Easter among the Muslims

It was disappointing to have to miss Alexandria, but Istanbul wasn't too bad as a consolation prize. We were there for two days over Easter, so we had a decent amount of time to take it in.

One of the first things you notice about the skyline of Istanbul is all of the mosques and prayer towers (known as "minarets").



One of the most spectacular sites in Istanbul (and by some accounts, in the world) is the Hagia Sophia. Built between 532 and 537, it was the largest cathedral in the world for almost a thousand years. It's spent time as an Orthodox cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral, an Islamic mosque, and now, a museum.

Here's another mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known informally as the "Blue Mosque."

Here's a tomb of Alexander the Great (he's not actually buried there--they made lots of tombs for him):

I've mentioned before that the line between Europe and Asia is somewhat arbitrary. Istanbul is unique in that it straddles both continents. Here's a picture of Tanner standing in Asia with Europe in the background:

And here's a picture from our balcony, with Europe on the right and Asia on the left:

And, finally, one of Istanbul's best-known sites is the Grand Bazaar. Think of the world's most crowded mall. It's mostly indoors with row after row of shops selling clothes and jewelry, mostly. It has 58 streets and over 4,000 shops. It's jam-packed. People chase after you to convince you that they've got the deal of a lifetime for you. Here's a shot from part of the bazaar that's outdoors:

Istanbul was worth the visit. You could spend a week there trying to see everything there is to see. We got a pretty decent look in our two days there, but I could have spent several more days running around. I recommend a visit if you ever get the chance.