April 24th 2017- Gibraltar

Today was a bit of a Rainy day, but I didn’t let that stop my from taking pictures.

This is Saint Michael’s cave, I remember that it was beautiful, but most of all, I remember all of the wild monkeys (Barbary macaque) hanging around outside.  Real talk, I think I have a very healthy fear of monkeys.  You will also notice that there are no monkey photos in this post, this is because I prioritized being alert over photography. In hindsight, I am still happy with that decision.  

This is the Europa Point lighthouse and I have to say that I loved wandering around taking pictures.  This trip I took a ton of lighthouse photos, and while the Ballycurrin lighthouse in Louth Corrib Ireland will always be my favorite, followed by the Thomas Point Shoal lighthouse in Annapolis MD, this trip included some spectacular lighthouses.  

Finally, I had to take some photos of the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque.  I have to say that religious architecture speaks to me, be it churches, synagogues, or mosques.   

It was a rainy day so I didn’t take a ton of photos, but I am happy with the photos that I took.  Til next time.

Love Always,

Megs

Serene Sunday- Hagia Sophia

Three years ago, I went to the Hagia Sophia and it was one of the most memorable moments of my life!!!

The Hagia Sophia was built in 500 AD and is the third church to have been built on this site, the two previous chuches had been burnt to the ground.  The church is one of the oldest churches to still be standing.  Then in 1453 Mohamad Mehmed took over Constantinople, and converted the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.  Then in 1943 the mosque was converted into a museum.

The Hagia Sophia is just soooo massive, I was just walking around with my mouth hanging open.

I couldn't help but take a picture when another tourist stopped by the massive doors, I was sure that without some kind of comparisson I would not remember the scale of things in ten years.

In this first picture you can see the gold leaf rendition of Jesus Christ and through the doorway you can see Allah's name in arabic.  I had to take a short moment to say a prayer, because in this moment, chrisitanity and islam are co-exhisting, here in this museum.  It really warmed my heart.

I love the warn paint that shows the age of the museum, and the gorgeous stone work.

In order to get to the secound floor, it took about five or so minutes, so I did loose quite a bit of my limited time to get up there, but this first picture just so happens to be my secound favorite picture from the Hagia Sophia, I love it.

This is the actual historic chandelier from the mosque.  Originally they would put candles in each of the glass vials, but today they have been fitted with lightbulbs and are powered by electricity.  The lighting fixtures in all the mosques we visited were breathtaking, and really added charactor to the buildings.

I think this was the last picture I took, I just love the stained glass.  There was a lot of construction going on inside of the Hagia Sophia while I was there, so I will definately have to go back some day.  Istanbul is such a vibrant city, and I can't wait to go back.

Love Always,

Meg

P.S.  These photos were edited with photoshop elements.

Serene Sunday

After a few weeks off from Serene Sunday, I am ready to show some more of my favorite trip pictures.

This is the Ortakoy Mosque, we saw this on the first night we were in Istanbul.  All mosques with more than one minaret (the tall spires) is an imperial mosque.  These mosques were built to show the victory of the empire in a conquest or battle.  

The next Mosque we visited in Istanbul was Sehzade Camii.  Sulieman the magnificent's mosque was under construction, otherwise we would have gone there.

I am really glad we got to see this mosque, which is still an active mosque.  It was not filled with tourists, so we could really explore the inside and did not have to worry about huge crowds.

The decorations inside the mosque were sooooo vivid, this was my first trip with my new camera, so I was still having trouble truely mastering the settings.  I know I am going to have to go back some day and hopefully I will take some better pictures.

 We also got into the mosque at an off time, so thankfully there were no worshipers there at the time, this way I did not have to worry about interupting or offending any one who was there to pray.  Everyone walking around in the backround was part of our travel group.

Next week I will add the pictures from the Hagia Sophia, which is the main reason why I wanted to go to Turkey.  It is truely one of the wonders of the world!!!!

Love Always,

Meg