The Yellow Light of Remembrance. In 1839, my family left this small village in France to come to the United States. This is just one of the two churches in the village. The other is St Adolphe, which supported my family’s departure and helped them adjust to their new life in a new country. It’s good to know where you came from and where you are going!
Inside St Pierre and St Paul Church, Neuwiller-les-Saverne, France
More “White” photos! Postcard perfect! Can you imagine what this would look like with SNOW? Enjoy!
St Nicholas Church, Prague, the Czech Republic
St Nicholas Church, Prague, the Czech Republic
This is my entry for white. Behind the beautiful clock at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. Enjoy! For more entries look here!
Behind the Clock, Musée d’Orsay , Paris, France
Behind the Clock, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
This is the last day of the Photography 101 Challenge. It has been fun and I have learned a lot! Today’s theme is Triumph, to create a dramatic effect of some sort by using contrast. Here is my last entry! These are pictures I took in Orvieto, Italy, a city of contrasts, from the cobbled lanes, the abundance of beautiful woodcuttings, to the underground city! Enjoy!
The Streets of Orvieto, Italy
Underground Tuscan City, Orvieto, Italy
Woodcuttings on Walls, Orvieto, Italy
Edge, is today’s focus for Photography 101. These pictures of the Castle at Cesky Krumlov has lots of edges, every which way! The castle was built in 1240 by the Witigonen family, the main branch of the powerful Rosenberg family. These large blocks that make up the exterior of the castle are fake! It is a smooth exterior with the blocks and reliefs painted on! That painter must have had a very straight edge! Enjoy!
The Castle at Cesky Krumlov, the Czech Republic
The Castle at Cesky Krumlov, the Czech Republic
I LOVE ARCHITECTURE! I am always amazed by texture, shapes, curves, color, and style. These are my pictures for today, all taken in Bruges, Belgium, a great city for architecture!
Part of our assignment was to convert a picture to black and white to bring out the features of the architecture.
Stonework in Black and White, Bruges, Belgium
I always look for unusual ironwork and lighting fixtures when I travel. It can be very intricate, as shown here.
Fancy Ironwork , Bruges, Belgium
This picture reveals great architecture in the buildings, stonework and ironwork. I was lucky to get all three in one shot! First the picture in color, and following, the same picture in black and white.
Buildings, Stonework, and Lighting, in Bruges Belgium
Black and White, Buildings, Stonework, and Lighting, in Bruges Belgium
I particularly like to photograph unusual buildings arranged at odd angles. This was the beautiful restaurant called the Vlaamsche Pot. The architecture drew me to it, but in addition, the food was fabulous! Notice the lighting sconce? The pops of color? Throw in foliage and bicycles! Perfect!
Vlaamsche Pot Restaurant, Bruges, Belgium
I love RED! So here is the Pop of Color for today’s challenge. Enjoy!
Old Windmill, Bruges, Belgium
Old Barn at Ter Doest Monastery, Belgium
Le Parc au Petit-Champlain, Quebec City, Canada
It’s that time of year for the annual trip to Quebec City. Without a doubt, it is my favorite city in North America! The shops and parks are decorated for Fall and the weather is sunny and cool! Here are just a few of my favorite sights on a quick walk through Petit-Champlain! Lots to look at here! There is COLOR everywhere! Enjoy!
Stick Trees! Fall Decorations at My Favorite Hotel, Hotel Saint Germaine
My Favorite Basket Planters, Quebec City, Canada
More Fall Planters! Quebec City, Canada
New Planters! Quebec City, Canada
Simple and Chic!
New this year were the four different displays of Plastic in Bas-Ville. Entertaining to say the least and as I studied them there were some baskets I could have used!
Plastic Baubles Anyone?
More Plastic! Quebec City, Canada
And Yet Another! Quebec City, Canada
And Yet Another! Plastic Everywhere! Quebec City, Canada
Perhaps the Plastic Baubles remind us of the fun of Summer and the Sea?
Fall Decorating in the Park! Quebec City, Canada
Apple Anyone? Quebec City, Canada
Street Sign, Quebec City, Canada
Outdoor Seating at Park Next to Le Lapin Restaurant, Quebec City, Canada
Pumpkins, Corn and Rakes! Where Is That Rabbit?
Another View of Le Lapin Restaurant, Quebec City, Canada
I Loved the tiny purple pots!
