Istanbul – Hagia Sophia

February 21, 2012

When I entered Hagia Sophia for the first time I was stunned by the rays of light that filled the huge room above the low hanging chandeliers. Unfortunately there were already a lot of tourists walking around so that I decided to come back the next morning and to be the first inside. Hagia Sophia used to be a Byzantine Church, later a Mosque and today it is a museum.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Early Morning at Hagia Sophia

Early Morning at Hagia Sophia

Light Beam

Light Beam

Hagia Sophia - Low Chandeliers

Hagia Sophia - Low Chandeliers

Rays of Light in Hagia Sophia

Rays of Light in Hagia Sophia

Filed under: Allgemein,City,Street Photography,Travel,Turkey — Tags: , , — Andreas @ 1:01 PM

Istanbul – sightseeing

Istanbul at Sunset with Galata Bridge (from Galata Tower)

Istanbul at Sunset with Galata Bridge (from Galata Tower)

At least for me Istanbul does not have a structured cityscape and i could not find THE view when looking into google’s picture search. But maybe this is what characterizes the city. However I was pretty sure that the “blue hour method” would work out well, as it always does. The first day we were on the Galata Tower we were too early and it was quite cloudy. The second day the circumstances were better: I had a tripod with me, it was short to sunset and the sky was clear. It is almost impossible to enjoy the cityscape from the viewing platform as it is very very poky up there so that you will be  jostled involuntarily by people who want to pass you. But this did not bother me: I waited as long as I had to wait standing there with my tripod and I finally took the pictures that were later stitched with Hugin.   And when looking at the result there seems to be structure: it is the mosques that dominate the cityscape. From left to right: Topkapi palace, Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmed Mosque, Nuruosmaniye Mosque, Yeni Mosque, Beyazit Tower (green) and Süleymaniye Mosque. The Galata Bridge is connecting the Old City and Galata.

Street in Galata

Street in Galata

 

Tea in Bazaar

Tea in Bazaar

 

Tea in Bazaar

Preparing Tea and Promegranate Juice

Galata and Bosporus

Galata and Bosporus

Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar

Yeni Mosque

Yeni Mosque and Galata Bridge

 

Filed under: City,Street Photography,Travel,Turkey — Tags: , , , , , , — Andreas @ 12:25 PM


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