Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia

As we departed the Palace grounds I was in sensory overload. I have never seen such a display of riches, not in the Smithsonian, the palaces of Spain, France or England. Exiting the palace gate, off to my right was the enormous Blue Mosque and to the left was the Haigia Sophia. So much to see.

We crossed the courtyard and approached the impressive Blue Mosque which is comprised of the huge main dome, surrounded by numerous smaller domes which ripple down around the main dome like a waterfall. There are six thin minarets which stick up above the domes, pointing to God, Heaven, and the sky.
We went around the side of the Mosque to the area where we could remove our shoes and place them in bags to carry while we were in the mosque. Cheryl and I covered our heads out of respect. But there were people worshiping there and we felt it was the right thing to do.
The Blue Mosque was commissioned to be built by Sultan Ahmet I in the 1600s. It took 7 years to build. The six minarets were quite the scandal in the day, as it rivaled the famous Mosque in Mecca and it seemed to be pretentious on the part of the Sultan to compete. The number of minarets was actually a misunderstanding between the Sultan and his architect, as the Sultan told him he wanted the minarets to be gold, but the architect thought he said he wanted 6. I guess the words sound similar. So, to solve the problem of perceived competition with Mecca, the Sultan sent his guy to Mecca to build an additional minaret there.

The interior of the Mosque is very lovely. The domes are lined with 20000 beautiful blue tiles fired with flower, tree and geometric designs. The overall effect of the grand domes lined with the delicately decorated tiles in shades of blue is mystical. Huge, but ugly, chandeliers hang down to light the prayer rugs.
After leaving the mosque we walked across the courtyard to the Haghia Sophia, the grand Byzantine basilica built in 360. This building was groundbreaking architecture for its time and was the largest cathedral in the world for 1000 years.

Some interesting things about this building are that it has served as a Christian church as well as a mosque. There is a large painting of Mary and the infant Jesus in the eastern dome. There are also several interesting relics and artifacts on display at this museum. In one corner there was a huge polished marble ball, about 8 feet in diameter. As Don and I watched a guide discuss this sculpture with his tour group he would have the girls go up and rub the ball. Then the guide would go over to the guy half of the couple and whisper something in his ear which resulted a dramatic reaction from the boyfriend, husband or whoever got the whisper. What could the guide be telling him?? Don had fun speculating--now that she touched this ball she will be inspired to touch yours tonight? Many possible messages were considered as we wondered what the secret really was. With that on our minds it was time to go.

After so much walking and viewing we were pretty tired, so we decided to catch the light rail for a ride around town. The Tram was packed as we were getting into rush hour, but with some patience and persistence we were able to secure the primo front seat and gratefully sat down and rode to the end of the line. The tram took us across the river and through many shopping sections. At the end we didn't even get off, we just stayed on and rode the train back to the other side of the river, getting off at the Grand Bazaar.
The Grand Bazaar is another amazing sensory overload experience. This huge shopping "mall" boasts 1200 shops and including 58 streets. It has been in use since 1461. The shops are segregated, with each type of product in a designated area of the Bazaar. We entered the rug section and were immediately accosted by vendors trying to get us to examine their wares. Rugs, leather products, lamps, t-shirts, jewelry, pottery. Lots to look at and deals to be made, but I was just too tired.

We called up Trixie, our faithful gps, and had her take us back to the hotel for a much deserved rest and dinner.