Jill Will Go...

Today I finally felt up to hitting the highlights of Istanbul. Began early with Aya Sofya (or Hagia Sophia). It was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justianian, consecrated as a church in 537, then converted to a mosque in 1453, and finally declared a museum by Ataturk in 1935. Now it stands as a unique blend of east and west, Islam and Christianity, all folded into a simply stunning architectural wonder. The interior contains mosaics that glow. Massive doors lead to the nave. The main dome rises 185 feet and is roughly 105 feet in diameter. In this picture, we see the name of Allah written on a huge wooden medallion (Ottoman additions in the 19th century), along with Mary and Jesus in the smaller dome. Sadly, a lot of restoration is going on right now, so a lot of the space was taken up with scaffolding. The amount of selfies taken here must be staggering. I spotted this sure fire technique for getting just the right shot of yourself. Not only mosaics decorate the interior, there

So it is to be today. Today is the hard day. Went to the Grand Bazaar... And the spice market... You never know what you'll find. The Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificant. Started in 1550, finished in only ten years. His tomb. Rustem Pasa Mosque. 16th century. Another market.

J and I caught the early bus out of Delphi and made it to Athens just to discover that there was a metro strike - so no service to the airport. Luckily, J struck up a conversation with a couple heading our way and we were able to share a taxi with them. We hung around the airport, had lunch, discussed our future travel plans and then parted ways. He was headed back to the U.S. via London, and I was on a direct flight to Istanbul. The flight was quick, the wait in the passport line not so much. Lots of tired, sweaty and sneezy people waiting to get into Turkey. Luckily, the Istanbul light rail and tram workers were not on strike and I make it to my hotel with little hassle. The trick is to buy more tram tokens than you think you'll need. Then you can just zip through the turnstiles (or at least awkwardly pull your luggage through while juggling a camera bag, little red tokens, a scarf and a jacket).  My hotel is wonderful. Small, but comfortable and ideally located in the Sultanahme