Turkey Day 2.

Today I went to see the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) in downtown Istanbul. You could tell you were coming up to it because there were six minarets (thin towers) that towered above the rest of the city. Apparently the number of minarets caused a scandal a long time ago, because the Haram Mosque in Mecca had six as well. As far as I can tell, it was solved when the mosque in Mecca added a seventh tower. When I got around to the front, I was astonished by the many domes that make up the roof. I mean, there had to be at least fifteen domes! Wasn't one enough? I have to admit, though, it was an impressive sight. At the entrance, there was a chain over the doorway, a little over head level for a tall person. In the old days this was to encourage people to bow their heads when they entered the mosque. Nifty idea, I think. Once inside it became vividly apparent why they nicknamed this mosque "Blue Mosque". There were thousands of blue tiles making up the roof, 20,000 to be exact. There were some Islamic words written in the domes, but i didn't find out what they mean. The detail here was immense. There were carvings and designs on the floor and pillars and ornate rugs covering the ground. Of course I was most impressed with the tile work on the ceiling, it must have taken years to finish! After I left, I went to check out this area of Istanbul. I saw a lot of old buildings and a couple of newer high rises, but those are mostly in another part of the city. I think today was fun. It was really cool to finally see the blue mosque, I've been wanting to see it for a long time. I also like exploring new cities, it gives a sense of where I am and what the local culture is like. I had another pita sandwich, like last night, and I headed back to my hotel to pack, tomorrow it's off to the Dalaman River. here you can see both the minarets and the many domes these are the blue tiles they were talking about.