Istanbul 2 - Hagia Sofia, Cistern

The Hagia Sofia was built as a Byzantine Christian church in the 6th century and has subsequently been a mosque, a museum and now a mosque again. It was incredibly crowded and is closed to visitors during prayer. It is known for its beautiful mosaics from its time as a church, The Cistern of Philxenos is an ancient mad-made subterranean reservoir. It has 224 marble columns, each about 45 feet tall. End of day we were off for our COVID tests, required to get on the ship in two days.Read more