Istanbul.......

from my recent visit to Istanbul, i stumbled across a little home furnishing boutique round the corner to my hotel.
if i had the space in my luggage (and the money) i would have bought ALL the fabulous patchwork, mismatched cushions.

in Istanbul i stayed in an old town called Sultanahmet, a town full of thee most beautiful relics in every direction you look at.

above is the aya sofia mosque (hagia sophia) built by the emperor, Constantine the Great.
directly opposite the aya sofia sits tall with 4 towering minarets, the blue mosque.

as you  enter the blue mosque, it becomes very apparent where it got the tittle 'blue' as thousands of blue tiles adourn the interior walls.

the grand bazaar (certainly GRAND) was breaming with thousands of hand crafted ceramics, glass mosaic lamps and silk kilims, beautiful enough to make anyone's toe curl!