Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Walking Tour of Istanbul Mosques

My head scarf was working overtime on Tuesday.  We toured three mosques in Istanbul:  The Suleymaniye Mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque, and the new Mosque (Yeni Camii).  See pictures below.

The Suleyman Mosque.  Built by Suleyman the Magnificent from 1550-58.  The architect, Mimar Sinan, went on to build many other mosques and other structures in the city.
 
The largest mosque in Istanbul.

Men performing the ritual cleansing before prayer.  They wash their hands, faces, and feet as well as rinse out their mouths.




Our group on the steps outside the mosque

The Rustem Pasha mosque was built in hour of this Grand Vizier in the 1560s.  The same architect, Mimar Sinan, relied on rich mosaic tiles throughout the mosque. 

A woman praying in the women's area of the mosque. Men pray in the open area facing the niche--see above.  On Friday (holy day) men will arrive and stand shoulder to shoulder for service.  No hiding in the back pew to be the first to leave!

The New Mosque--Yeni Camii.  I guess a mosque built in the late 1500s is considered "new" in this city!


Again, beautiful mosaic tiles cover the interior.  Located near the Spice Bazaar and down the hill from the other two mosques. 
Can you detect the three mosques as they cascade down the hill?  From the left, in the foreground is the New Mosque, then Suleymaniye is the dome somewhat in the middle set high up on the hill.  The hardest to detect is the small dome above the little row of red flowers on the right-hand side. 
 
 

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