Now I'm in Moscow, but I want to share my trip to Istanbul with you

Basilica Cistern, 6th century, an underground forest of columns. Most of the columns were brought here from various ancient buildings. Among them stand two heads of Medusa Gorgon: one is turned sideways, the other upside down. Some say it was easier to place them that way, others that Christians deliberately "neutralized" the pagan symbol

I also visited the Chora Monastery — now it's an active mosque, but the 14th-century mosaics and frescoes were left, not even covered up like in Hagia Sophia. Scenes from the Old Testament, all in gold and very detailed. These images are like an ancient comic strip, the life of the Virgin Mary, the miracles of Christ, stories of death and resurrection
The earliest parts of the complex date back to the 6th century

The thing about Istanbul is that you walk through it as if through layers, each from a different era, but everything is nearby