I have some Sivas pictures that I am gonna post very soon, but in the meantime I'd like to post some more pics from the Istanbul trip because there were so many and I only posted four.



These beautiful religious mosaics are from the inside of the Aya Sofya. It is pretty incredible to stand and look up at something that has been there for so many centuries. The Sofya used to be the biggest Christian church in Europe, but then it became a mosque, and now it is a tourist trap! Haha. Who would have thought.



This is me getting an authentic lesson in Turkish carpet making from an old lady on the side of the road. Apparently a big carpet can take up to a year to make by hand, so you can imagine how much these things cost.



Istanbul is just overflowing with ancient artifacts like this one. I wonder if the people who live and work in Istanbul even notice these chunks of history that they walk past every day as they go to and from their daily lives?