Turkey, Istanbul

Istanbul and Turkey straddle the line between Asia and Europe. There's so much history here it's stunning. The St. Sofia, Haghia Sophia, Aya Sofia or Divine Wisdom, originally built as a church, taken over by the Ottomans and changed to a mosque, it's now a museum. The columns supporting the building were scavenged from sites all over the area, (remember the temple of Artemus?). The Egyptian obelisk was taken from Egypt, cut into thirds and taken to Istanbul in the 4th century.

The Blue Mosque is not the oldest, nor the biggest nor the bluest- but it is well known.

Topkapi Palace is huge and well preserved with mosaics everywhere.

Istanbul: 3045 mosques, each with 1,2,4 or 6 minarets-everywhere you look over the city.