafia Sofia so glamorous at night

another closer view

Blue Mosque at Night

Blue Mosque in the day, only mosque with 6 minarets. The 6th one is hiding there on the left

our traveling companions for a few fun days

 for the adventurous you can always get some grilled fish on the street

same grilled fish stand with a beautiful display of fresh veggies. owner was taking great care to get it looking just perfect.

buying a simet (bread like bagel) from the simet vendor who very gracefully bends down a bit while you choose your simet

 we took ferry up to the end of the golden horn in Eyup. view from top of hillside in Eyup.

an ottoman house in Eyup

and another

our on the run gozleme lunch, freshly made flat bread ( you can see where it is made and lightly cooked on a griddle behind ) and ours was  stuffed with a feta like cheese. vey good.

always lovely Rustem pasha mosque hidden in the spice bazaar, another Sinan creation which was based on the church of St Sergius and Bacchus.

gorgeous Iznik tiles in mosque

and more

our hotel had a fabulous terrace with views of the sea of marmara on one side and the blue mosque/hagia sofia on the other. one could spend hours just staring. Princes Island is what you see in the background ( next post on that one)

pretty ottoman homes at the port in Arnavutkoy where we dined with friends one night at their lovely home

view from their home

2nd Bosphorus bridge which is lite in changing colors at night

first Borphorus bridge which when lite at night reminded me of a zipper. The colors were always changing.

First day in Istanbul we arrived around 4.30 p.m. and went out wandering.  We went into the church/mosque of St Sergius which was under renovation for years so this was the first time we were able to visit it. Really lovely. We wandered, gazed endlessly at the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia as well as at the busy Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus. We had a fabulous dinner at Maya.  Second day we took the ferry up to the end of the Golden Horn, something we had never done, and rode the little cable car to top of hillside to see the view. We wondered around the Eyup area of Istanbul which was buzzing with action as it was Friday during  prayer time in the mosque. Extremely crowded. Eventually we wandered back to hotel and met up with our friends.  We all got on the ferry for the 40 min ride to our mutual friend's house for dinner in Arnavutkoy and to celebrate Susan's 60th birthday! What could be better?