The whole city was prepared for the New Year, the restaurants had special New Year’s dinners and the bars and night clubs had New Year’s arrangements with party until early in the morning. 🙂
I was a bit surprised seeing that big Christmas tree in Istanbul, but why not, this is a feast for all. 🙂
Istanbul is a gigantic city, a real metropolis. Same with the shopping malls, incredible large and diversified, they fill the heart of every shopper. And often you can make a bargain, because prices are not too expensive. After your first visit at a mall you can choose from around a dozen more. 🙂
On a rainy day I visited the Grand Bazaar, it’s completely roofed, so no chance to get wet 🙂 And I can tell you, don’t leave Istanbul without a visit, you can get all kind of crockery, often hand made, dried fruits in all variations, carpets, clothing, and don’t forget to bargain before you buy 🙂
The Hagia Sophia is an Islamic mosque, but has also roots as a Christian church. A fascinating story and a building which leaves you impressed. Inside you get many different views, there’s also a higher floor and balconies so you can look at this mosque from different angles and explore the art in different ways.
I really liked the lightings in the mosques I visited, the bulbs are placed on enormous rings of iron for filling huge parts of the building with light. I haven’t seen this form of the bulbs before, they suit very good in these facilities. There have been no restrictions for taking photos so long you stayed in the area marked for visitors.
It’s very liberal and forthcoming that you are allowed to do photos in a mosque. I can understand that tripods are forebidden, but within the zone for visitors you are very free to use your camera equipment. Before the entrance you have to take off your shoes, with this they are very strict and you should try to stay with the dedicated area and only go in without shoes. Using high iso is useful, I did this photo handheld with Sony A7S.
In den Moscheen von Istanbul findet man diese interessant gestalteten Lichthalterungen mit zapfenförmigen Lampen. Der Stil ist passend zum restlichen Ambiente, harmoniert mit den bemalten Säulen und Torbögen.
Wunderbare Eindrücke hinterlassen die Moscheen in Istanbul. Beim Eingang die Schuhe ausziehen, für Frauen ist Kopfbedeckung angebracht, dann steht der Weg frei die Innenansichten zu erkunden.
