Aya (Hagia) Sophia

This is really the reason I wanted to come to Istanbul - I had read a lot about the Hagia Sophia; that it was once the main church of the Roman Empire, which then got converted to a mosque by the Ottomans - but they still preserved much of the church.

The outside is not as impressive as the inside with its amazing murals, mosaics and the amazingly decorated dome. It's probably one of the few places on earth where statements praising both Jesus and Allah are next to each other, in almost perfect harmony.

There is quite a lot of restoration work underway, but that doesn't detract from the amazing views of the interior.