Who really turned Medusa into stone?

Today we rose early.  As we navigated through the bustling streets, and if you think we have to many traffic laws you then haven't been to a country where there is none, Dr. Glidden gave us a run down on the history of Ayasofya.  Ayasofya was built in the 6th century, which makes it more than a half century older than Notre Dame!! This magnificent architectural feat was done under Justinian.  Justinian wanted to be remembered for his greatness.  Obviously this was flawless logic because big impressive buildings = greatness. It's science.  This Church/Mosque/Museum was incredible.  The Ayasofya was originally an Eastern Orthodox church but when the Ottoman empire took over in 1453 it became a mosque.  When Attaturk came to power he turned this to a museum.  In a mosque there not supposed to be relics, which churches are full of.  Fortunately for all of us history geeks, the Ottoman's were respectful of previous cultures and did not destory the church or relics.  They simply covered them up, and now you can see the dirt outlines from where these massive crosses hung. I suggest checking out this link for brief overview of Ayasofya's history click here.

After the Ayasofya our daring group of explorers trekked underground into another of Justinian's gifts to history - The Basilica Cistern.  The Basilica Cistern was an underground water dome and is 70m. in width and 140m. in length.   This dome is supported by 336 marble columns.  This underground marvel was restored in 1987 by Istanbul's municipalites.  Istanbul's municipalities must have been scared stiff (pun intended) or either incredibly ignorant because they forgot to inform the public that Medusa was down there.  As our group innocently traversed the underground pathways we ran into this monster.  Predictably, I channeled my inner Perseus and turned Medusa monster into stone... you're welcome world!

(sorry for the lack of pictures, I am on a computer in Greece and was not able to upload any right now... but stay tuned)

And I promise to my loyal followers, all 3 of you, to start writting more often.