Decorations at Le Lapin Restaurant, Quebec City, Canada
Le Lapin Restaurant, Quebec City, Canada
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Just like Rome, Istanbul’s Old Town is built on seven hills. The district called Sultanahmet, on top of the first hill, is the historic city center. This site gave the Greeks control of three surrounding bodies of water; the Bosphorus Strait, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. Leaving Hagia Sophia at one end of Sultanahmet Park, we walk past the beautiful fountain where the arcs of water mimic the domes of Hagia Sophia.
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
Here the gardeners are busy planting new flowers in swirls of decorative display.
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
Sultanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
At the opposite end of the park is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, noted for the interior of blue paint and 20,000 rich, blue, handmade, ceramic tiles in fifty different tulip designs. The tiles at the lower level are traditional in design while the tiles at gallery level are flamboyant with exquisite flowers, fruit and cypresses. The upper floors are dominated by blue paint and more than 200 stained glass windows with intricate designs. In addition to the natural light there are massive chandeliers. Ostrich eggs were placed on the chandeliers to repel spiders and prevent cobwebs inside the mosque.
The Courtyard of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
A Chandelier Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
The Sultan’s Tale goes like this.
The Blue Mosque was built in six years from 1609-1616 by the architect, Mehmet Aga, who also built the giant black cube at the center of the mosque in Mecca, the holiest shrine of Islam. Sultan Ahmet I (1590-1617) ascended the thrown at the age of 14 and his greatest achievement was the construction of the Blue Mosque. To prevent future conflicts it was customary for a new sultan to kill his closest brother. Ahmet went against tradition and spared his brother Mustafa’s life. After Ahmet’s death from typhoid at the age of 28, in 1617, his 11 year old son Murat IV, became sultan and had his younger brother, Prince Beyazit strangled, which ended the new tradition and reverted to the old. Murat’s mother, Kösem, was one of the most influential women of her time. Following Ahmet’s death, for nearly a decade Kösem ruled the empire without intrusion because Murat IV, now the the sultan, ruled at such a young age. When Murat died, Kösem placed her grandson, Mehmet, as the next sultan. Mehmet’s mother, tired of Kösem’s domination, had Kösem strangled in her sleep by the eunuchs. And so the story goes.
Outside the Blue Mosque are six minarets. Only one is needed. The imam (prayer leader) or muezzin (a man noted for his talent in voicing the call to prayer) would climb to the top of the minaret five times a day to announce the call. Sultan Ahmet requested six minarets, to flaunt his wealth, but since there were six in Mecca, he had a seventh built in Mecca, as not to upstage the holy shrine.
A Minaret of the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Right outside the Blue Mosque is the Hippodrome, the spot for chariot races and a place where people gathered for social and religious disputes, political clashes and violent uprisings. Today there are market stalls here and at night families gather to eat and party.
The Hippodrome, Istanbul, Turkey
The Hippodrome, Istanbul, Turkey
The Hippodrome Market Stalls, Istanbul, Turkey
Eating at Sutanahmet Park, Istanbul, Turkey
The Egyptian Obelisk was carved 1500 years before the birth of Christ to honor the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III, and to commemorate his military achievements. The obelisk was brought here from the Upper Nile and is only the upper one third of the original massive stone block. The base of the block was cut of local marble and the four sides tell the story of Theodosius the Great, and his family, as they sat here watching the chariot races at the Hippodrome.
The Egyptian Obelisk, Istanbul, Turkey
The Column of Constantine was constructed in Istanbul. It was originally sheeted with bronze panels, but in the Fourth Crusade, (early 13th century) the city was looted and the panels stripped to make weaponry.
The Column of Constantine, Istanbul, Turkey
The Column of the Serpent was a victory monument dedicated to the 31 Greek city-states to commemorate their victory over the Persians at Plataea. (479 BC) Originally, this column showed three serpents twisted together, their heads supporting a golden trophy. The golden trophy is long gone and only the jaw of one snake still exists and it is in the Istanbul Archeological Museum. The Hippodrome also was the place of the famous four cast-bronze horses from ancient Greece. During the 4th Crusade they were plundered and taken to Venice, where they now reside at St Mark’s Basilica. (See a photo of them in my Venice posts)
The Column of the Serpent, Istanbul, Turkey
The German Fountain was a gift from the German government to commemorate Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was constructed in Germany and transfered in pieces to Istanbul in 1901 and re-assembled on this location.
