Empress Zoe Istanbul

... /07 After a week spent fending for ourselves in faraway lands (Bulgaria, Ireland, Romania, etc.) we made it to the Empress Zoe Hotel overlooking the Marmara Sea. First impressions? The locals were overly helpful, fish sandwiches from the dock aren't ...

... get there and lots of little streets to find our hotel but the driver made it!   Barb had made arrangements to stay at the Empress Zoe hotel that Matt Lauer had mentioned during his segment on Turkey.  The hotel is quite quaint!  You  have to go up ...

Map to the Empress ...

... back to "Tunel", then the tram. Back at the hostel, Murray has a rest, and Dianne goes for a walk to find the "Empress Zoe" hotel, which is very boutiquey.  Whole area has been restored with tourists in mind. Photo of Four Seasons Hotel, which used ...

... . There are a number of beautiful mosaics in various stages of repair. The most stunning of these include that of the 11th century Empress Zoe seated next to Christ. On the left hand side of the picture is her husband. Which husband is a matter of some ...

... actually recognize, i.e. the likes of (in descending order of recognizability) Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, Emperor Constantine, Empress Zoe (rhymes with Toe), etc. Furthermore, like any other tourist-worthy attraction, there was a juicy story waiting ...

... Constantinople and on the left Justinian I holding a model Hagia Sophia. We saw the Apse mosaic, Comnenus mosaic, Emperor Alexander and Empress Zoe mosaics as we had walked around- all on a similar theme of the Virgin or Jesus Pantocrator.    ...

Having survived seveal harrowing taxi rides, Istanbul is more than I ever expected. Yesterday on arrival at the Hotel Empress Zoe (beyond perfect) we walked to the ferry. Took an around about route, about three miles. Saw men fishing the Bosphorus ...

... wielded all the power, and had more direct access to the sultan than any of the wives. Bazaars are another compulsory Istanbul experience, and I think we've done that one pretty thoroughly! Photos below are from the Spice Bazaar/Egyptian Bazaar, where ...

... the verses timed perfectly, and never sang at the exact same moment. We could hear them in stereo sound. Random thoughts on Istanbul: 1. The Blue Mosque was so huge that it was impossible to get a single shot of the interior with a normal digital camera. ...

Today was another great day in Istanbul!  We were picked up at the hotel to go on a boat tour of the Bosporus so we could span two continents.  There was a bus tour that took us to the Spice Market but it was closed but we were able to wander through ...