I toyed with continuing to call my Istanbul blogs “LIstanbul”, but somehow that just felt wrong. I am a visitor in this city, not queen of it. So Discovering Istanbul it is.

And there’s no better place to start than two buildings that dominate the landscape of the old city – the Blue Mosque and the Haiga Sophia (pronounced Aya Sophia). I have yet to see two such incredible buildings face each other anywhere else.

On one side you have the Haiga Sophia – originally built in 537 as an Eastern Orthodox church, it was the largest building in the world for almost 1000 years. In 1453, when Sultan Mehmed II conquered the city (known then as Constantinople) it was converted to a Mosque. Even in those days this was a progressive city – instead of completely destroying everything Mehmed II has his people plaster over the Christian mosaics and frescoes, which actually preserved them. Some say he chose to do this as he didn’t want to incite the Christians that remained in the city, showing what I think is uncharacteristic of most conquering nations.  It is an incredible building with a lot more history than I can include here. Let’s just say it remains an incredibly impressive and beautiful building. It is now a museum, so they have uncovered a majority of the mosaics and frescoes.

View from the balcony. The chandeliers were added when it was converted to a Mosque to light the praying area – remember they are on their knees when they pray.

The chandeliers are incredible.

Byzantines, Romans, Ottomans…. Wow is all I can say to the history this place has seen. It’s hardly enough, but it’s all I’ve got right now.

Some of the uncovered frescoes from the balcony area. As with most places of worship built in those days the scale of the building is crazy. I’m always in awe of what they were able to build without “modern-day machinery”. And yet their buildings stand…and are so incredibly beautiful.

A great example of how they built over the Christian church – here they added a pulpit for the Imam to lead/speak from. Above it you can see one of the ‘plaques’ they added around the inside.

The Blue Mosque was built by a very young Sultan, Ahmet I, from 1609 – 1616. The guide I had when I took the tour with friends said that Ahmed was also quite vain – he wanted to build a bigger mosque than the previous Sultan, which is why it has 6 minarets (the previous Sultan built one with 5 minarets). Our guide also wasn’t that impressed with the Blue Mosque, saying that the tile work doesn’t match up. This may be true….but you know, I love the place. It’s beautiful. And apparently it led to the word ‘turquoise’.

The courtyard.

I love the arches and the minarets – seen here from the courtyard.

Now this is something I love about Mosques and entering for prayer. Before going in to pray people cleanse themselves. They wash their feet, hands and faces. These are outside for all to use on their way in. Let me tell you….they should start making tourists wash their feet as well – everyone who enters a mosque must take their shoes off..by the end of the day…post hundreds if not thousands of tourists…..you get the picture.

Side note: our tour guide told us that there’s a joke here about the English and how July is wedding season because it’s after their yearly bath in June. HA! Made me laugh – sorry Brits, it’s just funny.

There’s something quite magical about the low chandeliers. When the sun goes down the blue tiles really shine.

So beautiful – whether the tiles match up or not.

And there you have it – the Haiga Sophia and the Blue Mosque. I am fairly certain I will find myself walking the grounds between them regularly. It’s one of the loveliest places I’ve seen.

As you leave the Blue Mosque you see the Haiga Sophia across Sultanahmet Square.

No, I haven’t taken over Istanbul…but it’s what I’ve been nicknamed by a fellow co-worker. It makes me smile, so I’m fine with it.

As you will have guessed…I’m in Istanbul. And I’m here until about December 21st, and possibly back in the new year for a few more months. As I was leaving to come here I heard a lot of “be safe”. No need to worry folks, Istanbul is a very safe city. Yes, Turkey is a secular Muslim country. It is also where Europe meets Asia – which is true in more than geography terms. There is a large mix of cultures and religion in this city. As I walk down the street I’m not obviously a tourist until I try to speak Turkish, or haul my camera out (for which there is ample reason). This city is going to provide a number of posts…there is just so much to see and do, and then there’s the day-to-day as I settle into “living” here for 8 weeks.