The German Fountain, Istanbul, Turkey
The Divan Yolu was the main thoroughfare in Byzantine times. The road started right here where the Golden Milestone still stands in a pit. 1500 years ago this was considered the point of the center of the world and it showed the distances to key locations within the empire.
The Tram Station at Divan Yolu, Istanbul, Turkey
The Golden Milestone, Istanbul, Turkey
Below ground, the Underground Cistern, was a vast reservoir that held water reserves for ever growing Istanbul. The cistern covers an area of two football fields and could hold 27 million gallons of fresh water. 336 columns support the brick ceiling, most of them coming from earlier Roman ruins. Clay pipes and aqueducts carried the water twelve miles to this cistern. Today the cistern is open to the public. The cistern is a shallow pond with a walkway around it. At the exit of the cistern a stage is in the water and serves as an exhibition hall for art festivals and concerts!
Underground Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey
Underground Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey
The Ancient Columns in the Underground Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey
Underground Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey
I hope you enjoyed the day at the Blue Mosque!
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
A Restaurant on the Way to Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Another Look of the Restaurant on the Way to Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Walk Past the Turkish Delight and Bakery, Istanbul, Turkey
Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom, has been called the greatest house of worship in the Christian and Muslim worlds: Hagia Sophia, the Great Church of Constantinople, a Greek Orthodox basilica, was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in A.D. 537 over the remains of two churches. More than 5,000 architects, stonemasons, bricklayers, plasterers, sculptors, painters and mosaic artists worked around the clock for 5 years to complete the church. People came from all over the world to watch the great dome slowly rise above the landscape and for a 1000 years it was the greatest dome in the world until the Renaissance when Brunelleschi built the dome over the Duomo, in Florence, Italy. In 1204 it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral. It remained the largest cathedral for nearly 1000 years until the Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. In 1453 Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, who ordered the main church be converted into a mosque. The relics were removed and the mosaics depicting Jesus, His mother Mary, Christian saints and angels were removed or plastered over. Islamic features and the minarets were added. In 1935, the first Turkish president, and founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, transformed the building into a museum. The carpets were removed and the marble floor decorations appeared for the first time in centuries, while the white plaster covering many of the mosaics was removed, revealing the beautiful mosaics still intact. The plaster had actually preserved them.
Today, Hagia Sophia is a beautiful museum, featuring the best of Christian and Muslim architecture.
After going through tight security and inspection let’s look at this wonder of the world!
The Fountain at Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
The Ottomans added this fountain in the 18th century, when Hagia Sophia was used as a mosque. It was used for ablution, ritual cleansing before prayer, as part of Islamic traditions.
A View of the Courtyard, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
A View in the Courtyard of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
A View in the Courtyard of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Courtyard of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Rooftop Views from Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Decorative Pieces Taken from Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Decorative Pieces Taken from Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Original Baptismal Pool, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Unearthed in 2010, the immense baptismal pool was hewn out of a massive piece of marble. More than ten feet wide and four feet deep, the pool was used for communal baptisms common in early Christianity.
Intricate Gold Lace Partitions, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Marble Tiles and Calligraphy, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Huge Chandeliers, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
The green marble columns carry the upper galleries and provide support to the domes, easing the burden of the buttresses and exterior walls.
Inside Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Many of the marble columns were brought here from other, even more ancient monuments and temples.
The Nave of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
The Nave of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
To get a perspective of the size of the Nave, Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral would fit within Hagia Sophia’s great dome.
One of Many Icons in Hagia, Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Icon in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Icon over Doorway, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
The religious use of icons, depictions of human figures in mosaics, frescoes and other art forms, were very controversial throughout Byzantine history. Church and political leaders clashed over icons. The public liked the figures, and since most people at the time could not read, these pictures told the stories of the church teachings and emperors used them to bolster their claim to divine power, often depicting themselves as holy figures.
One of Two Winged Seraphims, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Medallions and Mimber in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
The mimber is the pulpit in a mosque used by the imam to deliver a sermon on Fridays or to talk to the public on special occasions. The imam stands halfway up the stairs as a sign of respect, reserving the uppermost step for the Prophet Muhammad.
The 24-foot-wide, leather wrapped, wooden medallions, were added in the 19th century and decorated by master calligraphers. In a church you see paintings of Biblical figures and saints, however in a mosque, which allows no depictions of people, you see ornately written names of Allah and Muhammad.
The Exit of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Courtyard, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Stone Pieces in the Courtyard, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
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