Another fun thing about travel...

 

 

This morning I finished reading Dan Brown's

book, The Inferno.  As in most of his books,

you are globe hopping with the main character

Robert Langdon.  We started in Florence and

then Venice and ended up in Istanbul.  That was

when it really got interesting for me because I was

there just a year ago.  So, I thought I'd share some

of my photos so you could see what these places

actually look like.  This is the Obelisk on the

Hippodrome.

 

 

Here is the Hagia Sophia at night as they

would have seen it.

 

 

And how it looks in the daytime.

 

The book describes the interior of the

Hagia Sophia accurately.  I have studied

this building since I was a teenager...

 

...but words cannot prepare you for the

beauty you behold when you walk into

this space.  It is something that must be

seen in person.

 

 

This is the ancient cistern of Istanbul,

known as Yerebatan Sarayi or sunken

palace.  I stayed on this street when I

was in Istanbul and wondered what was

beneath my hotel.

 

 

The Head of Medusa in the cistern.

 

 

One of the spice shops of Istanbul.

 

When you travel, the places you visit become

a part of you.  So, when you see those places

in the news or films or books you can put yourself

right in the action.  You know the scents, you can

hear the sounds of the city, you have walked the

same streets and that is priceless.  I read a quote

recently that said, "Travel is the only thing you  buy

that makes you richer." ~ I agree!

 

Remember tonight... for it's the beginning of always.