Day 12
Thursday
July 7, 2011
Istanbul - Turkey

 
Istanbul - Day 2
Part 1

 
TURKISH & ISLAMIC ARTS MUSEUM: Originally built in 1524 as the palace of Ibrahim Pasha- Grand Vizier and brother-in-law of Sultan Soliman the Magnificient, it is now a museum presenting notable examples of Islamic calligraphy, tiles, rugs as well as ethnographic displays of various cultures in Turkey, particularly nomad groups.

SAINT - SOPHIA CHURCH (Church Of The Holy Wisdom): Built in 537 by Byzantine Emperor Justinianus, St. Sophia has been the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years; it is considered the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture; after having been the Patriarchal basilica of Constantinople, it was covered into a mosque in 1453 by Sultan Mehmet II. the Conqueror and into a museum by Ataturk in 1935. 

 
Behind the Museum is the Blue Mosque
On the way to the upper level ....

 
Day 2 - Part 2