TURKEY 2026: WALKING AROUND ISTANBUL PART II -- HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE, THE THEODOSIUS CISTERN, AND SOME ISTANBUL ODDS AND ENDS

 June 23, 2026

The Hagia Sophia (Greek for "holy wisdom") was built between 532 and 537 by order of Justinian the Great as the cathedral of Constantinople. For more than 500 years, it was the largest church in the world. It was rebuilt after an earthquake in 994 and used as an Eastern Orthodox or a Catholic cathedral until 1453. In 1453 after the Ottoman's conquered Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed turned Hagia Sophia into a mosque and added minarets. It became known as the Aya Sofya. 

The secularist government led by Kemal Ataturk turned the mosque into a museum in 1935. During World War II, the minarets housed machine guns. Over the succeeding decades, the building fell into serious disrepair, but preservationists worked to restore it from 1997 to 2006

This is my photo of the Hagia Sophia taken when we visited Istanbul in 2010 when it was still a museum. I think there were still minarets, but they are outside the boundaries of this photo.

By 2010 they had uncovered many of the early Christian mosaics on the wall that had been stuccoed over during the years the structure was a mosque. We were very excited to see them.

In 2020, Turkish President Erdogan announced that the museum would once again revert to being a mosque. This controversial decision brought on global criticism. Even UNESCO was upset. However, the government dcreed that it would be a "working mosque," open to anyone, and the Christian icons and mosaics on the walls would be protected.

In 2025, an extensive restoration project began, and a year later, we showed up in Istanbul. Here is what the Hagia Sophia looked like:

Not quite the gorgeous structure we had seen 16 years before, but I'm sure all this renovation will be worth it in the end.

The interior is cavernous and lacks the elegance of the Blue Mosque, which was built much later and basically replaced this one for centuries.

NEW YORK CITY 2026: THE MET

 June 1, 2026

On my last day in New York City, I met A at Elbow Bread for one last strawberry lemon sheep's cheese Danish (my third one in three days), and then he went off to work and I was on my own.

I'm starting to feel a lot more confident in the city, and I was able to find my way via subway and walking to my next destination. The subway took me to the west side of Central Park, and then I walked through the park to the east side, passing by this deliightful bronze sculpture of Prospero and his daughter Miranda from Shakespeare's The Tempest, appropriately located in front of the theater that is home to the summer Shakespeare in the Park festival.

I eventually made it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, fondly called "The Met," the fifth largest art museum in the world by gallery space. (In case you are wondering, #1 is the Louvre in Paris, #2 is the British Museum in London, #3 is the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and #4 is the National Museum of China in Beijing). Last year it had 5.7 million visitors, making it the most-visited museum of any kind in the United States.

The Met has a permanent collection of 1.5 million works grouped in seventeen separate departments. I only had a few hours, so I decided to start in the European section and see how far I got from there.

NEW YORK CITY 2026: CHINATOWN AND THE LOWER EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD

 May 29, 2026

Bob had planned a weekend birding trip to southern Arizona, and it dawned on me that I could ALSO plan a trip by myself. Where did I want to go? No problem there! New York City to visit our youngest son!

With not a lot of advance planning, I could not find a reasonable non-stop flight, so I caught a red-eye flight that went through Seattle and landed me in NYC around 6:00 AM.  I had boxed up and checked a family heirloom for our son, a carved wooden silverware box, that I had to check, and luckily for me, I have two free checked bags with Delta, so that made taking this along FAR preferable to shipping it some other way.

Also luckily for me, I got upgraded on both flights to Comfort Plus, which made the flights almost pleasant. I got a kick out of this life-sized stuffy that the man across the aisle from me was taking home. The flight attendant did make him put it in the overhead compartment. 😊

I arrived at the JFK airport, retrieved suitcase and my well-packed heirloom box (whew, it made it), which I attached it to the small wheeled cart I brought with me, and called an Uber. It cost me around $100 to get dropped off at my hotel, but the ease and convenience was worth it this time. I had a great view of Midtown Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge.

I stayed at the  Hotel Mimosa, a small boutique hotel in Chinatown a few blocks from my son's apartment.

