Which one should we go to? This one costs double the price, so is it better, or is it just more because it is phys­ic­ally one of the oldest Turkish baths? There are so many ques­tions when it comes to Turkish baths, or Hamams, for us Canadians who are very used to wearing lots and [...]

Below the streets of Istanbul, beside the famous mosque Aya Sophia, is an under­ground tank, called the Basilica Cistern or the Turkish name, “Yerebatan Sarnici”  meaning “Underground Palace”. It was con­struc­ted in the 6^th century during the reign of Emperor Justinianus. The cistern is sup­por­ted by 336, 9-meter tall marble columns. Istanbul used the cistern [...]

Our friend Colin has been pes­ter­ing us to show “the truth” of the places we visit, rather than the stuff you can find in “any art history text book.” He wants to see the gutters, poverty, depriva­tions of every kind. Mostly that’s just his own twisted per­son­al­ity, but it presents some prob­lems. Turkey is simply [...]

I went camera crazy in Aya Sophia. I loved the details. Through these photos, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

UPDATE: (a couple more photos added) Aya Sofia was built about 1500 years ago by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and served as the most import­ant church in Christendom for about 900 years before being con­ver­ted into a mosque by the Ottomans in 1453. Even after all this time it is still impress­ive. Suffice it to [...]