Today we all went to attend liturgy at the St. George Church at the Patriarchate in the Phanar neighborhood. Not only were there local Orthodox faithful attending but lots of Orthodox from other countries. The service and sermon were very moving.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._George,_Istanbul
After Church we took a few photos and then got on a bus to go to the Chora Monastery which is now a museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chora_Church
We were told by many that have visited this church/museum of its beauty and history and were really anticipating our visit this afternoon.
We arrived at the Monastery and stopped for lunch before our visit. We ate at a local cafe next to the monastery and the food and atmosphere was good.
We then paid our entrance fees and entered the Monastery and were overwhelmed by the beautiful icons - both mosaic and painted.
We were told that all the icons in the Church showed the the story of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
We could follow the history by looking at each side of the inner and outer narthex and the center of the Church. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here and fortunately it was not too crowded so we can hear the guide's explanations, see the icons and take photos.
We had a few minutes to buy books and cards before we had to get on the bus for our next stop at Pammakaristos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pammakaristos_Church
The church had been converted to a mosque before it became a museum. The icons were made of mosaic and very beautiful. Our group was the only visitors so it was not crowded or noisy. We heard our guide's explanations and took photos of the icons.
After our visit we got on the bus to go back to the hotel. Tonight we fly to Cappadocia .
We arrived in Kaysar and took the bus to our hotel the Peri Tower http://peritower.com/en/home/. It is a very nice property and wonderful rooms and the food was great. However it is far from everything- not even a little store to buy water or snacks or essential items.
Had a buffet dinner and then retired to our room.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._George,_Istanbul
After Church we took a few photos and then got on a bus to go to the Chora Monastery which is now a museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chora_Church
We were told by many that have visited this church/museum of its beauty and history and were really anticipating our visit this afternoon.
We arrived at the Monastery and stopped for lunch before our visit. We ate at a local cafe next to the monastery and the food and atmosphere was good.
We then paid our entrance fees and entered the Monastery and were overwhelmed by the beautiful icons - both mosaic and painted.
We were told that all the icons in the Church showed the the story of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
We could follow the history by looking at each side of the inner and outer narthex and the center of the Church. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here and fortunately it was not too crowded so we can hear the guide's explanations, see the icons and take photos.
We had a few minutes to buy books and cards before we had to get on the bus for our next stop at Pammakaristos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pammakaristos_Church
The church had been converted to a mosque before it became a museum. The icons were made of mosaic and very beautiful. Our group was the only visitors so it was not crowded or noisy. We heard our guide's explanations and took photos of the icons.
After our visit we got on the bus to go back to the hotel. Tonight we fly to Cappadocia .
We arrived in Kaysar and took the bus to our hotel the Peri Tower http://peritower.com/en/home/. It is a very nice property and wonderful rooms and the food was great. However it is far from everything- not even a little store to buy water or snacks or essential items.
Had a buffet dinner and then retired to our room.