First up – the Pera Palace Hotel. It was the first ‘western’ hotel built in Istanbul, created to accommodate those arriving here on the Orient Express. It has seen guests the likes of Agatha Christie (who is believed to have written Murder On The Orient Express here, in room 411, now named the Agatha Christie Suite), Queen Elizabeth II, Alfred Hitchcock, Pierre Lotti and a host of modern-day celebs. It has a ballroom, a saloon, a tea room, a little bakery, and the Agatha restaurant. Steeped in history and a murder mystery written here….all things that make me happy! So, I’m going to scrimp and save and one day book myself the Agatha Christie suite and lay in bed reading Murder On The Orient Express (many of her books are provided, in multiple languages, in the room). Until then, I’ll pop by the bakery and have tea and cookies.

A taste of the European – the ballroom. Yes, please, I’d love a dance.

This is how they got you from the train station to the hotel when arriving on the Orient Express. I haven’t quite figured out where the train station is/was yet, but I’m hoping it wasn’t a long walk for whomever was carrying this…

Istanbul’s first western hotel is also home of Istanbul’s first elevator…complete with a lovely red velvet bench you sat on as you made your day up or down.

I don’t know about you, but I’d be quite happy to use the stairs.

The tea room. Or rather, one of the chandeliers and a look at the walls and ceiling in the tea room. Beautiful. And if feels “Turkish” to this tourist.

Sigh…I can see and feel what it must have been like back in the day. Happiness.

Indeed, it is true. I am a fan of efficiency. And on this trip I got to experience efficiency at its best.

To get to Rome from London I flew London-Munich-Rome on Lufthansa. I had 55 minutes in Munich between flights. That’s plenty of time – provided you don’t leave London an hour late, which we did. We landed in Munich at the time my flight to Rome was to start boarding. (In case you’re doing the math, I know it doesn’t add up – we left an hour late, but the flight was shorter than planned, plus they pad the flight time to allow for minimal delays.) I asked the flight attendant before landing if she thought I’d make the flight and was assured that if I made my way to the gate without any stops along the way I would be on time, as the departure gate wasn’t far from where we were coming in. Just after we landed she told me that actually, there would be a white van waiting for me outside the plane to take me to my flight to Rome. Because of our delay we were at an outside gate, not the terminal, which means we were on the tarmac.

Off the plane I went, was greeted by a man holding a “Rome” sign and shown into the white mini-van – in which I was the only passenger. He drove me to passport control so they could stamp my passport, then drove me to my plane. I got there before any of the other passengers did. This flight was also at an outside gate and the passengers arrived by bus from the terminal just after I did. I was the first one on the plane.

A girl could get used to this! Nothing to worry about, chauffeur to get me where I needed to go, including whisking through customs. Very nice indeed.

Unfortunately my luggage didn’t have the same personalized service. I did ask the flight attendant if my luggage was also going to get a mini-van (hey, I thought it was funny) and was told that luggage always moves quickly, so it would be fine. Well, not this time. But that’s okay. In true Italian efficiency, I was told it would be delivered to my hotel later that evening and it arrived the following afternoon.

Love it. All of it.

Okay, time to attempt writing about the Coliseum. It’s daunting. I think it is impossible to forget one’s first glimpse of this amazing historical building. After learning about it in school (I loved ancient history – even contemplated getting into archeology at one point), seeing it in movies, and generally just absorbing information about it and building up an idea of what it would be like in my head – I can say that seeing it for the first time blew all of that out of the water. It is BEAUTIFUL. And looking at it, standing in it, sitting in it, touching its walls, I wanted to hear the voices and sounds of a time long gone – and in my head I did. The animals fighting, people cheering, gladiators fighting for life, the crowd screaming for them to either be killed or saved, and on and on and on. It’s fascinating to me. I could have sat on one of the broken pillars all day.

What follows are some images captured while there. I fear they do not do it justice, and I’m not sure any photo really could. There’s a certain energy that can only really be experienced on the spot. That said – enjoy.

The Coliseum starts coming into view as I walk down Via dei Fori Imperiali.

And I’m here. Crazy.

Even back then they numbered the entry gates.

A look at the paths and rooms that lived under the floor.

Getting around inside – your seat is this way madame…

From the cheap seats.

This place is stunning.

Right, put some people in the photo to help establish scale…

A glimpse of the trees outside through the arches.

A few of the carved embellishments remain.

Now this is a stadium concourse. Sure don’t build them like they used to.

See you again Coliseum.

Begrudgingly, it was time to go. As amazing as the Coliseum is, there’s still so much more to see and do. Grazie. So thankful to have experienced your magnificence. And that’s it…I’m out of superlatives…