And What Is Going on in Florida...

I know I went from one vacation to another, but sometimes our time at the beach can be a little...hmmm...exhausting. But I love the moments that make up for the exhaustion, like when cousin J. was teaching Eliana how to skim board. In the grass. 

Too. Cute. 

The Rest of the First Day (Actually, This is Just Through Before Lunch)

We left the Blue Mosque and walked across the street in order to visit the Hagia Sophia. Built in the sixth century and dedicated by Emperor Justinian, it was magnificent inside and out. 

The entry that we used has a mosaic of Mary with Jesus flanked by Constantine and Justinian, one presenting the city and one presenting the church. Surrounding this picture are tilework and carvings. 

This is just a taste of what is inside. 

Here is the dome, high above everything else. Like much of what is inside, it reflects the Christian Byzantine era as well as bearing the marks of the Ottoman Empire after the Turks brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. 

The mosaic of the Virgin Mary with Jesus on the apse is one of the most well-known and oldest in the Hagia Sophia. Interestingly, it is (I think) the only image that the Muslims left uncovered after their conquest and conversion of the structure into a mosque. 

Mirroring the splendor of what is above is the Coronation Square below, which is where the Byzantine emperors were crowned. 

Pictures cannot capture how incredible it is. 

Our guide told us that the faces of the seraphim (seen in the four corners around the dome in the center) were covered after the conquest, but one had recently been uncovered; this is particularly significant in light of the Islamic prohibition against using representations of living beings in artwork (or anywhere).

There were several mosaics, and this is just one (of Jesus with Mary and John the Baptist beside him) on the second floor of the building. 

I wish we could have spent more time walking through. Because we were on a tour with somewhere to be afterward, we scooted through fairly quickly. It's just now hitting me where I was and how amazing it is. What a tremendous amount of history in that one spot! There are many more pictures, and I'm trying to decide if I might make an album for viewing if someone is interested. At any rate, my eyeballs are rolling around in my head. I have to go to sleep soon. Along with opening my eyes to so many of the things that I have covered with Michaela, this trip is going to end up adjusting my sleep schedule to a more normal one! (Don't tell Mike I said that.)

Our First Day in Turkey

My niece asked me how many airplanes I had been on in the last two weeks and the answer was nine. Plus a boat and many buses. That is a lot of miles, y'all.

Mike and I began our trip by heading to New York and then from there to Istanbul. Neither one of us slept much on the long flight, so we were pretty tired. We took a cab to our hotel and I showered. I tried hard to stay awake because I didn't want to mess up my sleep schedule right from the beginning. I ended up dozing a little while he did a couple of things and before we walked around the area a bit. We had a meet-and-greet to attend at 7pm, and we figured we would eat first, go to that meeting, and then go to sleep. 

Once we left our hotel, we followed a walkway that ran along the Bosphorus until we couldn't walk anymore, and ate the restaurant there. We laughed because I ordered a hamburger and Mike ordered spaghetti and meatballs...that was our first meal in Turkey. I'll tell you what: the french fries were some of the best I've ever had. 

We headed back to the hotel and got ready for our get-together; on the way we were in the elevator with another couple. We realized we were going to the same floor and I think Mike said something like we might be going to the same place. We soon discovered that they were actually the teaching pastor that was on our trip and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. Chris Wright. Immediately it was clear that they were delightful and quite funny. 

After meeting a few of the folks that were going to be traveling with us, we went to our room and I don't remember much except going to sleep! We had to get up fairly early the next morning and have our bags ready outside the door so that they could be taken down to the bus which would carry us around Istanbul that first day.  

We loaded onto the bus Tuesday morning and our guide told us that it is a tradition in Turkey for the host to follow guests after they leave and throw water from a pitcher or bucket after them, as if to say,"May your travels be like flowing waters," so several of the hotel's staff sent us off with water from this kettle. 

Istanbul is a very modern city split in two by the Bosphorus, which also divides the city (as well as the country of Turkey) between two continents. A small part of Turkey is in Europe and the vast majority is in Asia. 

Our first stop was the Blue Mosque, built in the 1600s and known for its blue colored tiles which decorate the interior. 

The artwork was beautiful indeed. 

Our guide told us a great deal about the history of the mosque as well as described worship there; she explained, too, that the architect (or maybe the builder?) was a gardener (or loved gardening? I'm sorry...I wish I remembered better! I should have taken notes!) and that he brought the beauty of the outside gardens in to the interior of the mosque. 

Our second destination was also historically a place of worship, the 1600-year-old Hagia Sofia, which was located just across the street from the mosque. 

A Quick Post

While I am adjusting to being back in my own hemisphere again, writing a blog post is hard. I have been trying to figure out how to share our trip, and I'm not quite certain what my method is going to be. Also, at night, which is when I normally write on the blog, I actually want to go to sleep. Ha! 

For now, here is a picture of Mike and me on Mars Hill in Athens. 

There are a lot of pictures to sort through...and my thoughts are a similar mess. I'll try to write earlier tomorrow, and share a little at a time rather than a giant post with everything at once. 

It was a tremendous trip. (And that was accidental alliteration, when I'm so tired! I should get bonus points for that!) I feel a little like it was a dream. But I have the pictures to prove that it really happened! Stay tuned for the story!

Two Books and a Movie

In the last few days, I finished Tim Keller's The Reason for God and Eloise Jarvis McGraw's Master Cornhill. One is a brilliant Christian apologetic and the other a brilliant historical fiction account of a boy who survives the Great Plague in London in 1665, and the fire that destroyed the city the following year.

I also watched in part Jack the Giant Slayer. I did not watch the whole thing, and I also only heard a small part since it was on the plane (listening to something with earbuds makes me feel weird).

An interesting thread is woven through all of these. I'm still turning the thoughts over in my mind, but I notice there is a particular desire that people possess which leads them again and again to love beauty, to admire loyalty, and to need relationships.

I want to let it sit for a bit, but after reading Keller's book, and then the story about London, and watching the movie following those stories, I find the connections stunning.

Now I am going to try to sleep. On a plane. Yes, we'll see how that goes...