Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Historical Turkey

Had a great time visiting some of the historical places yesterday; Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sofia...there was a bit of a fuss over the Israeli attack on the Turkish aid ship which led to protests a few blocks from our apartment.  We were advised to stay in for the evening while things settled down so we picked up fresh produce from a nearby market and made a nice meal to pair with the wine that Teri brought from France.  Things seem to have blown over today so we'll head out again this evening to meet a Starbucks contact for dinner.  Below are a couple photos from the day...

Basilica Cistern - the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul. 



At the Blue Mosque.  Until the 1950's women were unable to worship in the mosques.  Today they are allowed but must stay behind screened in areas on the periphery. 



3 comments:

Janet said...

What a beautiful photo of the cistern! So, Turkish women weren't allowed in mosques until the 1950's...well, then again, women in the U.S. weren't allowed to VOTE until 1920. Go figure. Yikes, that screen reminds me a bit too much of a Catholic confession booth.

Unknown said...

Love the dramatic lighting effects caught by your artistic eye!

Asimina said...

Your photo workshop clearly paid off! GORGEOUS!