Quote:
Originally Posted by djugurba
Isn't Hagia Sophia a museum now? It's incredible. Canan has shown me pictures.
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It's open for visits during non-prayer hours.
It looks truly amazing, I looked at it from outside. I didn't dare to go in, it's a very holy place for moslems and I want to respect that, I wouldn't like if tourists came and wandered around in places that I consider holy (if any).
Istanbul is quite amazing, you really get a sense of history there. As you walk around the streets you'll stumble on some brass plaque explaining that this stone or this water well has been here for 2000 years. I felt very humble there.
Just over the street from Hagia Sophia is this thousand year old water reservoir underground, go visit it if you are around.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Cistern
The roof is upheld by 336 marble pillars that are all individual in appearance.
There's even an antique joke down there, the Turks turned one specially carved stone upside down as a middle finger gesture to the Romans. I find it hilarious.
Been around a lot of western cities of which most of them feels about the same, but Istanbul was truly different!