Two and a Half Geeks: Turkey

Turkey Trip: Miscellaneous Pictures

Final picture post from me for our Trip to Turkey. This is full of pictures that just didn't fit elsewhere...

Nana nana nana..

Anyone know how to translate Sumerian cuneiform?

I found a glitch in The Matrix

Apparently, Santa Claus is more of a New Year's thing in Istanbul

Turkey Trip: Patterns

Throughout our visit, we saw beautiful patterns in tile, stonework, and architecture. Here is just a sampling along that theme:

Fresco on the ceiling in the Hagia Sophia

Detail of a mosaic at the Hagia Sophia

Architecture of the Audience Chamber of the Topkapi Palace

Tile and shutters at Topkapi Palace

Tile at the Topkapi Palace

Stone mosaic in the floor of the Topkapi Palace Harem

Decorative drain in courtyard at Topkapi Palace

Door in Topkapi Palace Harem

Door with mother-of-pearl inlay, Topkapi Palace Harem

Arches and columns in the Basilica Cistern

Brickwork and columns, Basilica Cistern

Turkey Trip: Churches, Frescoes, and Mosaics

People have been living in caves carved into the volcanic tuff rock of Cappadocia near Göreme for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Folks have carved homes, storehouses, aviaries, churches, and more into the soft rock. We were fortunate to stay in a cave hotel (warm, quiet, but a little too quiet sometimes) and we saw cave churches both in the Göreme Open Air Museum and on our hike through the Rose Canyon.

Carvings near uppermost chapel at the Open Air Museum

Church carved into the rock, Göreme

Fresco inside church at the Open Air Museum

Turns out one is not supposed to take pictures inside the churches - even though I wasn't using flash photography - so that's the only interior picture we have. It's not disappointing, though - that fresco is about 800 years old.

Carrying on with the church and fresco theme, here are pictures from our visit to the Chora Church in Istanbul:

Mosaic with the parables of the loaves and fishes, and turning water into wine

Mosaic on the interior of one of the domes in the narthex

Mosaic of Saint Peter

Fresco at the end of the interior narthex

What the brickwork looks like without a mosaic or fresco

Turkey Trip: Blue Mosque

One of the memories that will stand out for me from Turkey is the sound of the ezan, the Islamic call to prayer which comes five times per day. We heard it broadcast from loudspeakers that were on nearly every mosque minaret we saw. Sometimes, we could hear the call from multiple mosques just slightly out of sync, and it was an amazing sound.

Although we heard the ezan in many places, we actually visited only one active mosque: the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (popularly known as the Blue Mosque).

View of the Blue Mosque from Sultan Ahmet Park

View from the entrance to the courtyard

We visited the mosque the same day as the Hagia Sophia. We arrived during a period for prayer, so we walked through the courtyard and took the opportunity to read educational signs about Islamic tenets and culture. Once it opened for visiting, we joined a long but surprisingly quick line and were able to enter after removing our shoes (they kindly provide plastic bags to carry your shoes) and, in the cases of Geek Girl and Mama Geek, donning head scarves:

Geek Girl and Mama Geek looking pretty in head scarves

The interior of the mosque is gorgeous. Practically every square inch is covered with lovely tile - white, red, green, and the eponymous blue. The domes are beautiful, and the light coming through the stained glass windows is really something to behold.

Interior of the mosque with some of the domes. See the owl?

Gorgeous tile and stonework

I found the chandeliers intriguing - both for themselves and because their supports hanging down from the ceiling made me think of vines in a jungle. I thought they made the mosque itself seem alive in a way I hadn't expected.

Chandeliers and interior

Interior with chandelier-supporting chains

Turkey Trip: Hagia Sophia

A few of the places we visited were so amazing that they need their own posts.

I've been fortunate enough to see wonderful sites like St. Peter's Basilica, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Pantheon, Versailles, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, and my personal favorite: Sainte-Chappelle in Paris with its beautiful stained glass.

The Hagia Sofia now heads that list. It is utterly stunning - I literally stood still with my mouth hanging open for the first few minutes I was inside. Here are just a few pictures from that glorious building.

The line outside was fairly short

View of the main apse from the gallery.

Main apse

Interior of the main dome

The sultan's library was behind this wall

Closeup on the Deësis Mosaic, showing Jesus as Christ Pantocrator

View of the medallions, minbar, and interior

Turkey Trip: Street Scenes

One of my favorite bits of travel is just walking around town and seeing what we see. Along those lines, let me present you with various street scenes from Turkey: