Turkey is located mostly on Anatolian peninsula in “Western Asia, and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, Iraq and Syria. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north,” (Wikipedia). Turkish history extends back thousands of years including playing a role in the reign of Alexander the Great, and the rise of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
One of the two most prominent and ancient buildings are the Hagia Sophia (pictured above) and the Blue Mosque.
Hagia Sophia (from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, “Holy Wisdom”) is a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica (church), later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. (Wiki)
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historic mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is still popularly used as a mosque. (Wiki)
Travel to Turkey in our collection of photos from Istanbul and short videos of Charlie’s interviews with local religious leaders.
