Happy Friday! Please enjoy a few images of some of the world’s great buildings:
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest building. Click to read more about this building. Continue reading
Bursa, Turkey
Hagia Sophia Hotel Istanbul Old City
This hotel’s best feature is its location in the heart of Sultanahmet. It’s practically on top of the Hagia Sophia Museum, the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) and the Basilica Cistern and an easy walk away from Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. It’s a modern hotel, converted from an existing building and opened in August of 2011. The rooms are clean and spacious and some offer sweeping views of the Hagia Sophia Museum. We use this 5-star hotel in the Diamond and Platinum categories of our Istanbul tours.
Hagia Sophia Istanbul Old City
Hagia Sophia Istanbul Old City
One of my favorite places in Istanbul is the Byzantine Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, also known as the Kariye Camii or the Chora Museum. The surviving structure is mostly from the 11th century, but when the original church was built on this site in the 4th century, it was outside the city walls. Chora means country in ancient Greek. It’s a relatively small church and although pleasant enough, there’s nothing outstanding about the architecture. The real reason to visit is to see the 14th-century mosaics and frescos that cover the interior walls. Continue reading
the Grand Bazaar – If you’re a serious shopper, you need a full day or two here and a guide or a map and a compass. For most of us, a few hours is more than enough. One of the oldest and largest traditional covered markets, there are more than 4,000 shops on over 60 streets and they are not laid out on a grid, much. As long as you have an ultimate exit plan and plenty of time, it’s a wondrous place to get lost in. Just about everything you can think of is for sale here, but leather, gold and silver jewelry, ceramics, textiles and carpets are good buys in Turkey. Shops selling similar items are grouped together. Merchants in the Grand Bazaar can be quite aggressive. If you’re shopping for a big ticket item, you should go in with some knowledge about quality, firm resolve and a sense of humor. Continue reading
We really wish the Turkish Tourist Office would market their country more aggressively in the United States. It seems few Americans know what it has to offer.
Although it’s a Muslim country and mostly in Asia (a small part of the country is in Europe), modern Turkey really has much more in common with Europe than with its other neighbors. Continue reading
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