Beautiful Hagia Sophia @ Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia is a holy place which during the history of the building it was a church and a mosque. The architecture are impressive. Now it is converted to a museum. Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Its interior is decorated with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings of great artistic value. You can learn about the historical event by visiting here. I went there in the evening on weekday during month of December and the queue was short. The ticket cost 25 Turkish Lira. Hagia Sophia is just 5 minutes walk and easily accessible from Istanbul Tram Sultanahmet station.


Huge number of visitors in Hagia Sophia. The left section of the museum were closed for restoration work. Hagia Sophia is the second most visited museum in Turkey after Topkapi Palace.

Medallions and pendant chandeliers.

Interior view of the Hagia Sophia, showing Islamic elements.

Apse mosaic of the Theotokos (Virgin Mother and Child).

An artistic meeting of Christianity and Islam in the Hagia Sophia.

The architecture are huge and amazing.

Islamic elements on the dome.

Interior dome.

Walking thru building tunnel to second floor.


Hagia Sophia interior view from second floor.


The Deësis mosaic. This mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, who holds a scroll and makes the sign of benediction.

Another unique mosaic in the museum.

GPS/Coordinate: 41.008559, 28.980164
Address: Ayasofya Square, Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
Public transport: Sultanahmet Istanbul Tram station.

Turkish coffee making demonstration @ Istanbul, Turkey

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi is a famous Turkish coffee shop in Turkey. I visited their outlet in Spice Bazaar and you can see the long queue of people just to buy their coffee. Since I am not a coffee drinker, I just brought a small packet for myself to try. In order to make Turkish coffee, you need a good ground coffee powder. Then you will also need a cezve which is a small pot with long handle to heat the coffee over charcoal. Below I have snap the sequence process of making Turkish coffee and also to show how does Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee shop look like.


Small pot with a long handle. Known as "Cezve" in Turkey.

Start the Turkish coffee making by mixing water and ground Turkish coffee powder.

The mixture of coffee powder and water were heated over low heat. Keep stirring the mixture.

The staff at the restaurant demonstrates the Turkish coffee making process.

My cup of strong Turkish coffee. Do notice of the foam on the coffee. Strong taste and fragrant. Never stir the coffee once it's in the cup. Make sure that you sip it gently so as not to disturb the grounds.

Long queue to buy Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee in Spice Bazaar Istanbul.

Packaging of coffee were done by hand at Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi shop.

Pillow packets of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee in many sizes.

Cekilmis Kahve(pricing of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee by weight). Famous Turkish coffee of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi. Do try out their coffee when you visit Istanbul.

GPS/Coordinate: 41.016587, 28.970092
Address: Tahtakale Mh. 34116 Fatih/İstanbul, Turkey. The shop is located in Spicy bazaar. Walk towards the Yeni Cami Mosque (New Mosque/Valide Sultan Mosque).
Public transport: Istanbul Eminonu tram station.