I wanted to share with you some images of my trip to Turkey. Rather than a travel guide, this is more of an Istanbul review. Istanbul treated me with a lot of what I love the most: a mixture of old and new, innovation and tradition and I couldn’t be happier to absorb it all in. On the first day, our discoveries of Istanbul started at the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, more famously known as the Blue Mosque (first 3 pictures). The neighborhood, also called Sultan Ahmet, is situated on cobble-stoned sloped streets were you can also spot the Golden Horn part of the Bosphorus. It’s a non-ending contemplation of beauty.
Above, Hagia Sophia’s opulent Byzantine architecture where Islamic influences meet the original Church with Christian-depicted golden mosaics. Surrounding the center of the structure is a loggia supported by magnificent marble pilasters and arched yellow and gray geometric design mosaic ceiling. Below are images of the Topkapi Palace which is located on one of the highest points of Istanbul’s shoreline overlooking the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The palace, today a museum, is divided in many courtyards and buildings among which you can see a mixture of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eclectic Europeanized architecture.