The Image of Christ at the Chora Church, Istanbul Turkey
Greetings,
Here is a bit more details about the first day of touring (yesterday). In the morning we drove to the Chora Church which is a small but impressive place. It has spectacular mosaics and frescos on its walls and ceilings. One section has scenes from the life of Christ. It houses, what many consider to be, the best preserved and finest Byzantine mosaics in the world.
Then we visited the famous Blue Mosque, which was built in the 17th century. Its name comes from the blue tiles which decorate the interior. After we stopped for a group photo, we crossed the street to visit the Hagia Sophia or St. Wisdom. This church was built by Justinian in the 6th century A.D. It had the largest dome in the ancient world and it was the largest church building too. This record remained until the construction of St. Peter Basilica in Rome. It is decorated with beautiful mosaics and frescos.We then visited the Roman/Byzantine Hippodrome which seated 40,000 fans. Today the central part of the Hippodrome is preserved in a park. We saw an obelisk from Egypt during the reign of Thutmosis III. It was brought to the spina of the Hippodrome by the Romans. We also saw the remains of the bronze tripod which is made up of three intertwined bronze serpents which once stood before the Temple to Apollo in Delphi. We later saw of the three heads of the serpents in the National Archaeological Museum.
We stopped for lunch near the Hippodrome, most people ate in the Pudding Cafe.After lunch we visited the Byzantine Cistern which held 80,000 cubic meters of water. It is famous for appearing in the James Bond Movie "To Russia with Love" where they ran speed boats through the cistern. It was constructed during the reign of Justinian.We then walked to the National Archaeological Museum. There we saw the famous Siloam inscription and Gezer Calendar. We also saw the beautifully carved marble sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. It is called this because it has a depiction of Alexander the Great in battle. This sarcophagus was found at Tyre, Lebanon.
In the Near Eastern Building we saw several of the baked glazed tile animals and figures which once lined the entrance way to the Ishtar gate from ancient Babylon. We also saw the earliest international peace treaty between the Hittites and Egyptians, the Kadesh Treaty.Then we walked to the Spice Market for some shopping. Then we returned to our hotel for dinner.
John Wineland
Bursa, Turkey
Then we visited the famous Blue Mosque, which was built in the 17th century. Its name comes from the blue tiles which decorate the interior. After we stopped for a group photo, we crossed the street to visit the Hagia Sophia or St. Wisdom. This church was built by Justinian in the 6th century A.D. It had the largest dome in the ancient world and it was the largest church building too. This record remained until the construction of St. Peter Basilica in Rome. It is decorated with beautiful mosaics and frescos.We then visited the Roman/Byzantine Hippodrome which seated 40,000 fans. Today the central part of the Hippodrome is preserved in a park. We saw an obelisk from Egypt during the reign of Thutmosis III. It was brought to the spina of the Hippodrome by the Romans. We also saw the remains of the bronze tripod which is made up of three intertwined bronze serpents which once stood before the Temple to Apollo in Delphi. We later saw of the three heads of the serpents in the National Archaeological Museum.
We stopped for lunch near the Hippodrome, most people ate in the Pudding Cafe.After lunch we visited the Byzantine Cistern which held 80,000 cubic meters of water. It is famous for appearing in the James Bond Movie "To Russia with Love" where they ran speed boats through the cistern. It was constructed during the reign of Justinian.We then walked to the National Archaeological Museum. There we saw the famous Siloam inscription and Gezer Calendar. We also saw the beautifully carved marble sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. It is called this because it has a depiction of Alexander the Great in battle. This sarcophagus was found at Tyre, Lebanon.
In the Near Eastern Building we saw several of the baked glazed tile animals and figures which once lined the entrance way to the Ishtar gate from ancient Babylon. We also saw the earliest international peace treaty between the Hittites and Egyptians, the Kadesh Treaty.Then we walked to the Spice Market for some shopping. Then we returned to our hotel for dinner.
John Wineland
Bursa, Turkey
No comments:
Post a Comment