Leaving tomorrow. Friday will mostly be a travel day for me. Had a great time in Istanbul, but it will be nice to be back in Tbilisi with Mike.
Turkish vegan cooking class with Oya. Hibiscus tea. Dolma and manti. Everything delicious!Dolma/sarma. Grape leave and vegetables stuffed with rice and herbs.The class with instructor. So much fun. And delicious.The Obelisk of Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmosis III in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square was originally erected in year 33 in his reign (15th century BC) at the temple of Karnak, on the occasion of his second jubilee. It once stood with its pair to the south of the Seventh Pylon flanking the temple’s doorway. In the old times obelisks were always erected in pairs. It’s a one-piece (monolith) pink granite obelisk carved in Aswan. Originally it was over 30 meters (95 feet) tall and weighting around 380 tons, today only 19 meters (65 feet) left of it. The obelisk was brought from Karnak to Constantinople by emperor Theodosius I in 390 AD, in order to decorate the Hippodrome. It’s the oldest monument that you can see in Istanbul.Annemarie and I inside the Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmet Camii.Hagia Sophia with beautiful sky.Inside the Hagia Sophia. It was a church then a mosque, then a church again, then mosque again, then a museum, now back to a mosque. I think I got that order correct.The Basilica Cistern Museum is an important cultural asset where Turks can trace the traces of glorious Istanbul history. This grand underground cistern, built by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I (527-565), is also nicknamed Yerebatan Sarayi (Sunken Palace) due to its numerous marble columns rising from the water. It is also known as Bazilika Sarnici (Basilica Cistern) by some, as it was built on the site of the former Stoa Basilica, which was a basilica.She’ll turn you to stone, the power of Medusa still emanates from two giant, snake-covered heads in an underground reservoir in Istanbul. Built in the sixth century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian as a place to store fresh water for his palace and nearby buildings, the reservoir was rediscovered a thousand years later.Medusa upside down.Entrance to the Grand Bazaar.Original section of the Grand Bazaar.Annemarie, Emre and I are at a Turkish bath. Cagaloglu Hamani. It was gorgeous. I ran out of time. Annemarie is going back tomorrow..
Dream to Travel from NCM 