Turkey trip...part 2

     Now before moving on, I must continue John's adventure to Turkey:

This is classic for John...he is trying to escape our hotel room with my shoes on his feet.  My shoes made a loud "clunk" on the marble floor and echoed through the narrow building. 

Slow and deliberate concentration has he makes his way to the marble stair case.

He must be thinking..."ah, victory at last, not sure where my parents are but it looks like I'm going to get away with this".

John had a great time with Mommy's friends

Our family was able to stay one extra day to see sights in Istanbul.  We toured the Basilica Cistern, an underground structure that held water and was built in 532 AD.   My disconnect with the ancient nature of the cistern happened as we exited the structure and saw the following advertisement for refreshments: 

And speaking of culture, no overseas trip is complete without a visit to the "neighborhood Starbucks!"  A little comfort of "home" on a cooler day in Istanbul. 

We did not have time to visit the famous Blue Mosque, but were fascinated by the "Hagia Sophia, which is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum in 1935 (from Wikipedia)".    This feat of architecture was the largest single enclosed space for 1,000 years.

Barely preserved is this beautiful mosaic of Jesus, his mother Mary and John the Baptist.