Wrapping up Turkey - The Hagia Sophia

Before we get too Greekified, lets go back and take a look at the 4th Great Architectural monument in that small area of Istanbul around Sultanahmet - The Hagia Sophia. Built around 400 or so AD under Emperor Constantine of the Eastern Roman Empire which became Byzantium, expanded under Emperor Justinian, - the spiritual heart of the Byzantine Empire until it was turned into a mosque under the Ottomans in 1453. From The outside standing next to the Blue Mosque it looks very Islamic with its minarets and multiple domes, once inside though it still remains very much a Byzantine Basilica at heart, especially since they have painstakingly removed the layers of plaster to reveal the incredible Byzantine mosaics once again. Once more we took an audio tour - had fun trying to find the numbers to plug in. What a way to finish up Istanbul, an incredible building.

Light Fetishes

I think its time I came out of the closet and told you..... oh this is so hard... well, you see.... the thing is...

I have a fetish for light fixtures. There I've said it!. Even though I really have no where to put them, especially now that i'm homeless, I cant resist looking round sparkly lighting stores. If I owned my own home I'd probably install some OTT candelabra type arrangements, as well as plenty of side lights, up lights and candlesticks. I do have a fair few of the latter.




One other thing.. I have a complete aversion to harsh overhead lighting, its mood lights all the way with me - so if i come round for tea and you've got one big bright centre light on i'll prob get a bit anxty. In hotels, the first thing i do after dumping bags and researching air con is to check out the lighting situation and see if its possible to have table lamps and bedside lamps instead of the main one,




So thats me and lights! - at the moment im in a cave house in Santorini with a huge array of variable lighting options so i am in lamp heaven. The pics here were inside the Grand bazarr in Istanbul.

Istanbul - Officially back in Europe

From Goreme, it was a 4 hour bus then a 9 hour night train to reach the Asian side of Istanbul, from there a short skip on a ferry over to the European side and a tram to the hotel.

What a trip - I worked out ive been travelling overland for 36 days - I allready crossed from the African continent to the Asian continent at Aquaba on the Red sea, and at Istanbul from Asia to Europe across the Bosphorus



The Train was a minor nightmare, not because of the standard but because of the company - one of our group picked that moment to get nasty and have a meaningless argument and tensions were running high in the big brother house - (as we've occasionally christened it as even after 3 days we were discussing who would get evicited if this were a show, and analysed those with alliances and those flying under the radar!). Basicaly the group had been kind of clinging on out of politeness the last week or so with some definate factions having formed, although we were aware of some bitching going on, but we had a complete implosion on the last day which was totally unnecessary and it lead to the most awkward final breafast and goodbye ever. Still, luckily we managed to catch up and spend a little more time with those we really wanted to.

So Istanbul - it was love at first sight - its a high impact city, dramaticaly located, with towering minarets, buildings climbing hillsides, surrounded by water. Very cosmopolitan, coming from Egypt and Syria and then easing back slightly into Western laid backness in Goreme, hitting Istanbul we totally came back to a world class modern city environment. A joy to travel around, thriving with smart (and very attractive!) people, trendy cafes and boutiuque shops. You realise how much you miss those things when you come back to them after a period of absence! Ill definately be back to see more of Turkey at some point. Photo wise I'll be posting a couple of slideshows in the next couple of days of the main sights.