As our rehearsal time started to become less and less, I actually got to start visiting the tourist attractions. Given that Turkey is predominantly Muslim, it was fitting that my first stop was a mosque. One of the first things that I noticed about Istanbul is that there are mosques everywhere. Given the age of the city though, some of them are much older and more ornate than others. Those are the big sites for tourists.
I am not too well educated about Islam or mosques so I will not provide much commentary about what anything is in these pictures. I will say that the architecture is pretty stunning, and it is interesting to get a glimpse of something that seems so foreign.
There are a few rules when entering a mosque. First one must dress properly which means that long pants are required and that women must cover their hair with a scarf. It has actually been fun to see pictures of female company members wearing their scarves to visit a mosque. Second everyone must take off their shoes. The mosques provide plastic bags outside the entrances, and there are shelves in the back for the shoes.
Another interesting feature of a mosque (though you really cannot tell from the pictures) is that there are no pews or seats of any type.
Well I hope you enjoyed that because it will be the first of several posts with pictures of different mosques! After all it is the thing to do in Istanbul.
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