The following post involves shots I took from the top of the beautiful old hotel, the Marmara, which not surprisingly is on the small sea of Marmara, and affords some of the best views of the center of the city and its relationship to the water.
In this shot you see across the Marmara sea both the Hagia Sophia on the left and the Blue Mosque on the right. You also see the Black Sea in the distance. Closer by is the Galata Tower.
Below is a Greek Orthodox church. The Patriarch Bartholomew of that church has his residence in Istanbul not far from this church. Sadly he is not allowed to have a school for training priests for his church in Turkey, and recently the Hagia Sophia, the mother church of that denomination was converted back into a mosque instead of being maintained as a museum, much to the protest of many.
This is a very very crowded city with most people living in apartments, as they can’t afford private homes.
In the distance you can see various islands, and again some have the homes of the wealthy on them.
The Marmara hotel not only provides splendid views, it provides splendid food and deserts too for which the Turks are famous…
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