Aya Sofia, IstanbulThe Aya Sofia was built in 532. The exterior was painted blood red by Emporor Justinian to warn potential revolutionaries. The dome was originally a lot higher and bigger then what you see today, but an earthquake just 20 years after it’s construction destroye

The Blue Mosque seen from the outsideOur first stop in Istanbul was the Blue Mosque. It’s not actually blue on the outside, but the tiles inside it are. It was the Sultan Ahmet’s response to the Aya Sofia and was completed in 1617.Be sure to attend outside prayer times.&he

Kocatepe MosqueWe visited the Kocatepe Mosque, which is a modern mosque built right above a Western-style shopping mall. It was conveniently located next to our hotel. We visited after evening prayers.…

Grand Mosque in TunisThe next morning we headed off to the medina. First up, we wanted to visit the Great Mosque, as the courtyard is open to visitors only until 11AM.…

The wall that separates the West Bank from the rest of Israel. Well, yesterday we were quite busy. We went to Bethlehem first thing in the morning. We took a bus to the infamous wall and then walked through and then took a cab the 2 km (mile and a half) into town because we are lazy

Our next destination was Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. We flew through Kota Kinabalu to get there. The Royal Brunei flight was on time, a modern plane, and great service.…