Wanna see me turn 30? (Istanbul)

Istanbul. Our first trip to a Muslim country. It is so fascinating! Here I am standing in front of the Blue Mosque. The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 by order of the Sultan Ahmed I, after whom it is named. He is buried in the mosque's precincts. It is located in the oldest part of Istanbul, in what was before 1453 the centre of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

In the picture above, this is what I am looking at! Aya Sofia or Hagia Sofia. Aya Sofia was built in the 6th Century to be the grandest church in the world. Yup, you read that right! A church! When the Ottoman Turks conquered Istanbul in 1453, Aya Sofia was converted into a mosque. The cool thing about it is that there are still mosaics of Jesus and other Christian themes through Aya Sofia! Its quite mind blowing really, to see two cultures come together in such a unique way. Aya Sofia is no longer worshiped in, so its open to tourists.

The Call to Prayer...(Istanbul)

As you can see from this picture of the Blue Mosque, the Turkish people do worship here. This is a locals entrance to the mosque, taken at the call to mid-day prayer. Muslims pray five a time a day, in fact.at the center of this picture is the water fountain where the Muslims perform their cleansing rituals before prayer.

The inside of the Blue Mosque. Once prayer is complete, the mosque is opened to non-muslims. As this is a place of worship, men and women are asked to cover the bodies, and I had brought along a scarf to cover my hair. A mosque is so much different than a church or a cathedral. There is no furniture inside. Instead, there is a large carpet with many squares for indivudal prayer. Muslims pray on their knees, and face mecca when doing so. Jason and I were surprised by how sparse the room was, but by how elaborate the building was. Very different from all the Christian churches we were seeing on our travels through Europe.

He's not particularly smiling, because we are feeling a bit silly for taking pictures! (As non-Muslims we were not allowed to enter the area where the Muslims pray, and so there is a little fence behind Jason that we could not pass.

Aya Sofia...The Inside Story (Istanbul)

Aya Sofia is stunning. The main room is empty and currently being restored. Since it was originally built as a church, many of the original Christian mosaics remain. Although its a bit difficult to spot the contrasts when you are surrounded by the gorgeous art, Byzantine mosaics and Islamic caligraphy.

The Mihrab. A mihrab is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca. This one was added to Aya Sofia in 1934, and although there was controversy surrounding the addition, Jason and I found it breath taking. As you can see just above it, it is surrounded by many panels of stained glass that only enhance its beauty.

A classic example of the two cultures. Here is a large piece of Islamic caligraphy next to a mosaic of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus on the ceiling of Aya Sofia. Much of the restoration work is attempting to preserve all of the mosaics in Aya Sofia.

C'mon Now, Its Not That Serious! (Istanbul)

All our heavy sightseeing left us parched. There was a gorgeous cafe next to the Blue Mosque, hidden amongst the trees. A heavenly birthday lunch, indeed. (Did you forget that? Its still my birthday, you know!)

Well, let's be fair, I am a sucker for bread. In this case, it is a Turkish favorite. Looks like a pretzel, only not so twisty and covered in sesame seeds. The vendors line the streets with their variation of this incredibly yummy pastry. In fact, its so yummy, that its in the picture.

Okay, so not the best picture, but where I am standing is why I agreed to go to Turkey in the first place. Jason and I have got our bargaining hats on, and we are about to enter one of the largest and oldest markets in the world. My idea of heaven! This is the Grand Bazaar. Essentially anything you could ever want, you could likely find it here. There are so many rows of stalls inside that they have created a map of the place AND there are street names. Just so you can't get lost! It is vibrant and bustling and full of young men running back and forth with trays of tea. So cool! Only to be slightly out done by the also world famous Spice Bazaar in a neighboring borough. Here I was able to delight in all of my spice needs, Turkish delights (candies) and nuts! So yummy. We are still living off my spice purchases!

A Cruise to Another World (Istanbul)

Jason and I decided it was time to venture further than we had ever been before! To the Black Sea we cried and hopped the next boat to get us there! Something incredible happens along the way though! Something unexpected and wonderful. As you cruise up the Bosphorus heading to the Sea, you are actually splitting two continents! Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the only city to do so. And as cheesy as we thought it would be, well, it wasn't! Its a very cool feeling!

