London

A big welcome to my blog, thanks for dropping by

On my way to Turkey I stayed in London for a very short visit. It was great to be back, see some close friends and London too. It was very cold! I went from 30 centigrade degrees in Singapore to 3! Ouch! It even snowed on me! Here I am with Jen, our dear friend in London looking as cold as I felt!

I hope you enjoy the photos....it was hard to keep the camera still, I was shaking so much...

I am leaving for a holiday in New Zealand next weekend so it will be 3 weeks before I upload again. Do come back then

love

Alan





















Birch trees outside the Tate Modern





















"The Crack" exhibit inside the Tate Modern





















The "gherkin"















Brick Lane. The little girl on the bike is Sofia,
our god-daughter





















Shoes growing on trees!





















St. Paul's Cathedral















Tower Bridge















HMS Belfast





















Ferry under the Millennium bridge















Not many of these left on the streets of London now















Trafalgar Square at dusk















Westminster





















The London Eye





















Can you hear the bells ringing?





















Another view of this beautiful clock tower

















Another view of the London Eye















By night





















....beautifully illuminated





















Nelson watching over London















Trafalgar square.......













.........9.00 o'clock in the morning

Istanbul

Hi and welcome!

I had a great trip to London and Istanbul over Easter. The main reason for going was work, but I made sure I had some time to take photos!

This week’s posting is dedicated to Istanbul, one of the most beautiful and compelling cities I have been to.

Enjoy the photos. In two weeks I’ll post some shots of London.

Love
Alan






















Breakfast in Istanbul















Colourful seating















Taxim Square Independence Monument















Gateway to St Antony of Padova Catholic Church
(Italian architecture in Istanbul)















Istanbul's characteristic buildings















The Bosphorous. Istanbul's waterways combined
with the beauty of the cityscape create stunning
views















The fountain, boats and Eminönü Mosque

















Yeni Cami, (The New Mosque) Eminönü. Ottoman
mosque built in the 1600s (not so new!)





















Inside the courtyard of Yeni Cami















Inside the Yeni Cami Mosque





















Market street near the Yeni Cami Mosque





















A pretty mosque near the Bosphorous


















Famous as The Blue Mosque, Sultan Ahmed Mosque
is one of only two mosques in Istanbul that has six
minarets















The Blue Mosque is set in beautiful gardens















Inside the courtyard of the Blue Mosque





















Domes and golden spires


































The magnificent interior of the Blue Mosque















Hagia Sophia stands opposite the Blue Mosque
(see also top picture). It is famous for it's huge
dome. It was an Eastern Orthodox Christian
Basilica for 1000 years, then a mosque.
It is now a museum.
















Another grand mosque Süleymaniye Mosque
at dusk















When I was much younger and saw photos
like this of Istanbul, I would dream of going there.
When I finally got there in 2006 and then again
this year, I wasn't disappointed





















Minaret at night















Photo taken from the Unkapi bridge






















Of course you have to do some shopping!
One of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar
















Inside the Grand Bazaar. Very colourful!