Istanbul Day Üç (3)

Day 3 in Istanbul! We started our day with breakfast at the Arch Bistro, right around the corner from our apartment. This adorable little cafe had delicious, slow-cooked food made with local ingredients. The bread we had as an appetizer was purchased (right after we ordered) from the store right across the street. The cafe was decorated with industrial pipes and had a small library of Turkish history and European books to enjoy. They made excellent beverages and the food was so yummy!

I ordered a gözleme, a Turkish pancake filled with feta cheese and mushrooms. I had to share because the portion size was so big! The dish was served on a wooden cheese plate.
Above, me enjoying a Turkish hot chocolate.
Andrew and Christine with their Traditional Turkish Breakfasts: an egg, cheese, honey, olives, jam, utter, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, and coffee.
After breakfast, we walked to the "downtown" area where the mosques and the square are located. This garden was in front of the Blue Mosque, one of the largest in Turkey.
This is the Blue Mosque, which we would visit later in the day.
This is the sign for the Harem, situated outside the Hagia Sophia mosque, now museum. The harem has been converted into a luxurious spa. Next time I'm in Turkey, I'll splurge for a relaxing treatment.
This gilded structure was right outside the Hagia Sophia. To enter the Hagia Sophia, we bought a museum pass, which was good for the Hagia Sophia, the Architecture museum, and the Topkopi Palace, which was not open when we went.
An Hagia Sophia cat
A beautiful flower outside the museum
Inside the Hagia Sophia, the ceiling and main room. 
Video of the Hagia Sophia:
Leigh, at the front of the Sophia.

Me!
Rob taking pictures
Leigh and Rob
Leigh in front of the Jesus mosaic
View from the second floor terrace window
Looking down from the window
Check out the marble: it was sliced and then laid intentionally to create a pattern. We saw this technique all around Europe in the old churches and mosques.
Leigh and Rob in front of the Hagia Sophia
Rob proposing to Leigh!
She said yes!
Rob's mom's ring is a little small, so it only fit on Leigh's pinky. Still counts!

The happy couple

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May the Vertigo Be With You - Nik Wallenda Walked the Grand Canyon

Image
HE DID IT! On June 23, 2013, with the whole world watching  on Discovery Channel and DiscoveryChannel.com ,  balance artist Nik Wallenda walked across the Grand Canyon. He was untethered (no support rope, no net), carried only a balancing bar, and walked 22 minutes on a cable 1,500ft above the canyon floor. Wallenda set a new world record to be the first person to ever accomplish this feat. Throughout his walk, he spoke a lot with God, channeling his focus on putting one foot in front of the other and not losing his balance. He sat on the cable twice, allowing him to regain balance during some nasty winds, but he kept going. He ran the last few feet and dismounted, kissing the ground and his family. His father was coaching him from the minute he stepped on the cable: he told him when wind was coming and reassured him that he was doing well and holding focus. Congratulations, Nik! We were holding our breath for you. First steps Watch his post-walk interview:
Read more

Capturing Natural Spirals

Image
Water is so interesting. The two little hydrogen and one little oxygen molecules flow together in solid (ice), liquid (water), or gas (vapor), and can also pick up traces of sediment or leftovers, depending on which environment it runs through. When water is cast off from something, it can behave in different ways. See my  previous post for some odd water behavior. Below are some examples of photographers capturing water being cast off in a logarithmic spiral: spiral from here photo by Arvin Rahimzadeh photo by Cody Slinger photo by Naveen Shunmuganathan via thisiscolossal  and flickr Photographers also have captured paint, milk, coffee, and other liquids demonstrating this phenomenon. See their incredible photographs below. photo by Manon Wethly   via thisiscolossal  and junkculture photos and video by Fabian Oefner See more photos on  thisiscolossal
Read more

National Geographic's Photo of the Day (selects from May and June)

Image
National Geographic's Photo of the Day team selects an image to be posted online every day. These images can come from staff NatGeo photographers or from online submissions from amateur or professional independent photographers. Take a look below at some incredible shots from May and June. Some of these jumped out at me from the simple beauty of the image, while others struck a different chord: the Apples, Baku image reminded me of a past season of the “ Amazing Race ” during which the contestants had to search through a car like this one to find the one marked apple. The Eastern Screech Owl photo is such an incredible study in the combination of textures and patterns: the soft feathers of the owl mesh perfectly with the hard, cracked bark of the tree in which it’s sitting. See a new photo every day. MAY 1, 2013 Surfer, Australia Photograph by Alex Coppel , My Shot This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots "During my summer holidays I s
Read more