Istanbul 3 – 6 April 2010

View from our hotel, Hagia Sofia – dawn.


The Blue Mosque


The Blue Mosque, one of the domes


The Blue Mosque, to the left the mihrab marks the direction to Mekka and to the right the minbar used by the iman when he delivers the Friday sermon


Hagia Sofia


Seraphim mosaics (God's protector angels with 6 wings)


Jesus


Maria with Jesus and empress Irene


A cruise up and down the Bosporus trip is one of the great pleasures of a visit to Istanbul. The picture shown the Mecidiye mosque in baroque style and the Bosporus bridge.


Topkapı Palace was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years of their 624-year reign, from 1465 to 1856. Initial construction began in 1459, ordered by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Byzantine Constantinople. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At the height of its existence as a royal residence, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people. Topkapı Palace gradually lost its importance at the end of the 17th century, as the Sultans preferred to spend more time in their new palaces along the Bosporus.


When you enters the private part of the Topkapi palace (the harem) you first enters the courtyard of the black eunuchs


The Imperial Hall was the largest room in the harem and used for entertainments. The picture shows the throne, from which the sultan could view the proceedings.


Topkapi Palace is among other things famous for its Iznik tiles.


34: Fishing is a popular pastime. Here from over bridge over the Golden Horn, the natural harbour – the main reason for placing a city here.


Spices marked

Lisbeth went back to Denmark together, and as we flew via Istanbul, we decided to spend a couple of days in the town, where we had never been before.

We had reserved a nice hotel in the tourist area (Sultanahmet) with a short walk to the old bazaar and three of the main tourist attractions: Hagia Sofia (for several centuries the biggest Christian church, after the conquest of the ottomans mosque and now museum), the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi palace.

Kakheti, 24 - 26 March 2010

When my wife came to visit me we decided to visit the Alazani Valley in Kakheti east of Tbilisi. Kakheti divided in two by the Gombori Mountains shaping Iori Valley on the west and the Alazani Valley on the east.

Alazani valley is famous (at least in Georgia) for its wine. According the official tourist homepage wine is everything to a Kakhetian - it is the purpose of his life, it is his pride, his hope and his main source of income.

The Alazani Valley is beautifully situated between the Gombori and Caucasus Mountains.

We did not put so much emphasis on the wine as on the exploring the valley and its many churches and monasteries, including the impressive Alaverdi monastery.

The first two days it was cold with limited visibility but the last day the sun was shining and the sky was clear.