The Church of Many Faiths

Our last day in Istanbul had us visit the Byzantine Hippodrome where chariot horse races took place in times gone by. Next was the Blue Mosque- probably the most famous mosque in the city. It's walls we're lined with hand painted tiles and it was hard to imagine the amount of work that had gone into creating this place of worship.
Our final stop before travelling was quite an interesting one - Hagia Sophia (meaning Holy Wisdom). Built in 548 AD, Hagia Sophia was the greatest church in Christendom until 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. It was then turned into a mosque, as has happened to many former churches in Turkey. The government has now taken control of Hagia Sophia and there is much debate about whether it should be permanently a mosque or a church as there are many features of both religions there. However, the government has decided to leave it as it is so that Hagia Sophia is opened to everyone.
The afternoon saw us catching a flight from Istanbul to Kayseri and then a bus ride to Cappadocia.