Mosques and Minarets in the Skyline

Go to Istanbul and you will see a very different skyline than what we see back home.  The skyline here is peppered with over 3,000 mosques and accompanying minarets...and more are being built.

Minarets are a visible indicator of a Muslim community nearby as their spires reach towards the sky.

The domes of the mosque are unique as well.

Our first mosque visit took place on our first full day in Istanbul.  With our very knowledgeable

tour guide, Taner Unal, we were hooked up to devices where he could talk right into our own headphones so as not to distract others in the mosque with our conversations.

 Here it is - the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii). The mosque, built in the early 1600s,

is not blue on the exterior; the name comes from the blue Iznik tilework decorating the interior of the mosque.  This is a mosque with six minarets which is most impressive.

One must follow the rules when visiting a mosque in Istanbul. Women are required to cover their heads/hair and will be required to wrap a cloth around her waist if too much leg is visible.

No shoes for anyone once inside the mosque.  And, no loud conversations!

The tile work is simply beautiful!

Female Muslims are not allowed in the main area to pray.  They have small rooms to the side of the main area to congregate and pray.  Five times a day the stereo speakers from the minaret send forth

a "live" summons to the devout with a somber chant-like call to pray: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night. As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a heavy population of Muslims here, but few actually practice their faith in the mosques.  We never saw big crowds here aside from the heavy presence of tourists.

Our second mosque visit was to the New Mosque (Yeni Cami).  It really isn't all that new.

It was started in 1597 and completed in 1663.

Located near the Spice Bazaar, it was easy to see and visit and was pretty with tile work as well.

Two minarets for this mosque.

 

 Thankfully, mosques can be visited in all kinds of weather.

We had our share of rainy days, but the sunny days and NO SNOW more than made up for it!