TISL 2006

Our second trip to the Middle East with Iran as a definitive highlight.

We were gone for four months and started in Istanbul from where we crossed the Anatolian plateau to reach the Iranian border.

After 5 weeks in Iran, we crossed to eastern Turkey and then Syria, visiting Lebanon on the way.

We returned to Turkey to make our way back to Istanbul with a detour to Cappadocia.

Full map of all TISL 2006 pages

Other Things

Thinking of our next destination: Italy and Portugal come to mind, or maybe the time has finally come for a US road trip…

Translate & Share

What's this?
Version française
Deutsche Version

Istanbul

(Thomas;2006)

Well, now we jump 600 kilometres to the west. This is a tile in the Rüstem Pasha mosque of Istanbul. This mosque is famous for its perfectly executed Iznik-style tiles. There are hundreds and hundreds of different designs and people have written whole treatises about these tiles.

[Go to Top]

A mosaic from inside the Hagia Sophia (or Aya Sofya, as the locals say). This building is one the greatest (if not the greatest) architectural achievements of mankind. It looks drab and almost like a manufacturing plant from the outside, but it's a marvel.

[Go to Top]

The domes and minarets of the Blue Mosque. The two domes, left and right in the foreground, actually belong to the Hagia Sophia: the picture was taken from its upper floor.

[Go to Top]

One final mosaic, from the Hagia Sophia. This shows the builder, Justinian I, presenting a model of his newly-built church to the Virgin and Jesus. On the other side there's Constantine I, presenting a model of the city he founded.

[Go to Top]

Want to see more? Go back to Turkey: more Landscapes of Cappadocia or go on to Istanbul or go up to Photos.