No matter how long we spend in a city (one month in this case), Scott and I seem to have a knack of managing to leave all of our sightseeing until the last day.
Then, through sheer panic, we try and rush around on public transport attempting to see as much as we came to see in a few hours.
In this instance, it was the day before we left for Oktoberfest for two days, and even though we would be returning to Istanbul afterwards, we knew there was too much that we wanted to see to leave it all until after the event. Plus, knowing that we may be slightly worse-for-wear after two days at the beer festival, we realised that sightseeing may be the furthest thing from our minds.
Somehow, not only do we leave our sightseeing until the last day, but I also always manage to always pick the day with the worst weather of our whole time there.
Which was how we ended up at The Blue Mosque on a rainy day, fifteen minutes before it closed for prayer time.
The Blue Mosque: Photos Can’t Do It Justice
Me, being the cynical sightseer that I am, assumed that that is all we would need to get in, take some photographs and leave, but I hadn’t anticipated the crowds who had arrived from the cruise ships mere minutes before.
And I hadn’t anticipated how beautiful it would be inside.
After shuffling through the entryway barefoot (you must remove your shoes at the door of the mosque and ladies need to have their head and legs covered), I was dazzled by twinkling lights overhead and the vast height of the ceiling. There is something calming and ethereal about being in a place such as The Blue Mosque; something you can’t quite put your finger on, but which leaves you in awe and with a real sense of calm about you.
Luckily we were able to take lots of pictures during our allotted fifteen minutes, but I was still sad to leave. I could have stood and soaked in the ambiance for much longer.
Once we had returned home and I looked through my photos, I realised that the rain must have misted up my camera lens as there was a glowy tinge to all of them. I wasn’t disappointed because I actually like how it makes them look. I think the image describes the scene perfectly – a bright and beautiful place on a damp and drizzly day.
So pretty! I’ve really enjoyed visiting Asian countries with strong Muslim influences because their architecture is generally so interesting and nice to look at. Their food tends to be pretty amazing too, though I suspect that’s a subject for another post… 🙂
I totally agree – that’s why I liked Malaysia so much.
This is incredibly nice. I absolutely love architecture and discovering some new styles for me is even better. I need to enter into mosques more often. Thanks for sharing!
I need to enter them more often too! Thanks for reading.