So we are off to Istanbul tomorrow. I am very excited. The two things I love to seeing most of all (aside from land after an 11+ hour plane ride) is the Hagia Sophia - the Byzantine Church, and the Blue Mosque. They are both right near our hotel - which is great, we are only in Istanbul about a day and a half.
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The Hagia Sophia. A church from Byzantine times 537 AD. It was the largest church in the world until the 1600s.
It was converted into a Mosque in the 1400s, when the minarets were added. In 1931 it became a museum. |
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The Blue Mosque (it's not this blue it is a trick of the light and Photoshop).
Finished in 1616 when Istanbul was the Capital of the Ottoman Empire. |