11/4/19 : Arrived in Istanbul for 10D7N trip
Very eye opening trip. Tiring on the journeys on land but good overview of Christianity and Islam. A country where disciples traveled more slightly more than 2000 years ago!
Brief summary:-
Istanbul - Founded in 7th Century. Way before Christ was born,
In summary, for 16 centuries, it was a great imperial capital - first under the Byzantine Empire and then the Ottoman Sultans.
Christianity flourished under Constantine the Great in AD324. Roman empire.
But unfortunately most churches crosses were substituted with the Muslim Minarets with the rise of the Ottoman Empire in AD1299.
Later, the Ottomans lost their battles with Russia, the Balkans AD1919-22. Instanbul was occupied by the French and British and Greeks.
And the Sultanate ended in 1922.
Father of the Turks ; Artaturk modernised Turkey. He died in 1938.
1923 - Ankara became the official Capital instead of Instanbul.
The Blue Mosque
AD 537 Hagia Sophia - One of the world's greatest feat of architecture.
I wondered a lot as I behold the mosaics built in this so called once a church. Taken over by Muslims with arabic koran inscriptions overlaid. Now turned into a museum.
The interior showed so many pictures of Christ, Virgin Mary holding Christ, Angels Gabriel and Michael and 6 winged seraphims. Owhhhhh.
What happened?????????!!!!!!!!
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