Archive for: October 2007

After the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, a distinctive style of art and architecture developed which is now typically described as Ottoman.  It reached its peak in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent and the buildings now …

Hagia Sophia, or the Church of the Holy Wisdom, was a former Byzantine church and later became a mosque during the …

Whether you’re a shopper or not, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar will amaze you with the number of stalls and the massive range of …

If you’re in the vicinity of Hagia Sophia, one of the magnificent Istanbul attractions not to be missed is the Basilica Cistern.  Situated near the south-west of Hagia Sophia, this massive cistern was founded by Justinian …

DAY 3 – Our morning visit was to the Hagia Sophia, noted to be the most magnificent of the Byzantine churches.  Had a great time here checking out the mosaics depicting various religious scenes.  The original mosaics had been destroyed during …

DAY 2 – Istanbul is a fascinating city that owns the distinction of being the only city in the world that spans two continents, Europe and Asia. It’s distinguished history as capital to three empires, the Roman, Byzantine …

DAY 1 – Our journey this morning began at 4 a.m. when we had to make our way to Leeds-Bradford airport and then to London, Frankfurt and finally arriving in Istanbul at 5.30 p.m.  Arrival procedures included having to …

Our flight at 1.45 p.m. on UA940 unfortunately confirmed our concern about flying UA.  The flight attendants were most unfriendly.  The plane was old and there were no monitors at the back of the seat.  The plane was …

Prior to 9/11, we used to travel to the U.S. almost annually to meet up with a very good friend who used to live in San Francisco.  It was always impressed upon us that baggage allowances to and …

DAY 13 – Well, everyone made it back to the coach on time so thankfully no one got sacrificed at Stonehenge!  It was a race back …