alpcco:
Unlike Persian Mosques with their elaborite tilework, Ottoman mosques tend to be more austere with only some frescoes or other detail
alpcco:
The prophet Mohammed cut off the sleeve of his robe as not to disturb a sleeping cat. We thought that giving this cat some love would be fitting for our visit to the Mosque
alpcco:
The gracefully painted dome of the Suleymaniye Mosque, designed by the noted architect Mimar Sinan
alpcco:
The fortress built by the Ottomans to pin in the Byzantines immediately prior to the conquest
alpcco:
This Byzantine underground cistern had been forgotten for many years before its rediscovery
alpcco:
The Kadesh Peace treaty from 1258BC between the Hittites and Ramses II is the oldest international agreement known and a copy of it hangs at the United Nations building in New York
alpcco:
The hear of the Medusa column was placed upside down as a sign of contempt by the Christian Byzantines for the pagan gods and spirits
alpcco:
Part of the Babylonian Ishtar gate built around 575BC and once one of the seven wonders of the world
alpcco:
Museums are serious places for learning abount ancient history, in this case Sumerian sculpture
alpcco:
I saw a lot of this over the course of our 92 day trip. It's not just the Cayenne who loves history, it's the whole family
alpcco:
Hunt scene from the Alexander sarcophagus. We theorized that the lion, doomed though valiantly attacking, might have been meant to represent the Persian empire
alpcco:
As in many places we've seen on this trip, architectural elements, in this case columns, were recycled and originally belonged to much older structures
