R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 122

54 Days at Sea — Istanbul; Galata Bridge, Golden Horn, and Lunch

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Galata Bridge fishing

Ursula and I had visited Istanbul before, and the Galata Bridge was a highlight. Needless to say, we were definitely going back this time, and not just for the views of fishermen lining the railing. This bridge does more than just connect Istanbul across the Golden Horn; it’s also home to some great places for fresh catch lunch. Beneath the roadway supported by the Galata are restaurants and cafés.

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Galata Bridge restaurants

Many of those restaurants offer an affordable l...

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea; Istanbul Images

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Blue Skies above the Blue Mosque

54 Days at Sea — Istanbul; Basilica Cistern

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Basilica Cistern

In the classic James Bond film  From Russia With Love (second entry in the franchise series, United Artists, 1963), there is a scene in which the head of Station T (Ali Kerim Bey played by Pedro Armendáriz) and Bond take a boat ride along underground aqueducts beneath Istanbul. What you may not realize is that this waterway actually exists, and that it is indeed beneath the streets of Istanbul. Welcome to the eerie yet fascinating Basilica Cistern.

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Basilica Cistern

The Basili...

54 Days at Sea — Istanbul; Inside Hagia Sophia

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Hagia Sophia

Last Wednesday I introduced you to the incredible Hagia Sophia and gave you a little on its history. This church-turned-mosque-turned museum is a blend of both Christianity and Islam, as you’ll see in the photo gallery/slide show below. Click on any image enlarge and scroll through the tour:

Fun Photo Friday — Istanbul Color

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Food Boat

Here are today’s first of three Istanbul-themed Fun Photo Friday offerings:

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Istanbul Park

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Istanbul Flowers

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Tulips and More

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Fishing off Galata Bridge

54 Days at Sea — Istanbul; Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia

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Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed “Blue” Mosque is an incredibly large and complex structure, especially when one considers that it was built in the early 17th Century. Up to 10,000 worshipers can gather under its multi-domed roof.

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Blue Mosque

And note the extensive use of early 17th Century electric lighting throughout! Just kidding. That stuff wasn’t added until a little while later, I’m sure.

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Blue Mosque

We’re about to leave behind the Blue Mosque for a building with an even more impressive his...

54 Days at Sea — Arriving Istanbul

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Istanbul — Blue Mosque

MS Prindendam arrived to the port of Istanbul early in the morning of April 16. Here we would overnight, giving us two full days to visit one of my favorite cities. Ursula and I had spent some time here several years before, but not by cruise ship and before digital photography displaced analog. So, we knew where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to photographically capture.

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Istanbul

The mosques of Istanbul are some of the most impressive and historically significant...

El Paso International Airport and Biggs Army Airfield Histories — Part 3

El Paso ATCT “Firsts”:

There are several ‘firsts’ associated with El Paso International Airport and the FAA Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) facility which serves it. In the early 1960s the FAA commissioned famed architect I.M. Pei to design a new type of control tower. The FAA originally intended to install Pei towers at 50 airports around the country, although this number would eventually drop to 16. The Pei towers were taller and more advanced than any control tower used at the time. T...

El Paso International Airport and Biggs Army Airfield Histories — Part 2

El Paso Civil Aviation:

El Paso’s first civilian airfield, El Paso Municipal Airport, was built in 1928 near the eastern base of the Franklin Mountains in the area that today is just northeast of Railroad Drive at Liberty Expressway. Indeed, a road at this location still retains the name Planeport Loop. Operational from 1928 until 1945, El Paso Municipal Airport was managed beginning in 1934 by the newly established Varney Speed Lines, the predecessor of what would eventually become Continent...

El Paso International Airport and Biggs Army Airfield Histories — Part 1

El Paso Military Aviation and Biggs Army Airfield:

In 1919 the first permanent aviation presence arrived at Fort Bliss Aviation Field. The U.S. Army deployed to Fort Bliss the 104th Aero Squadron, which operated the Geoffrey de Havilland-designed Dayton-Wright DH-4. These aircraft patrolled the border between the United States and Mexico, becoming the first aerial Border Patrol operation.

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Dayton-Wright DH-4, based on the Airco D.H.4

Meanwhile, in December of that same year, the Army relocated...