Day 9: Istanbul

Our last day in Istanbul was fast paced.  We took the Tram to the Blue Mosque which is an historic mosque in Istanbul.  It is known as the blue mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.  It was built in 1609.  There was the echoing call to prayers as we approached the mosque.  There was a definite dress code for women for their knees to be covered and a scarf over their head.  For men it was long pants and a shirt and no shoes for anyone.

Next we toured the home of Ottoman Sultans for 400 years.  There were 300 rooms, 9 Turkish baths, 2 mosques and, of course, the mandatory area known as the Harem.  Harem stands for “a place forbidden” and it is the private quarters of the sultan.  It cost extra for the Harem and we decided not to look.  There were enough rooms for everything, including a circumcision room (I’ll let you think about that one).

These Turks are definitely masters of the hard sell.  Standing in line leaves you as fair game for all manner of sales pitches.  At every shop there is always a man standing in the door to go with you every step of the way.  We were not comfortable with these sales techniques and so we are not bringing much back from Turkey.

Blue Mosque 1

Blue Mosque 2

Sultan's Palace

We always try to navigate the Tram