The 12 million people of Istanbul shared their city with Ellen and me. We love Turkey. The people are warm, humorous and kind. The countryside was diverse and the cities were clean and interesting.  We have been able to see the southern coast from Bodrum to Antalya as well as some interior regions with several days in the Cappadoccia region and time in Istanbul on both the Asian and European sides.

Ellen and me in front of the Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, AKA the Blue Mosque is an impressive building that was created to reassert the Ottoman rule after losses to Persia.  It was built in the early 1600’s and is classical Ottoman architecture in the old city part of Istanbul.  Here are a few pictures of our time in and around the Blue Mosque.

In awe of the beauty.

Inside the Blue Mosque was a rainbow of color, value hue, and tone. The simplicity of shape of the architecture allowed the diversity and intricacy of the geometric shapes on the surfaces to be both soothing and engaging.

Amazing color, detail and geometry of the dome.

This cat by a millennial old wall of the Topkali Palace in Istanbul took time away from watching the crows to pose for a picture.