Mosques of Istanbul

In Seoul, there is a Starbucks on virtually every corner. If its not Starbucks, its a Paris Baguette. In Mongolia, all you can see are mountains and horses. In Istanbul, its mosques. There is no part of the city you can go without seeing the minarets of a nearby mosque (with the exception of the underground Cisterns, for obvious reasons). This is not by accident, as the minarets help to find the way to the mosque during the time of prayer. Prayer, lets pause and think about that for a moment. How many times in a day do we stop to pray. To have an honest conversation with God. For many, it is less often than we'd like to admit. In Islam, you are required to pray 6 times a day. At pre-dawn, the first call for prayer rings out, a mesmerizing voice urging you to wake up for your duties. No doubt, the average Turk is less than mesmerized, nonetheless, for me, having heard it for the first time, it was just that. This is followed by the prayer at dawn, the mid-day prayer, afternoon prayer, sunset prayer, and night prayer. The timing for each of these always changes (according to the sun) and always is announced with that same mesmerizing call. There is something very communal and sincere in this tradition of prayer. It doesn't stop with the cal to prayer, but there are several customs associated with this obligation. Unfortunately, I am in no position to explain any of them, but I was greatly impacted by the atmosphere created by this.

That said, upon arrival at Istanbul, a half hour taxi ride at 2 in the morning showed families gathered at parks, parking lots, beaches, verandas, anywhere outside, to enjoy a meal. It was the last meal of the day for them, as many of them, during the month of Ramazan (Ramadan) fast throughout the day. The religious tone that started our first day carried through till the very end of the day, in that virtually every site we visited was a mosque. The first mosque of the day, Aya Sophia (Hagia Sophia).

Originally not a mosque at all, but rather a church, the Church of the Holy Wisdom, it was only converted to a mosque when the Ottomans finally captured Constantinople. Prior to its conversion, it was rebuilt 3 times, due to riots, fires, and earthquakes. Currently, as a museum, it was difficult to fully experience it as a place of worship, particularly the grounds outside the mosque, but ignoring all of the information kiosks, it seemed to have a distinct layout different than all other mosques, especially due to the lack of a proper terrace. While the interior was quite beautiful with massive voids and a cavernous dome, once again, the fact that it was no longer an active place of worship detracted from the sincerity of the place. Of course, despite that, it was still a very impressive, must see place if you find yourself in Istanbul.

The second mosque visited, unofficially dubbed the Blue Mosque, is actually Sultan Ahmed Mosque. This is really a mosque, built in the early 1600's. It was located right across from the Aya Sofia, with the Hippodrome in between them. The pair of them makes for a truly impressive view for any visitors. One unique thing about the Blue Mosque is the fact that it has six minarets, as opposed to the standard 4. This was an issue in its day because the mosque in Mecca had six minarets, and to be its equal was quite presumptuous. Any tourist books will say where the Aya Sophia's true beauty is shown on the inside, the Blue Mosque shows its beauty on the outside. While it certainly stood out as more boastful than the Aya Sophia, the humble brick of the Aya Sophia had a certain authenticity to it that I felt drawn to. On the other hand, the interior of the Blue Mosque, being a current place of worship, had the authenticity I was looking for.

The last major mosque visited was the Suleymaniye Mosque, built in the mid 1500's by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Of all of the great mosques, this one had the most impressive courtyard with some views towards the vast expanse of sea right outside the walls. It also had a series of support buildings adjacent to the courtyard, giving the sense of a full and complete master design. Unfortunately, at the time, the support area was under renovation. But to see the interior, the spotless white walls, the size, the vast dome... it was all so impressive. 500 years ago, not only did people in power were great visionaries. 

While all of these great and grand mosques were impressive, the day didn't end with them. Two more mosque were visited that day, Yeni Mosque and Rustem Pasa Mosque. Yeni Mosque was an accident, in search of Rustem Pasa, a neighborhood mosque with more blue tiles than the Blue Mosque. Rustem Pasa Mosque was a small mosque, built by a man who was richer beyond his means, and wanted to show it. Unfortunately, it is quite small and very difficult to find. However, the search was well worth it. Located right in the middle of the Spice Bazaar, it was a garden of calm raised above a sea of chaos. Of all the mosques visited that day, it was by far my favorite. 

Spending only one full day in Istanbul, wouldn't be complete without appreciating the skyline at night. A trip up Galata Tower satisfied that requirement, with great views of all three great mosques, the Galata Bridge, and the thriving city below.