Mi Vida

Thursday, August 03, 2006

A peaceful protest in Taksim. This is the area that you always see in the news whenever there are protests in Istanbul.

Police following the protest.

The main street running through Taksim.

The ever-famous meeting spot in Taksim: Burger King.

Hagia Sofia (Istanbul, Turkey)

"Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom), now known as the Ayasofya Museum, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted to a mosque in 1453, converted into a museum in 1935, in the Turkish city of Istanbul. It is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest buildings of the world and sometimes considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. Its conquest by the Ottomans at the fall of Constantinople is considered one of the great tragedies of Christendom by the Greek Orthodox faithful." -Wilkepedia.org

This points to Mecca.

Eda, Me and Eda's friend (forgot her name--Turkish name's are so difficult) on the 2nd floor of Hagia Sofia.

Apparently if you do a full circle with your finger tips touching the rim of the circle, your wish will come true. This is inside Hagia Sofia still.

Blue Mosque (Istanbul)

Blue Mosque to the left. Hagia Sofia to the right.

Entering the "courtyard" of the Blue Mosque.

You must take your shoes off before entering a mosque.

Right before we go in.

My feet in the Blue Mosque.

They had to cover their shoulders before entering the Blue Mosque. But I was wearing a skirt and apparently that's acceptable.

Lousy pic of inside of the Blue Mosque.

What's the outfit for? It's his circumcision costume! Poor kid. If he only knew...

Pamukkale, Turkey

Postcard pic of Pamukkale. Here's a quote to explain the phenomenon..."The scientific explanation is that hot thermal springs pouring down the hillside deposit calcium carbonate, which solidifies as travertine. If you take off your shoes, you can gingerly roam the terraces or paddle in the pools. The Turks have dubbed this geological fairyland Pamukkale, or 'cotton castle'."

The girls I went on this trip with. Look to the right and you can see the pool formations of Pamukkale.

Okay, so this is photoshopped because the girl who took the photo left the cord hanging in the middle of the lens. But it was such an awesome pic of the waters of Pamukkale I had to include it. It was all pasty and chalky at the bottom which is the calcium. That's why the water is so cloudy.

Ancient theater next to Pamukkale

The famous Cleopatra Pool next to Pamukkale

Full of warm, mineral-rich water that is said to be theraputic. Ancient ruins lying on the bottom. People apparently fly accross the world just to swim in this pool. Me? It cost $10 to get in so I said forget it. Eh, oh well. Had to travel on a budget.