I know, this is pitiful. I decided this one was so short it didn't even deserve a Quote of the Day. Just shows what going back to work will do to a person.:) Hang in there with me folks.

H is for Hagia Sophia- Once upon a time the Hagia Sophia was a church, then it was a mosque, now it is a museum. Its name means “sacred wisdom.” Big is hardly the word for it and old is hardly the word for it either. The first Hagia Sophia to stand on the site was built in 325 A.D. The building that stands today was opened in 537 A.D. It is located across a park from the Blue Mosque which is also huge and beautiful. The Hagia Sophia is vast, shadowy, and overwhelming while at the same its mosaics give glimpses of sparkling beauty. I took many pictures. Unfortunately I still don’t have a camera cord and Mogie (hint hint) hasn’t sent me any of her pics yet.

I is for Istanbul- I don’t even know where to begin. I loved Istanbul. To me it was remarkably beautiful and exotic. And just to think it’s such a short plane ride from Chisinau. I loved driving into the city at night and seeing bits of Constantinople’s wall, driving underneath an aqueduct, visiting the spice market, the crazy amounts of silver jewelry for sale, the bright flowers, the old wooden houses on crooked side streets, the way the parks were still full of picnickers after dark, and its enormity. Basically we were there only long enough to get a small idea of how big it is. The estimates we heard were between 18 and 20 million. I can't wait to go back!