GUATEMALA 2026: ANTIGUA

 March 21, 2026

Our last full day in Guatemala was spent in Antigua, which served as the capital from 1543 to 1773 when the country was part of the Kingdom of Spain. As a result, it is full of Spanish Baroque architecture and Old World charm and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Actually, Bob left early in the morning for a birding expedition, but I figured I could explore the Old Town area around our hotel by myself while he was gone. While I was looking for breakfast, I wandered into this park a few blocks from our hotel.

The "Fountain of the Sirens" was added in 1738. The four bare-chested women that are part of the fountain are quite eye-popping. It is no suprise that today the park is still a hub of activity, and when I was there, it was full of vendors, musicians, and tourists.

I enjoyed some pastries and wandered back towards our hotel. Shops across the cobblestone street from our room were just beginning to open. The street vendors were just starting to set up as well. Check out this guy bringing in an assortment of hats!

Before long, there was plenty of commerce going on. Under that pile of textiles is a little Guatemalan grandma selling her wares.

GERMANY: MAULBRONN MONASTERY AND NYMPHENBURG PALACE

May 24, 2025

Maulbronn is a small town of 6,700 people in southern Germany about 12 miles north of Pforzheim. Legend has it that in the 12th century, wandering monks followed a mule looking for water into the valley. (The name Maulbronn means "mule fountain.") Finding a beautiful lake, the monks settled here and established a monastery. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the monastery draws about a quarter million tourists every year.

For being so old, it is in amazing condition and is, in fact, one of the best-preserved monastic sites in Europe. It's also surprisingly large.

Half-timbered building near the entrance

Granary building, early 13th century

NORTHERN IRELAND: DERRY/LONDONDERRY, PART II (THE BOGSIDE)

 July 9, 2024

We met our guide, whom Bob had booked through Derry Blue Badge Guide, at Guild Hall, a beautiful building originally used for tax collecting and as a town hall and now the seat of local government. The current building was erected in 1912 after the previous one burned down. During "The Troubles," which I'll explain in a minute, this building suffered damage in multiple terror attacks. When Bill Clinton visited Derry in 1995, he gave a speech in the large square in front of the Guildhall.

 

Our guide was excellent. When "The Troubles" began in the late 1960s, he left the country in order to escape being embroiled in the conflict. He returned when it all ended. Though he was not present, he was well-informed. He knew and was passionate about Derry's and Ireland's history, particularly from the time "The Troubles" began in the 1960s to 1998 when they ended.

So, what are "The Troubles"? On the surface, it was a civil war between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, which is how most people see it--a religious war. In reality, the conflict really centered more around who would rule that section of the country--Great Britain or the Irish. It is just that the pro-British Rule side tended to be Protestant and the Irish Nationalists were overwhelmingly Catholic. But it went even deeper than that. We learned that a central issue was voting rights, which were given only to landowners, e.g., Protestants. The majority of Catholics had no rights.

We began by walking through the Catholic neighborhood that had been the scene of so much bloodshed and terror, and where our guide grew up as one of eleven children in a Catholic family. He told us that his dad was part of the civil rights protestors. This area is outside the city walls and is known as The Bogside. It got its name from the marshland that used to be here.

A three-day altercation in this neighborhood in August 1969, known as the Battle of the Bogside and fought between the Catholic/Irish Nationalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary/Loyalists, led to more violence in other Northern Ireland locations and is generally seen as the beginning of The Troubles.

A picture from the same neighborhood shows a scene from the battle.

TUNISIA, DAY 3, CONT.: TUNIS - ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CATHEDRAL, FOOD MARKET, AND MEDINA

 March 22, 2024

After breakfast, we took another walk down the Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the street with the promenade in the center that we had walked on the previous night on our way back to our hotel. This time we walked on one of the sidewalks next to the buildings. 

We stopped at a little mosque nestled between other buildings and known for its ceramic tile exterior.  I think it is called Kallal-el-Kedime Mosque, but I can't find any information on it.

Then our guide Feker took us into the courtyard of what looked like an apartment building. In the middle of the courtyard is a shallow pond, and in the pond are over a dozen turtles.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul, a church built in the Moorish revival, Gothic revival, and Neo-Byzantine styles. Construction was completed in 1897, albeit without its belltowers due to lack of funds. They were completed in 1910.

