hagia sophia
one of the first points of interest on our walking tour of istanbul the morning of our first full day in turkey was the hagia sophia (aya sofya in turkish). this very large and impressive building was originally a christian basilica, then converted to a muslim mosque, and is now a museum. it was familiar to me since it is included as one of many world wonders in the civilization games. we actually went inside later that day. it’s probably my favorite building in istanbul.