Istanbul

The Blue Mosque

The Aya Sofya

Got into Istanbul at 6AM after taking the night plane out of Jordan. When I got to the hotel the light was so great for photography that I went right up to the rooftop restaurant of the Seven Hills Hotel. The restaurant wasn't open but they were kind enough to let me go up there. This open air restaurant on the seventh floor must have the best view in Istanbul. It has great views of both the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya to the NW and a panoramic view of the Sea of Marmara to south and east.
The structures you see to the lower right of the photo of the Aya Sofya are part of the excavation of the Byzantine Palace. Just a short block from the hotel you can go down some stairs behind a cafe and enter part of the palace that has been excavated.
The Tulips and other flowers are at their best now. They really do have a huge variety of Tulip colors and they seem to be growing everywhere.

There will be more of the Jordan blog in the next day or two. In some areas where we travel I will hold the blog entry so it is not posted while we are at that location or post where we are staying or going until we are gone from the area.

Istanbul

Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque

Aya Sophia

Three views from the hotel roof in Istanbul of the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia which was built in 537 by Emperor Justinian and was converted to a mosque after conquest of Istanbul in 1453 and is now a museum. The book "1453" is a very interesting history of that conquest.

Mosaics, Aya Sofya

Aya Sofya in Early Morning Light

The Aya Sofya in Istanbul was built by Emperor Justinian and was completed in 537 AD. It was converted to a mosque after the 1453 conquest by Mehmet and in 1935 was converted into a museum.
This photograph was taken from the roof of our hotel in the early morning light.

Mosaic, Aya Sofya

Aya Sofya, Istanbul