Istanbul
Our hostel basked in the shadow of the Sultan Ahmed, better known as the Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Sultan Ahmed 1. It elegantly dominates the surrounding area whilst its six slender minarets play hide and seek with your eyes, creating ever-changing compositions regardless of the angle you look at them. Astounding beauty – and when inside one understands the name, because 20,000 handmade ceramic blue tiles adorn the walls of the interior.

We were allowed to enter after prayer time without shoes and women must have their hair/heads covered      . Wall to wall carpets cover the floor of the spacious interior. Light reflects through more than 200 stained glass windows and illuminates the calligraphic verses from the Qur’an, the blue mosaic tiles and other decorations. 

The atmosphere of reverence is almost palpable as men, who remained after the collective prayer time, are still praying in different areas.  I felt as if I wanted to make myself as inconspicuous as possible; as if I am invading something very personal taking place.  

Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque - interior

As we exited the Blue Mosque we are greeted by its equally impressive, but almost, squat, red and yellow tinted neighbor – the Hagia Sofia – proudly showing off its massive dome which is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture.
 
The Hagia has worn many different religious cloaks through the ages: from 360 A.D. it was an orthodox basilica; a cathedral of Constantinople, for a brief period a Roman Catholic Cathedral, then a mosque and it was finally turned into a museum during the reign of Ataturk.  

Hagia Sofia

Istanbul Grand Bazaar:
 A visit to the Grand Bazaar is truly a grand experience: Photos will better describe this 5-senses experience where a kaleidoscope of colors collide with a cacophony of sounds collide with people from everywhere collide with tantalizing, strange and secret smells.
I did find an interesting tidbit about the market from Wikipedia: ‘The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning Covered Bazaar) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and half a million visitors daily."