Baby Boomer Travel, Istanbul, Photography

Architecture Around the World

I have always thought of myself as a wildlife and nature photographer. We travel quite a bit so I do have quite a bit of that in my portfolio from all over the world. However, as my portfolio grows, apparently so do I and I find that architecture is quite appealing to me as well.

Most recently our travels led us to Istanbul and Greece. Our first international travel since COVID. To be really honest I found it a bit nerve racking. I use to be a pro at this, what happened?

Anyways, here are a few images from both Istanbul and Greece. Out of all of the images I took, these fascinating architecture images are my favorites.

 

Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, for more information VISIT

 

There are two very famous mosques in Istanbul. Likely most have heard or seen pictures of the Blue Mosque. The other is the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Originally built in 532-537 as a Christian church, since then, it has been a museum and very recently it has become a mosque. The Hagia Sophia at night against the cobalt blue night sky topped the Blue Mosque hands down.

 

Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, for more information VISIT

 

Another of my favorite architectural feats in Istanbul was the Basilica Cistern that lies 213 feet beneath the city itself and is the largest cistern in Istanbul. It was abandoned and forgotten until someone noticed that there were homes that had fresh water being drawn from a hole in their basement floor, lowering buckets into the deep hole, occasionally bring us a fish. The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns and was built on the backs of 100s of slaves, many who lost their lives in the construction. Throughout the cistern there are several modern art pieces now. A few of them are of gaunt looking men, almost walking dead. I couldn’t find an explanation, but my thoughts were that is that they pay homage to many slaves force to carve out this cavernous hall.

 

Meteora Monastery, for more information on how this print can be yours, VISIT

 

Meteora was absolutely stunning as far as landscapes go. Massive sandstone pillars, some standing 1000 feet tall from the valley floor. So high the tops are often up in the clouds. Add to that beauty are the monasteries built on top of those pinnacles. There is no connection to a main landmass, the pinnacles stand alone. So imagine hauling all of those building materials up, bucket by bucket. Probably had something as large is platforms that could be lifted on ropes. Notice the 2 large squares front and center on the buildings, this is the loading dock. Today they have small motorized carts that travel a cable from the mainland to the monastery. Truly an a feat of architecture. Originally there were 24 monasteries, today there are 6 that are still active.

 

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12 thoughts on “Architecture Around the World

  1. Great to hear about your trip and Im looking forward to seeing more of your images

  2. Glad the trip went well! I’ll look forward to seeing more images in future articles. That image of the mosque is great at night. I also didn’t know about the cistern although I did walk about and tour the area on my own. Obviously that bit of research was missed! I love the one in Greece as well – that is a very intriguing place!

    1. The cisterns were really something. I almost missed them in my planning myself. Meteora in Greece in my view is one of the most beautiful things to see in all of Greece especially if you prefer less crowds.

  3. Istanbul is one of my favorite cities and AyaSofya an incredible space. Was just in Istanbul a week ago – always something new to see

    1. Yes, need to get the pronunciation down right. We had it wrong the whole time we were there of course. Got home and heard it said correctly a few weeks ago when I Googled it.

      1. if you meant AyaSofya, that’s the Turkish name – Hagia Sophia & St. Sophia are also correct

        and btw there’s a scene in From Russia w Love where Bond meets in AyaSofya, drops to the cisterns & uses a motorboat to escape to the Golden Horn!

        1. I heard that about James Bond. Wonder which cistern he could speed out from? Great story

          1. Like many Hollywood treatments, it’s impossible to leave the cisterns (there’s another one, Binbirdirek Cistern near the Blue mosque . (the name is 1001 columns, but 1001 really just means more than 110)

            An equally confused montage was in Mission Impossible where Tom Cruise goes from a cellar of the embassy (played by the National Museum at end of Wenceslas Square ) and emerges on the other side of the Charles Bridge

          2. That’s what I thought cuz I don’t think there was a way out of the Basilica Cisterns. Still a cool location.

  4. The Cistern one I had never heard of, so I learned something new here! (I love to learn something new.) Excellent use of color on these.

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