Another walking tour! I feel as though I logged a hundred miles yesterday. I know this is an over exaggeration but it felt like this because it was our first really hot day and there were Saturday crowds in the streets. In some areas, it really was a swarming sea of humanity!

First we walked past Istanbul University. It is very large and stately but we couldn’t go in for security reasons. Then it is on to our first mosque of the day.

I’m starting to get “mosque weary” but the Suleymaniye Mosque really was beautiful. It was created by the great architect, Sinan, in 1557. It is a mosque complex which means it was built to contain a school (Medresse), hospital, a market, bathes, … These can be used by the public, all designed to make everyone happy! 🙂 it also contains the tombs of Suleyman the Great and a separate tomb for his wife, Roxelana (a former slave from probably the region of the Ukraine). it is a very large complex.

The central dome is supported by smaller domes. Sinan has pushed the supports back into the wall to open up the space. The dome is large but it’s not as big as the AyaSophia, the ancient Byzantine church they were all trying to outdo.

Iznik tiles are used in some places for decoration and the red color is brought in. Some of the painting in the dome shows a connection with western style.

The next mosque we visited was the Rustem Pasha mosque. Wow! It is full of beautiful Iznik tiles! Rustem Pasha was the Grand Vizier and married Suleyman’s daughter. Talk about sleeping your way to the top! As this mosque attests, he apparently did very well for himself.

From here it was a fight through the crowds to visit the spice market. It was an assault to the ears, eyes, and especially, the nose! I liked this better than the Grand Bazaar, it is smaller, and smells a whole lot better!

In the evening we attended a Whirling Dervish performance. It was very cool. They slowly turn around and around and then while spinning, they circle around each other. Everything is representative of God and the cosmos. The idea is to become closer to Allah, It is all very mystical. We couldn’t take pictures so the I’m including the journal entry of a fellow teacher, Stacey Fisher. As you can probably tell, she is an art teacher.