My first ever trip to Turkey!
My exceptionally well travelled partner in tourism, Hugh
The Sultanahmet or Blue mosque, as seen from my hotel bedroom window
The Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia), a 6th-century church that is now a museum
The Blue mosque by night
A nighttime cemetery scene
Yup, they have a needle here too, not just in London and Paris
The Blue mosque by day
A minaret of the Blue mosque
An entrance to the Blue mosque
Ibrahim Paşa mosque - a low balcony
Ibrahim Paşa mosque - Turkey's only tiled minbar (pulpit)
Ibrahim Paşa mosque - more exquisite 15th-century tilework
Kücük Aya Sofya mosque - another 6th-century church with retrofitted Muslim bits
Kücük Aya Sofya mosque - known as the Little Ayia Sofya because it was built at the same time to a similar octagonal design
Kücük Aya Sofya mosque - a sleek minbar
A fragment of the old city walls of Istanbul
I love the way they use chunks of Ancient Greek stonework like any old block of stuff
The Aya Sofya is this mad pastel colour
The Basilica Cistern, a Roman-period underground reservoir rediscovered a few hundred years ago by accident
A statue of Medusa's head supports one of the columns, presumably to ward off evil spirits from the freshwater
Hugh peers round a corner in the old town of Istanbul
Baklava - yum!
Detailed ironwork in the courtyard of Suleymaniye mosque
Suleymaniye mosque - courtyard
Suleymaniye mosque - beautiful interior
Suleymaniye mosque - a man prays
Suleymaniye mosque - the red-and-white arches remind me of Granada
Blue mosque - the largest musalla (prayer hall) of any Turkish mosque
A refreshing cup of tea
Near the Grand Bazar
Greek graves outside Aya Sofya
Greek writing inside Aya Sofya
Aya Sofya - huge
Aya Sofya - old
Aya Sofya - the third biggest dome in Europe - and it's 1,500 years old!
Aya Sofya - stunning
Aya Sofya - a great blend of church and mosque (now deconsecrated)
Aya Sofya - a mural of the original builders
Aya Sofya - exquisite
Aya Sofya - Hugh takes a quick break
Aya Sofya - as seen from outside
Aya Sofya - silhouette
Aya Sofya - misty mystique
Topkapı Palace - a regal signature
Topkapı Palace - the old stables and mint
Archaeology Museum - some early Christian stonework
Archaeology Museum - looks a bit Etruscan to me
Archaeology Museum - Ptolemaic period tomb
Archaeology Museum - another Ptolemaic tomb
Archaeology Museum - a Sumerian tablet
The Old Town
Pointing across the Golden Horn
Europe to your left, Asia to your right
Leaving Kadiköy (Asian Istanbul)
Boat back to Karaköy (European Istanbul)
Boat back to Karaköy (European Istanbul) - birds accompany our ferry
Boat back to Karaköy (European Istanbul) - a silhouette of the Blue mosque and Ayia Sofya
Boat back to Karaköy (European Istanbul) - Ayia Sofya again
Boat back to Karaköy (European Istanbul) - Topkapı Palace
Looking back across the Golden Horn
A mosque near Taksim Square as night falls
That mosque near Taksim Square after night falls
Walking in the evening through Beyoglu
Galata Tower, the highpoint of the Genoese city walls, built in 1348
