The Hotel Ararat in Sultanahmet, our lodging for the week

 

The view from our room

Approaching the Haghia Sofia, dedicated by Emperor Justinian in 537 A.D.,
converted to a Mosque by the Ottaman Empire in 1453

 Inside the Haghia Sofia...Mark Twain called it "The Biggest Barn in Heathendom."

Christian Mosaic discovered under the plaster at the Haghia Sofia

Christian Mosaic inside the dome above the Nave at the Haghia Sofia

From the window of the Haghia Sofia, the Blue Mosque in the distance

Outside the Grand Bazaar

At the Egyptian Spice Bazaar

The Theodosius Cistern, an unrestored cistern in the Bazaar Quarter

Taking a break at Topkapi Palace, with the Bosporus in the background