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Istanbul, Turkey 2011

 

 

You can have your very own little clown bicycle :)

 

 

First ercted by Tuthmosis III in upper Egypt the obelisk was taken to
Constantinople and set up here in 390 AD by emperor Theodosius

 

The ground level of the Roman circus that once existed here, the race track (think Ben Hur), where this is the turn-around marker

 

The fabulous Hagia Sophia, first built in 360 AD by Emperor Constantine The minarets were added in the 15th Century to this third version, both of the previous ones had been destroyed. This final version was completed, commissioned by Emperor Justinian, in 537AD. It served as the largest church in the Byzantine empire for over 900 years, until 1453, after the Muslim conquest of Constantinople, when the city was named Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia turned into the royal mosque. Today, it's a museum. Part of the reason for that may have been the completion of the grand Blue Mosque, right next door, puctured below. Daytime pictures are on my other visit to Istanbul.

 

 

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