Tag Archives: #Friendly Friday

Friendly Friday: Rising to Meet the Sun

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I meant to get this done earlier, but a lot’s been going on the last couple of days. I found this “Friendly Friday” blog challenge last week and made a post for it. This week there’s a different host and a different subject.

It’s already Thursday so they’ll probably come out with something new tomorrow. Check out everybody’s posts for sunrise this week. Here’s mine…

I was able to fulfill another bucket list fantasy- ballooning over the incredible landscape of Cappadocia. We floated silently around rock spires and canyons, with only the occasional burst of the burner to give us more height and the clicks of the dozens of cameras.

We headed out before dawn so we’d be in the air to see the sun rise. it was spectacular. My photos don’t do it justice at all. We slowly drifted down where the ground team met us in a dry field to pack up the balloon while we had a champagne toast to celebrate our morning.

Friendly Friday: Tiled

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I was looking at everybody’s posts for this week’s Friendly Friday challenge, and I just had to post one more time. 🙂

When I made my post the other day, I totally forgot about all the other places in Istanbul where they had such beautiful tile work. Different than the gorgeous stuff some people were posting from Portugal, but beautiful in another way altogether. Combined with the architecture, the artistry with the tile work makes so many of their buildings really special.

Here are a few photos I took in the mosques. I was really affected by how much time and effort went into building these places. The total devotion it must take to spend years, decades, centuries even- to build something so impressive.

Istanbul’s Blue Mosque with thousands of blue tiles decorating the interior

Those were from the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The photos below, I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure they were in the Hagia Sophia. It was a Christian cathedral before it became a mosque and it’s now a museum. The shimmering gold tiles of these mosaics really shine when the sun hits them.

Imagine the skill and patience it must’ve taken to make these things. How to make sure all those little pieces go together just right. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle! And all such a long time ago too. Of course, they didn’t have the internet to distract them back then. 😉

One more note re: tile. Have you heard of Dixie Friend Gay? She’s a modern day mosaic artist with some absolutely stunning projects. Here’s a photo I took to pique your interest. Check out this earlier post...

Great Palace Mosaic Museum

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This looks like another fun challenge to join. It’s called Friendly Friday. The subject this week is: Bricks and Tiles.

I always like to see what everyone else comes up with. I enjoy taking photos of just about everything, so I’ll usually have something to add that fits the scenario. Here’s one to start with.

This was one of a collection of fantastic tile work at the Istanbul Mosaic Museum. The mosaics were found buried underneath the ground during construction. The mosaics date from Roman times. Most of them are in very good shape- still clear and colorful.

The museum is right next door to the Arasta Bazaar and the Blue Mosque. It’s well worth a detour when you’re tired of the bazaar. I spent a couple of hours there, but I really enjoy both art and history.