The Blues

Leaving Athens on our cruise ship was the start of an exciting adventure.  We left from the port of Pireaus, a suburb of Athens.  The sun was bright, the buildings of Pireaus shown white with the sparkle of silver tanks on their roofs, and the water was a deep blue.  It was gorgeous!  We cruised all afternoon through the multitude of islands that surround the tip of Greece and into the Aegean Sea as we made our way to Istanbul, Turkey.

At the entry to the Dardanelles passage is a set of three World War I memorials, a tribute to those who fought in the Gallipoli campaign.  June and I were still awake when we reached the start of the Dardanelles passage at midnight so went to the outer deck on our floor to get a better view of the memorial.  We met up with Wendy, my new friend from Australia who quilts!  Wendy's husband, Trevor, had a relative (great-uncle, I think) who fought in World War I and was buried at the cemetery there.  It was a moving experience, literally as well as emotionally.

Once through the Dardanelles, we entered the Sea of Marmara and sailed towards Istanbul, arriving there mid-morning.  On our way to the dock, we passed the Blue Mosque, the Sultan's Palace and Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom).  These were sites we'd visit during our tour.

Blue Mosque

Sultan's Palace

June, with the bridge linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul in the background

 After docking, we started our tour. Because there are so many good pictures available for the exterior of the buildings we visited, I concentrated on taking pictures of designs I found intriguing. Who knows - they may end up as quilting designs in my future. The graceful curves, interlocking designs and the colors were absolutely gorgeous. Take a look...

This was one of the tapestries in the Sultan's collection.  Yum!

This was in the Sultan's Library.  The leaves in the upper border as well as the variety of treatment inside of the ovals below were interesting.  May have to try these out as a background fill.

How's this for a beautiful scrollwork design?  I know the perfect type of quilt for this quilting design.  Add it to the list!

The deep blue in the medallion and rich reds are accentuated by the gold vine design.   With a little modification to the flow of the design, I can just see some version of the gold vine as a quilting design for a setting triangle.

Interior of the Blue Mosque showing the stained glass windows that contributed to it's name.  The thing that surprised me was the abundance of hanging chandeliers.  At one point, these would have been oil burning lamps rather than electric lights. 

Interior dome of Hagia Sophia.  While I'm sure the lettering surrounding the medallion has a message, I'm clueless!

After a full day of touring, including lunch overlooking the Sea of Marmara on the grounds of the Sultan's palace, we boarded the ship for our cruise to ....

Cheers!

Margaret