Istanbul

 Our two days here have been very full.  We forgot the cameras the first morning, so no interior pictures of Hagia Sophia, one of the most spectacular churches/mosques of all time.  Here it is from afar.

Here's our afternoon cruise of thr Bosphorus to the Black Sea.

Here you can see the ships waiting in the Black Sea to be piloted thru the Bosphorus to the Marmara Sea.  The bridge is just being constructed.

The most interesting things in Topkapi Palace were the Harem and the kitchens.  They served 4000-5000 people two meals each day.

This is a reception room in the Harem where the Sultan and his wives greeted guests or just lounged.

Wives and concubines and their families all lived in the Harem under the administration of the queen mother.

The Blue Mosque, so called because of the blue tile work and Windows.  It was built to copy Hagia

Sophia over 1000 years later (early 1600's) and is still in use.