Istanbul
Aya Sofya. Started in the sixth century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian
and added to over the centuries. The unspectacular exterior belies the
awesome effect on entering.
The Byzantine empire was overcome by the Ottoman Turks 1,000 years later in the 16th
century. Muslims, they plastered over the church's murals, which had the effect of preserving
them until uncovered in the 1930's.
Detail in Aya Sofya
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning
the walls of its interior, built by the Ottomans in the 17th century.
Bulgaria
Wait a minute, I know that whiskey! Spotted in Veliko Tornovo
Romania
13th century clocktower, Sighisoara, birthplace of Vlad Tepes
(or Count Dracula) in Transylvania.
Hungary
A rainstorm sweeps across Pest, as seen from across the Danube
in the old 'Castle' district in Buda.
Typical street scene in downtown Pest
Hungarian worker shakes liberating Russian
soldier's hand in gratitude.
Szobor Park, new home to displaced former Soviet monuments.