Aya Sofya

The tankers seemed like toys in the huge bathtub that was the Sea of Marmara. Mottled sunlight streamed through the clouds as the plane went beneath them. Near the airport were flats that wouldn't have been out of place in Mediterranean Europe.

I paid USD20 for a visa on arrival then waited for my backpack to be disgorged. Spoken Turkish is rapid: bla bla bla teşekkürler (... thanks). The Havaş shuttle dropped me at Aksaray. I was propositioned a couple of times regarding accommodation but not hassled. I tried to get an Akbil (an electronic travel pass) but couldn't work out where they were issued. Maybe wasn't worth my trouble anyway so I hopped onto a tram to the Sultanahmet area and paid the casual fare. I got a map from the tourist kiosk outside the Aya Sofya. Incidentally Sofya is not a woman's name, it means wisdom. I had a reservation with the Empress Zoe Hotel. It had a nice breakfast terrace with fresh Turkish bread. And a cat. My room was very comfortable.

After catching my breath, I set out to visit the Aya Sofya. There were lots of touts hanging around. I noticed that some Turks thought that I didn't understand English. This could be useful, I decided. A crowd of schoolchildren on excursion were curious about me. While waiting to enter I took a picture of ancient stones in the grounds. This area is soaked in history. At right you see the Deësis mosaic.

Here the virgin and child are flanked by Justinian I and Constantine I.

This was taken just inside the tour entrance. The light was poor so my long shutter exposure picture suffered from camera shake.

And here we are under the main dome.


After that I found a lunch place and had a köfte kebab with mevsim salatası (salad). Only it wasn't the full mevsim, just lettuce, onion and tomato. This went down well with ayran (yogurt drink).

This is the other major attraction of the area, the Sultan Ahmed mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque after the tiles inside. I didn't enter though, only took this photograph from a park between it and the Aya Sofya.


A couple of signs I saw: Control the traffic monster must refer to the road rage problem of some drivers. A sign on a shop by the side of the Aya Sofya read: Sorry, we are open.


I bought a bottle of cola from a friendly woman at a corner shop and retreated to my room for a siesta.

In the evening I ventured out for a walk, had a simple meal and took this picture of the mosque again, now blue on the outside too, then retired early due to the jet lag.