The Fortress of Asia! Ancient guardian of continent Asia and her civilizations!

And on the other side of the boat? Yup! Fortress Europe. Apparently Europe has all the money for restoration (or at least did at some point in the history) because Fortress Europe is in remarkably better shape!

Bird Flu (Istanbul)

As you may have gathered, I take bird flu seriously. (I may be the only one in all of Europe to do so, but I do!) To everyone else, I am silly. But you just wait! Either way, you fear it or you don't. You either are amused by pigeons (nasty, filthy birds) or you're not. Turkey has actually had quite a few cases of bird flu, and I became certain on this day, that it all began at these ruins. Horrified to be in flip flops, certain my toes were being contaminated, I am with Jason, who is thrilled beyond belief to climb around, touch things and become explorer Jason. Needless to say, he bathed in anti-bacterial soap that night!

Look how happy he is! I swear he is standing at the entrance to Pigeon Cave!

See all those pleasant enough people? See all that rubbish? Bird flu. I'm convinced.

There's no point to this picture. Just more of the ruins!

To Russia With Love...(Istanbul)

The boat ride drops you off at a charming village on the edge of the sea, starving for tourists! Its a small hamlet full of bars, shops and restaurants! It thrives on the hourly emptying of the boat, and from what we could tell, nothing else. The other point to the trip, is to the ruins at the top of this hill. I'll explain more on the ruins in a bit, however, the view from here is gorgeous!

For the first time on this trip, I am in Asia!

Jason is too! Only he has a different background...the Black Sea! It was so so so large! Unbelievable!

Tower of Terror! (Istanbul)

Galata Tower. Been there since 1348. Jason insisted we climb. Okay, to be fair, its actually got an elevator inside. Then you have go up about to flights of stairs to the top. The guide book says that the panoramic balcony is so narrow that there are list of medical conditions you should not go to the top with. Oh, that and a terrible fear of heights. But when in Rome, or should I say Istanbul...

Here is my favorite view from the Tower. The two large domes surrounded by the pointy towers are Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. The pointy towers are minarets, which is where the daily prayers are broadcast throughout the neighborhoods! In the old days, there was something of a crier who would shout the prayer from a platform on the outside of the tower. Today? Speakers. They broadcast the prayer from inside the mosque.

As you might have guessed I am taking this picture. I am not, however, fond of heights, so Jason was lovely enough to allow me to snap the picture right quick and then run back inside. Nope, no wasting precious time posing. One click and that's it!

In case you thought maybe we weren't that high up! This is looking down. See that little rail the in the corner of the picture...that's all that is protecting us from plunging to our deaths. Safe, huh?

A Long Walk...(Istanbul)

Tired of the endless taxis that run through the city, we opted for an afternoon on foot. I had mapped out course and we were off! We began on Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue, Grande rue de Pera), the major shopping and strolling street in the Beyoglu district in Istanbul. Its a very trendy street, with the major British designers represented. Some American companies as well. But really its full of posh Turkish high street shops and of course, cafes and bars.

Of course, the tram (which runs up and down the street) is always a splendid option!

One stop on the walk...one of few Christian churches in Istanbul. It was nice inside, with some beautiful art, but somehow we couldn't help but think it was out of place. We were happy to continue the journey!

This is a picture taken outside of Fatima mosque. Different day, different walk--but we wanted to share the picture nonetheless! The guidebook said there were lovely markets in this neighborhood, so on our walk we ventured over. As it turns out, there are lovely markets nearby, but they were very local. Not a tourist in sight. At this mosque, we were respectful of the neighborhood and decided against venturing in. It was quite a unique experience, however, to sit in the sunshine in the courtyard and watch all the families, and especially, the children run around. Charming, indeed.

I made Jason take this picture. There isn't much point to it, except that it was on our walk and there was so so much greenery. Its actually an alleyway full of little shops on either side. I was thrilled with my quaint find!