Alone in the darkness

The tower was first constructed in 408 BC on this strategic location in the Bosphorus.

Maiden's Tower

King of the hill

Reine on the Theodosian Wall

Losing my religion

After being the greatest church in Christendom for 1000 years, it was converted into a mosque in 1453.

Hagia Sophia

Built to last

People have been staring at this dome since 587 AD.

Reine at Hagia Sophia

Beneath the dome

Hagia Sophia

Built to last

People have been staring at this dome since 587 AD.

Hagia Sophia

All along the watchtower

This imposing tower from 1348 was a part of the fortifications around the Genoese part of the city.

Galata Tower

For the ladies

The Topkapi Palace was constructed in 1459 at the site of old Byzantine acropolis. Some of the sultans had up to 300 concubines and Murat III had 112 children.

The Harem in Topkapi Palace

It looks harmless from up here

People have come here since 1556 to get beaten up by hairy men.

Sultan Hamami

Stones

After being the greatest church in Christendom for 1000 years, it was converted into a mosque in 1453.

Reine at Hagia Sophia

Brick in the wall

The city wall of Constantinople once surrounded the capital of Eastern Rome. The largest part of the wall stretched for over six kilometers between the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn.

Theodosian Wall

Domespotting

There is a mosque in almost every corner.

Mihrimah Sultan Cami

Bricks of worship

The quite Dan Brown-ish Chora church from the 5th century. Just as most other Christian churches it was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople 1453.

Kariye Müzesi

Bricks of worship

The quite Dan Brown-ish Chora church from the 5th century. Just as most other Christian churches it was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople 1453.

Kariye Müzesi

Within the realm of the dying sun

Sunset on the Bosphorus strait

The other side

The Asian side of the Bosphorus is a bit more relaxed.

Reine in Üsküdar

Sunken palace

This is the largest of several hundred underground cisterns, built in the 6th century. It contains 336 columns and a lot of carp are swimming in the water.

Basilica Cistern

Under a blue sky

I would like to play Blue Monday in here in a Monday.

Blue Mosque

Gently down the stream

Old man and the Bosphorus

Let there be light

In the bazaar

Fisherman's friend

On the Eminönü side of the Galata bridge there are several bobbing boats tied to the quay. They sell Balik Ekmek, which is simply a fish in a bread.

Vendor boats in Eminönü

I got here too

Just 1100 years later than the ancestors.

Reine in Hagia Sophia

Catch of the day

Fishermen at Atatürk bridge