Church (Hagia Sophia)--> Mosque --> Museum (plus The Blue Mosque)

Given the changing political and religious scene in Turkey over the centuries (Constantine's conversion, for instance, led to the creation of beautiful Byzantine churches (Hagia Sophia was one--built in the 6th century).  When the Ottoman Empire took over, many were converted to mosques, which involved plastering over the Christian frescoes and mosaics (this helped preserved many that were later uncovered).  Then Ataturk created modern Turkey, which established the separation of mosque and state--and created a museum.  

 It's hard to get a sense of the size.  Look at the balcony with the columns.  On the second of six openings, under a chandelier, you will see a couple standing at the railing.  The large disks on either size of that balcony are (Ken and I calculated) about 25 feet in diameter.   The building is 170' high--about a 15 story modern building. It's held up by arches on top of arches.

This is the back of one of the "disks"-- Ken (the engineer) was more than a little fascinated by how it was constructed and being held up.  It must weight a LOT, and it's just hanging there!  Note the disk on the opposite wall.  You can get a sense of the size by comparing it to the size of the people in the archway next to it.

 And here's Ken's fingers in a substantial crack in the wall.  The marble floors also undulate.  There have been many serious earthquakes in the nearly 1500 years (!) since it was built.  Yet it still stands!

 This is a view from a window to the courtyard behind the museum.  To the left (we think) is a "flying buttress"--these were added in the last few hundred years to strengthen the building when some problems (such as settling) were noted.  If you'd like to see more, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fsgAwpfJZo

 We looked for the Viking graffiti (9th century!!) pictured in the lower right-hand corner, but didn't find it. 

Below  is the Blue Mosque (we think)  It is also huge, but not as big as Hagia Sophia.  Note the size of the columns (Ken is there for perspective--and to point out some construction details).  We were trying to figure out how they were put together. There is no way something that large was one piece.