Great to see GOOD FRIENDS in our neck of the Woods

What a wonderful treat for Michael and I to have Rhys and Pam come and visit us in Bulgaria! We had a half day to see Sofia and they off to Ruse for Branch business. Not sure how I got this picture without    Pam and Rhys, but the branch members loved them and they fit right in with their newly acquired Bulgarian phrases. 

 OK, this isn't Bulgaria, it's Turkey. It just so happened that the cruise the Weaver's were on stopped in Istanbul. We were scheduled to be there for a branch conference and met up with them for a day. It was so nice we had an official P-day, it was great!!!!!

 Rhys picked the authentic Turkish restaurant for lunch. It was great with flaming food and seats on the floor. It was really a fun place to eat, as we watched the ladies make our bread.

                                Turkish ice-cream is the best. If you come to Turkey you will had to try it.

 Some sights from the market. This Building has to be very old, you have to love weeds, they can grow anywhere.

We went to the Castle, the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodome, the Grand Bazar, the market and by the spice bazar. And this is what we did to Rhys and Mike, the sign behind them says, "please don't sit on the steps." WHOOPS!  It was a great day, we had so much fun with great friends and have wonderful memories of our time in Bulgaria and Turkey with them. Thanks Rhys and Pam for your friendship. We love you guys.

Hagia Sophia, Turkey

The Hagia Sophia was and Eastern Orthodox cathedral from 537 to 1453, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral. From 1453 until 1931 it was converted to a Mosque. As of 1931 it was opened as a museum representing all religions associated with the building.

This is the foundation of the original Hagia Sophia.  It was built as a church between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. 

As a Mosque the pagans could go no further than this outer hall.

The Christians could go into the second hall

Only the Emperor could go through this door

When the cathedral was taken over as a mosque the crosses were broken off the doors and made into different design

Inside the main hall the domes along with other areas of the church were designed with pure gold mosaics. The value of the gold used today would be 8 billion dollar. As a mosque the pictures were covered with plaster or destroyed.

                                                    Marble vase dating back 2000 years

                                        The walls are covered in marble as well as the floor

Didn't get all of the circles, but there is the center circle with 12 smaller circles representing Christ and the apostles.

                                            Candles and candles sticks a gift from egypt. Altar of Mosque.

                                 The Virgin Mary, Jesus and John the baptist. (gold mosaics)

                     Pagan symbols on the outer hall of the main room ? representing Zeus

Bulgaria from the CAR

 Varna is the farthest city in the mission from Sofia, it takes about 5 1/2 hours to drive. We are in Varna at least once a  month, spending a lot of time in the car. So here are my shots of Bulgaria from a car.     This is Beautiful country!!!!

In a earlier post, there were fields of yellow, now the red wild flowers are coming out. Every time we drive through the country side there are different flowers, crops and colors. WOW!

 Sometimes it is hard to get a picture from the car, there are trees everywhere, the foliage is so thick

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 We drive through several село (villiages) on our trip. There are not many freeways over here. It is kind of nice to be forced to slow down and see the sights of the country.

This is the local hardware store

Little roadside shops are all over

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                              I LOVE this carts!!!!  They are all over!!!!! One day I'll be in one!!!