MALTA: DAY 2, PART 1 - WALKING AROUND VALLETTA, ST. PAUL'S SHIPWRECK CHURCH AND CHAPEL, AND MORE

 March 19, 2024

We began our second day in Malta with breakfast in our hotel. I love Eggs Benedict, and I would give these a 6 or 7 out of 10--better than most, but not great. 

Julia joined us in the hotel lobby and led us on a walking tour of Valletta, the capital city. Valletta is set on a hill, and the streets are positioned to maximize cool breezes from the Mediterranean Sea. What are those round things in the street on the right?

They are restaurant tables. and how do you set up tables on a hill? You make wedges to go under the downhill legs. Do they do this for the chairs too? I don't know.

INDONESIA TRIP: SINGAPORE PART I - OLD AIRPORT ROAD HAWKER CENTRE AND THE SINGAPORE NATIONAL GALLERY

 June 30, 2023

Because it was raining as it can only rain in tropical areas--like water from a firehose--we needed to go somewhere indoors. We rearranged our plans and headed to the Old Airport Road Hawker Centre. "Hawker Centres" are basically huge food courts, and they are very popular in Singapore. Opened in 1973, the one on Old Airport Road is supposed to be the biggest (over 160 food stalls) and the best.

The stalls were just beginning to open when we arrived, and there were already quite a few people scouting out the many options.

We learned right away that we needed to bus our own table.

COLOMBIA: MEDELLIN, PART I - COMUNA 13

 March 22, 2023

In Hotel 10 in Medellín, breakfast was included with our room, and it turned out to be a very nice buffet that included Colombian dishes, muffins, cheeses, lots of fruit, juices, an omelet station, and more. It was a feast.

Medellín (pronounced Med-uh-ZHEEN by the locals) is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá. Situated in the Andes Mountains at an elevation over 4,900 feet above sea level, it has a population of 2.5 in the city proper, with an additional 1.5 million people in the surrounding metro area.

Medellín was named for a small village in Spain that was the birthplace of Hernán Cortéz. Today, the city is made up of 16 comunas, or districts.

We were picked up by our guide, Jakob, at 9:00 a.m. and driven to Comuna 13, located on the opposite side of the city. We walked a few blocks, almost immediately starting uphill. We said hello to Che Guevara . . . 

COLOMBIA: BOGOTA PART II (SHOPPING, PLAZA DE BOLIVAR, CITY STREETS, AND A SERENDIPITOUS MEET-UP)

 March 17, 2023

From the Botero Museum, we walked to an area where souvenir items are for sale on tables lining the street. This is the "Old Town," known in Bogotá as the Candelaria District, and it includes the foundation buildings of the city. Candelaria is Spanish for "Candlemas," a Christian holiday that commemorates the presentation of the baby Jesus at the temple.

On our way there, we passed this awesome three-wheeler that was selling, among other things, arroz con leche, or rice pudding.

The Nobel prize-winning novelist Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014) is extremely popular in his home country of Colombia, as well he should be. There are many sites named for him, such as the cultural center in Bogotá that we walked by.

We also saw many artworks depicting "Gabo," as he is affectionately known in Colombia. He looks like someone I would want to know, at least in this painting!

There was a lot of art for sale, often copies of well-known works, such as Botero's Mona Lisa in the bottom right corner.

PORTUGAL: AVEIRO, THE (NOT) VENICE OF PORTUGAL

 June 27, 2022

Our last stop on a very full day was the city of Aveiro. Photos of the city that we saw online were beautiful, and we were excited to visit. However, Aveiro turned out to be the biggest dud of our trip.

First of all, we parked in an underground parking garage that at the end of the day we had a very hard time finding. We would learn more than once on this trip (or maybe we DIDN'T learn) that we need to pay more attention to where we leave our car. We rarely had main streets or grid-like streets to help us navigate. Luckily, I took a photo of the above-ground portion of the parking garage, which saved us in the end.

As we made our way from our parking spot on the hill down to the canals that the city is famous for, we passed some interesting sites. The sign on the left let us know that this city is on the pilgrimage trail to Spain's Santiago de Campostela Cathedral, a place we would visit in a few days.

Like every city we visited in Portugal, there were churches with beautiful azulejo tile facades and streets with intricate cobblestone patterns.