A VISIT TO TURKEY:ISTANBUL
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.
Saint Sophia, built in 545 A.D. during the reign of Justinian
is next to the Sultanhmet Mosque (Blue Mosque.)
Both are extremely impressive. Below are pictures
showing Hagia Sophia. It was converted to a Mosque
when the Ottoman Turks conquered the area in 1453 A.D.
The Sultanhmet Mosque.
Istanbul is also a modern European city, mixed in with the old.
The bridge across the Bosporus linking European
Turkey with the Asian part.
The walls built by Justinian in the 4th century still stand.
In places people have incorporated parts of them into their homes.
People watching in Istanbul is interesting.
Hagia Sophia and the old city are within the walls built
by the Byzantines to protect them from invaders. Today
the invaders are legions of tourists seeking bargains of
food and souvenirs.
The palace grounds of the Topkapi Palace, the residence
of the Ottoman rulers, is open to the public.
Note the picture on the right is of the same place.
It shows the Sultan in ceremony receiving notables.
The Topkapi Palace area has several excellent museums
which encompase artifacts from Greek and Roman times
through the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire periods.
In the old section of Istanbul is a huge covered Bazaar with hundreds
of shops selling any good imaginable.
Email us if you have questions. Our email is "kuwait at geodi.org". Note that I have not included the "@" because I then get lots of unsolicited spam. You must insert it if you email us. Also leave out the quotation marks.